I went kayaking last night with the Pirates of Georgetown club. It was a five-mile trip and I found myself really sore for the last mile and a half of it. I figured out why I have such a hard time maintaining proper form - the boat I’m using, which is Woody’s Gulfstream on long-term loan - is too wide for me. But I’m going to keep using it as long as he’s willing to let me, because I can’t afford to buy one of my own. In fact, I should probably buy another paddle before I buy a kayak, because the one I’m using is rather heavy and doubtless contributes to my fatigue on the water.

I needed a sprayskirt for this kayak, so I looked at the Gulfstream’s specs and determined that a Harmony Clearwater in size small should fit the cockpit. And mathematically, you’d think it would - 30¼” x 16½” certainly seems to be less than the maximum of 32″ x 18″ the small Clearwater should fit. I called around and found it at a store that was mostly on the way, so I had them hold it and I bought it after work. Only to find…it was way too small. Even with it pulled as much as I could, it wouldn’t quite make it; I had somebody who was still on the dock check if something was wrong, and he noted that it wasn’t that the bungee couldn’t do it…the actual skirt material was stretched to the maximum. So I’ll probably return that skirt this weekend and get the next size up.