SOKs
A member of staff getting in a SOK.30th June 6:30pm
Spent a whole day working on the SOKs today. I wasn't meant to be, but another instructor had a bad back so I swapped with him. The morning SOK session went well, and it was cut short as the second group, who were heading for home at 2pm did no want to do it. Fair enough - half a morning could be spent sunning myself. The afternoon sessions went just as well, but both sessions went ahead. This was the first activity for this school so they were a bit more energetic compared to those which were leaving.
However, this post isn't for babbling about the days sessions. It's to slag-off and big-up Sit-on-Kayaks. Firstly they are absolutely smashing for introducing people to kayaking. Kids, and adults, can get into any boat, grab a paddle and be off in a relatively straight line with hardly any interaction from me or any other instructor. Secondly a capsize isn't a big deal. The people can flip the boats over climb in and be off in minutes, again with little interaction from the instructor. In fact SOKs make people like me redundant; we just have to point which direction to head or make up a game to pass the time.
SOKs aren't all great mind. They weight an absolute tonne to carry making it difficult for them to be moved quickly and easily by a single person. The SOKs at PGL leak like sieves and need constant draining for them to remain floating which is a pain. When being paddled you are sat in a pool of water, which is annoying as i prefer to stay relatively dry whilst paddling. Why else do I have a dry suit? I miss my Stikine and Roger and Allistair.
Spent a whole day working on the SOKs today. I wasn't meant to be, but another instructor had a bad back so I swapped with him. The morning SOK session went well, and it was cut short as the second group, who were heading for home at 2pm did no want to do it. Fair enough - half a morning could be spent sunning myself. The afternoon sessions went just as well, but both sessions went ahead. This was the first activity for this school so they were a bit more energetic compared to those which were leaving.
However, this post isn't for babbling about the days sessions. It's to slag-off and big-up Sit-on-Kayaks. Firstly they are absolutely smashing for introducing people to kayaking. Kids, and adults, can get into any boat, grab a paddle and be off in a relatively straight line with hardly any interaction from me or any other instructor. Secondly a capsize isn't a big deal. The people can flip the boats over climb in and be off in minutes, again with little interaction from the instructor. In fact SOKs make people like me redundant; we just have to point which direction to head or make up a game to pass the time.
SOKs aren't all great mind. They weight an absolute tonne to carry making it difficult for them to be moved quickly and easily by a single person. The SOKs at PGL leak like sieves and need constant draining for them to remain floating which is a pain. When being paddled you are sat in a pool of water, which is annoying as i prefer to stay relatively dry whilst paddling. Why else do I have a dry suit? I miss my Stikine and Roger and Allistair.
Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain
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