Confessions of a Virgin Kayaker

My husband and I had a rare Saturday free this August, so we decided to go kayaking for the first time. Why kayaking? Well, partly because it sounded fun… and partly because, as the Marketing & Communications Manager for York County Economic & Tourism Development, I feel an obligation to test-drive the experiences I promote. When we arrived in town, we checked in at Patriot Tours & Provisions to rent our kayak, followed our young instructor to grab life vests (you can never be too careful!), and floated out to sea.

Here are four things I learned as a fresh-out-of-the-box, never-before-paddled virgin kayaker:

Attire (and research) matters.

Before I try something new, I do my homework. So, naturally, I Googled, “What should I wear while kayaking?”

It may seem like a ridiculous question to you, but I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day with my jeans glued to my glutes, waiting four hours for them to dry. Turns out, there’s no official kayak runway dress code, but waterproof or quick-dry clothing (and accessories) are strongly recommended.

It’s a surprisingly good workout.

When you’re gliding on the water, it doesn’t look like much. But when you’re unable to commit to lifting your electric toothbrush the next morning, you realize paddling works your arms, shoulders, back, and core in sneaky ways.

I woke up with a pleasant ache in my upper arms, my core, and what I’m pretty sure is my T5 vertebra (yes, I Googled that too—kayaking apparently also strengthens your need to fact-check anatomy).

It’s unexpectedly cathartic.

Admittedly, I’m glued to technology wayyyyy more than I should be. Work + boredom = bad phone habits.

While I did bring my phone for photographic purposes (hey, blog content isn’t going to create itself), I made it my goal to use it as little as possible so I could soak in my surroundings.

I felt the warm sun on my skin. I heard a girl squeal with excitement, telling her mom, “I caught a fish! I caught a fish!” And I watched a couple paddleboarding with the kind of balance I will never possess (I have a strict no sports that require grace policy).

It looks harder than it really is.

Surprise! Steering a kayak is basically like driving a car—minus the traffic and road rage. Paddle left repeatedly and you’ll drift right. Paddle right and you’ll drift left. Alternate both sides and you’ll shoot forward like a pro.

Within minutes, I was feeling smug enough to imagine my own kayaking montage set to inspiring music. (Sorry, content not available.)

If you’ve never been kayaking, I highly recommend it. Worst case, you get a little wet. Best case, you discover an activity that works your body, clears your head, and makes you feel like an adventurous outdoorsy person… without actually having to camp.