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DISCOVER! | JULY 23, 2016
Sights of Summer | 7
Kayaking
Kayaking
across Okoboji
Summer
Sights of
Erin Radke
On an early Saturday morning with the sun
peeking over the trees on East Lake Okoboji,
I often look out from my deck and
see kayaks gently coasting across the water past
my home.
I have never kayaked, but I’ve always imagined
it being a relaxing experience. On a typical
morning in Okoboji, before the hustle and
bustle of boats, the waves are calm and the shore
is peaceful. In those moments I feel that kayaking
would be the perfect activity to spend time
on the lake.
This past week I met Jeremy Snow, a water
sports expert from Okoboji Boat Works on West
Okoboji Lake. With his help I was finally going
to learn how to kayak, something I’ve wanted to
try my whole life. With the morning weather at
a perfect 70 degrees and no trace of clouds, the
water looked more beautiful than ever.
A kayak is a low-to-the-water boat that requires
balance, sitting face forward and your legs
in front parallel to one another. Jeremy showed
me that by using a double-bladed paddle I
would pull front-to-back through the water
rotating each side of my body to keep my path
even. If I wanted to turn, I would continue my
rotating motion but would only place my paddle
in the water on the side I wanted to travel to.
As we began our journey from West Lake to
East Lake, I noticed that the direction of the
wind played a huge factor in the difficulty of our
trip.
If I paddled against the wind, I had to work
extra hard to move forward. With each passing
wave Jeremy taught me to paddle between the
peaks rather than through them. If the wind was
against my back I had the opportunity to relax
and coast in the direction that the waves would
take me.
Although I was nervous about the traffic
of boats passing by, I quickly learned how to
continue on my path safely while staying an
appropriate distance away. Because of the beautiful
weather, it seemed that everyone was in a
chipper mood that morning. Passing through
various bridges and marinas I shared a “good
morning” with several happy Okoboji residents
and visitors.
What I enjoyed most about kayaking was not
only the relaxing experience of coasting across
the water, but the feeling of light exercise as my
shoulders continued to rotate and work through
the waves. By the end of the morning I was
already a little sore but I wasn’t complaining.
Sometimes the simplest activities on the lake
can make you feel like you gave your body the
brisk workout it deserves while still having a
great time.
Unlike most water sports, kayaking is an activity
that has no age limit. It’s leisurely entertaining
and needs minimal effort in order to have
fun. As I continue on to my next “Sights of Summer,”
I hope to kayak again in the near future. F
funatboji.com
To see what other adventures
Erin Radke has over the summer make
sure you check out funatboji.com where
all her videos, photos and articles
will be right at your fingertips.