How To Kayak AT Sea

By: Thomas Wyatt

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Learning how to kayak at sea is a fun process. You will need a hard sea kayak or an inflatable craft to undertake the process. The following is advice on how to kayak at sea.

First, make sure that you have a trusty, seaworthy kayak. There are several different types of hard bodied, sit-on-top kayaks, called sea kayaks, which are meant for kayaking in these waters. There are also soft, inflatable kayaks which are great fun in the ocean. Any outdoor outfitter company will be able to help you find the right craft.
Once you have a sea-capable kayak, you will need to practice with it to get a feel for its operations before you can take it out into the water. Paddle around a pond or lake to see how to best use it.
When starting out, it is certainly easiest to go kayaking in the sea on a day that is calm. Try to find a nice, calm day with smaller waves and little wind, and head to the beach. If waves are breaking near shore, you may have to "swim" your kayak out, and pull yourself up on it past the breaking waves. This is not too hard, but you will need to balance the craft as you come up over the side in deeper water. On very calm days, you may mount it in front waves, and paddle, strongly, out between breaking waves. As long as a wave is breaking over it as you are heading out, you will ride right over it.
Once out into the ocean, the kayak will work like it would on any pond or lake; paddle around, and even fish from it if you like. Beyond breaking waves, the water is always much smoother. To get the most out of the experience, paddle up and down the coast just out from the breaking waves.
When you are ready to head in, you can either ride small waves in, as you would on a body board (of course, making sure first that no beachgoers are in the shallows in front of you) or, when there are larger waves, you should get out, grab hold of the kayak, and swim it in.
Once you are able to do all of this, you can work your way up until you are able to kayak at sea on even rougher days. Be sure to have a life jacket on board if doing this.