It's Called Sea Kayaking

I enjoy a lazy paddle on flat water as much as anyone. There are days that I take the Pygmy Arctic Tern I made and paddle the Milwaukee River. I can even entertain myself rolling in a pool. But, at the end of the day, I much prefer to sea kayak.

Now, we don't have a sea around here, however Lake Michigan does have its moments when it offers up some nice conditions for paddling. As a bonus, we don't have to figure out tide tables or wash salt off our equipment afterwards. The trouble is, many local paddlers won't go "outside" if there is so much as a wrinkle on the surface of the water, and this includes a few basic instructors.
In my judgment, this will result in arrested skills and, eventually, to boredom with the sport. Please understand, I don't think everyone should get out in the waves. After all, its not for everyone, and everyone is entitled to do their own thing. But not improving one's skills deprives one of many opportunities to have a challenging day on the water.

I believe, as well, that this improvement can be done safely with a little planning. Let's say that a person is comfortable in level 3 conditions. In order to grow their skills, they need to get out in level 4 conditions, and I suggest they do so in the company of paddlers comfortable in level 5 conditions (the levels I refer to are arbitrary numbers and do not correspond to any BCU or ACA ratings). Being out there with more competent paddlers provides safety as well as a reservoir of knowledge and teaching.

If you haven't gotten into rougher stuff since you took your intro course to sea kayaking, you're missing a whole lot of the fun of the sport. So, what are you going to do?

Paddle safe...

DS