How To Use A Sea Kayak Paddle

Learning how to use a sea kayak paddle to maneuver the oceangoing craft is a fun activity in itself. Sea kayaks are small boats that are capable of riding through waves, and then comfortably out past the breakers. The following is some advice on learning how to use a sea kayak paddle.

How to Use a Sea Kayak Paddle:

1. First, make sure that you have a great kayak and paddle, both of which are in tip top condition. You do not want to learn using sub par gear.
   
2. To learn how to paddle a sea kayak, you should first start in calm waters, and get the sport down before you try it in the ocean. Find any local lake, pond, or slow river and begin there.
3. Wearing a life jacket, bet in the kayak in shallow water, and begin to paddle. Hold the paddle with both hands, so that you have an overhand grip on it to the right and to the left as you hold it in front of you.
4. Then, tilt one hand forward, pulling the other back, and dip the forward side of the paddle down into the water, so that one hand is forward and low, and the other hand is pulled back, with a bent elbow, and high. Pull the paddle, keeping it low, back through the water, until the low hand is back, and the other hand is forward, still high.
5. Once you have pulled one hand back through the water, dip the other hand, which is now forward, into the water, and pull it back, keeping it low, so that the kayak paddle moves water. Repeat this process to constantly paddle. This is how to paddle a sea kayak.
6. On the ocean, you will need to be able to keep this up, so practice a lot in the calm waters to get it down pat. Once you head out to the ocean, you will need to be able to pull harder on one side when working the paddle, to turn the sea kayak. In some cases, you will even have to lose rhythm, and paddle on the same side a few times in a row, as strong waves can cause the craft to turn unfavorably. Once you have gotten all of this down, you have learned how to use a sea kayak paddle.

Learning how to use a sea kayak paddle is fun in itself, and well worth the time. Once you have gotten it down, go to the beach, and have a great time using your sea kayak.