Bering Sea Kayaking

During the couple of weeks we’ve been here on Nunivak Island, a common question arose from the campers, “When is Martin coming?” Martin Leonard, the program coordinator and world-class kayaker, was suppose to fly out the day after we left but was detained. The daily response from the counselors to the bombardment of questions regarding Martin’s arrival was, “He’s coming tomorrow.” Tomorrow would come and go with no sign of Martin. Martin was the only person with whom we could go sea kayaking and the constant delays created worry amongst the campers. A belief grew that Martin would not show, but the day before our last day on the island, he arrived.

The next afternoon, Martin took us out for our first and last chance at sea kayaking. We got dressed in our dry suits and partnered up. After inspecting the double seater kayaks and adjusting our foot pegs, we pulled our kayaks into the stream and walked them into the harbor. The kayaks were positioned out of the way of the larger waves as we were helped into the kayaks and inspected for a second time. When everyone was ready we paddled out in to the harbor, sticking close to the cliffs to stay out of the wind. It is an amazing sight to view the hundred foot giants from below. Birds dotted the cliff side, taking flight as we neared. We even spotted a seal lounging in the open waves.

We passed Cape Mohican, the farthest point dividing the harbor from the ocean, and an immediate difference was noticeable. The transition from calm, still water to the ever swelling ocean was startling. Our nerves subsided as we went over the first couple swells. The rather intimidating three to five foot swells were quite gentle as they pulled us up and over their crest down the other side into another swell. After spending roughly forty minutes out on the ocean, the real fun began. Turning back towards camp we were able to surf the swells. A large swell would come up from behind and if we paddled hard and long enough we could surf it and cover twice the distance in half the time. Sea kayaking was by far the most incredible activity this camp had to provide. Those attending next year are in for a spectacular treat, when Martin shows up.

-Daniel Updegrove

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Summer Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.