Gently does it

I woke at 4am this morning, without the aid of an alarm - I think I subconsciously urged myself to wake up early so I wouldn't miss the kayaking session at Indooroopilly Canoe Club.

It was a beautiful time of the morning. The moon was still out (and mostly full, having only started to wane yesterday) when I left my flat an hour later. The sun was just rising as we carried our kayaks down to the river. It was such a lovely way to start the day.

Of course, the espresso I had at home before I left was an equally good way to start the day.

I've been kayaking a few times, but usually in two-person, ocean kayaks that are incredibly sturdy and sit much heavier in the water. The single-person craft we had today were really light and manoeuvrable, by comparison.

Even so, or maybe as a result, it surprised me how difficult it was to keep the kayak straight, or straight-ish. It took me half of the session to realise that subtlety was needed. The analogy I volunteered to Mel (who didn't really need the advice, by the way) was that it was like dating. You have to keep your paddling gentle and give each movement time to have effect before you take the next.

A bit of a clumsy analogy, perhaps, but keeping it in mind helped me get back to the pontoon with some kind of grace and rhythm.

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