Nothing in Particular

Kayaking 1 Star Award

On 15 January 2021, I got my 1 Star Award in kayaking! That's after a two-day course (14–15 January) where I did lots of capsize drills and rescuing. I learnt the J draw and classic draw which helps you move sideways, and the stern rudder which helps you to turn a little (for accuracy), and the low recovery which helps to stop you from capsizing.

I also got refreshed of the terms that I learnt during OBS (which was like 2 years ago). So the front of the kayak is called the bow and the back of the kayak is called the stern. The left side is called the port and the right is called the starboard. These are maritime terms.

I even tried the 2 Star rescuing which is done alone (without an assistant). It was great.

On the first day, we had a short lesson on theory like the parts of the kayak and the Personal Floatation Device (PFD) which is not to be called a life vest. Then, we learnt to lift and carry the kayak (which I learnt during OBS), and to launch the kayak (the seal is very fun!) and come back ashore.

Did I forget to mention that I didn't have wet shoes so I wore my basketball shoes into the water? Yeah. That happened. RIP.

Anyway, we did a lot of things on Day 1 such as the forward paddle, reverse paddle, forward sweep stroke and reverse sweep stroke. And we did capsize drills and the see-saw to empty the water in the kayak. After that, we did 1 Star rescues, which means 2 people will come and rescue the victim: the rescuer and the assistant. The rescuer will focus on rescuing while the assistant has to hold the paddles and use BOTH hands to hold onto the rescuer's kayak's coaming to stabilise it.

After the session was over, we put the kayaks back on the rack, washed the PFD with soap water and hung it and the paddle at the wet store. Then, we went to shower (or more like rinse ourselves). We then went back home. Unfortunately, I had to walk in my wet basketball shoes without socks. I definitely looked very weird because my shoes definitely mismatched what I was wearing and I was obviously not wearing socks. Plus, I probably left shoe prints wherever I went because wet shoes be leaving water marks everywhere. But it's okay. That's not the worst part.

While I was having dinner at a mall, I realised that my left hand got sunburnt and soon after, I realised my right hand was too. When I got home and looked at the mirror... my face too! You see, during OBS, I didn't get sunburns despite not putting on sunblock, so I thought I was so tanned that I was immune to the sun. Lol. It looks like I got fairer again. Sigh.

On the second day, I put sunblock. And I wore a cap. The previous day, I only wore arm sleeves (no cap, no sunblock, no gloves) so my face and hands were exposed. On this day, though, only my hands were exposed. My friend also lent me wet shoes so thank her I don't have to sacrifice another pair of basketball shoes XD

We went into the water and practised the J draw and classic draw by using them to move a certain distance. We then tried to figure of 8 using only foreword strokes and only reverse strokes. We also did the low recovery. I also accidentally called the paddle a shovel but never mind.

I think after that, we did capsize drills again. And rescuing. And we were introduced to the 2 Star rescue which is, as I mentioned earlier, done by one rescuer without an assistant. I was the capsized kayaker (I volunteered)! Then we went for lunch at around noon.

After lunch, we saw otters! One of them was eating a catfish. Then, we saw a terrapin. It was big, but definitely not the biggest terrapin I had ever seen. The otters, though! So cute!

Anyway, we had a mini expedition where the coaches showed us the boundary of the area that people with a 1 Star Award can kayak. We saw the pink eggs of the golden apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, an invasive species in Singapore. They were first discovered here in 2014; I searched online and found an article talking about how "tens of thousands of alien-like pink eggs spirits overnight" in February 2014. Damn, irresponsible smugglers. Their population here boomed since they had no natural predators, given they originated in South America. The eggs do look weird, though!

Moving on. I touched a snail and it was disgusting. One of the coaches threw it to me (because I wanted to see it) and I caught it... and touched the soft part... Ew. Ew. Ew. It looked so weird, like its head got chopped off or something. Why's it so flat?!

But I digress.

When we returned, we did 2 Star rescues for fun because my friends and I wanted to go into the water (lol). After many times of capsizing and rescuing, we went back to shore. We washed the kayaks and the PFDs, put the PFDs and the paddles back into the wet store, and went in to wash up. And we got our awards!

Happy ending.

Epilogue: I went for basketball training after kayaking. I thought I reeked of reservoir water but I guess not. Then, I went back home. And I used aloe vera to treat my sunburns. Wherever I went, as long as the sun was up, I would wear a cap. The good news is that my face recovered within a day. My hands are still getting better but at least they're not burning anymore.

But I'm still going to wear a cap wherever I go. Besides, I look good in one ;)