A boatload of adventures on the sea
Marc Twinn recounts an adventurous Summer day of Kayaking with his brother.
Overlooked by two gargantuan hills in the Isle of Man, my brother and I heaved two heavy chunks of plastic (that we had the audacity to call kayaks) along the pebble beach and headed towards the sea. It was summer and the soft glow of the sun tinted everything in its view with a gentle glistening light. Atop the hill to our right, there was a dark grey castle; its flag waved at us from the top of its tallest tower to let us know the wind was not going to be as soft as the sun’s glow. We waited on the beach, holding our kayaks at the edge of the sea, waiting to jump in at the right moment. |
The waves crashed back and forth onto our kayaks as we turned them to face the roaring ocean. Our tense arms waited and the concentration that coloured our eyes made it look as though we were ready for battle.
A large wave roared up and crashed into both of us and the few seconds of calm that followed allowed us to charge forward and jump seamlessly into the blue vessels like we were a bobsled team.
My brother was in the longer kayak, using longer strokes and reserving his energy for the long haul. However, the rapid thrashing of the waves against the front of his kayak thwarted this immediately. The main thing was to paddle as fast as possible until the waves were steadier; the key was not to think about it; the aim was not to capsize.
Once we were out of the metaphorical woods and entering the very real ocean, it was finally tranquil. The way the light hit the sea and the huge styrofoam clouds felt immense. The first thought to come into my head being that it was like being in a painting - one of those large landscape paintings with a gold ornate frame: utterly surreal.
Marc Twinn, Y13
A large wave roared up and crashed into both of us and the few seconds of calm that followed allowed us to charge forward and jump seamlessly into the blue vessels like we were a bobsled team.
My brother was in the longer kayak, using longer strokes and reserving his energy for the long haul. However, the rapid thrashing of the waves against the front of his kayak thwarted this immediately. The main thing was to paddle as fast as possible until the waves were steadier; the key was not to think about it; the aim was not to capsize.
Once we were out of the metaphorical woods and entering the very real ocean, it was finally tranquil. The way the light hit the sea and the huge styrofoam clouds felt immense. The first thought to come into my head being that it was like being in a painting - one of those large landscape paintings with a gold ornate frame: utterly surreal.
Marc Twinn, Y13