It has taken 20 years and a short adventure documentary, which I saw on TV, to remind me, that I have my own adventure memories still inside me. Memories never get erased but somehow they get buried deep inside us, just to resurface, to remind us that “we ( memories ) are still inside you”. These memories are just like photographs, captured visually in intangible form by a human camera - eyes, brain, heart. And the only way to give these memories a tangible form is to write it.
1988, United World College, Singapore. Fully aware that this camp revolves around swimming, I still decided to join this camp since it offered me various activities. Those days I wasn’t a water fan, forget swimming I couldn’t float to save my life. Mahatma Gandhi pool, which is at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, was probably the best place to learn swimming in 80’s, but their trainers had finally given up on me. Even during our swimming sessions at UWC I never really “learnt” swimming. I was always the one to be in shallow water. Anyways, I was meant to be at the camp and so it was. I went to the camp on the strength of just one word, LIFE JACKET.
Within minutes of reaching the island, we were asked to JUMP in the ocean from a jetty just to warm up for the things coming ahead. Before taking the leap I embarrassingly reminded my group head about my swimming status, just to hear a big NO, with a LIFE JACKET given to me and shown the way. In no time, I found myself floating in the water, asking another guy, “Is it deep in here?” Obviously it was. What was I thinking, had I jumped in a tub? Well this was just a start of my adventure……
After reaching our camping ground and resting our wet butts, we were scooted off to learn sailing which I thoroughly enjoyed. Sailing was a cakewalk when compared to swimming AND the adventure lying ahead.
Next day, my real test lay in the sand in front of me. A CANOE, which is also called a KAYAK. Basically the act is called CANOEING and the boat in which we sit is called a KAYAK. We were given a KAYAK each, with a short training session and within no time we were on our own. This exercise was quite tiring but nevertheless had fun trying something new, perhaps because of our close proximity to the shore where the current was obliging my KAYAK. My first reaction on seeing this piece of boat was….. ahh LOOKS EASY, again better then swimming. As long as I didn’t have to SWIM, I was all fine even though there was direct contact with the water.
Before I proceed, I will describe what a CANOE / KAYAK is and three basic important points necessary to canoe. There is SEA KAYAKING, WHITEWATER KAYAKING, LAKE KAYAKING. We were given a SEA KAYAK. There are two types in KAYAK’s, OPEN and CLOSED. Open KAYAK can seat two people. Closed KAYAK’s can have 1 or 2 people as per the design. We were given a closed KAYAK which takes a single person, in which he/she sits on the buttocks with legs extended and maneuvers the boat with a paddle.
Some more points to bear in mind while canoeing :
1)
a) Firstly one should NOT be scared of water. ( I had no choice regarding this )
b) Believe me canoeing is tough. It’s not easy as it looks. For canoeing one needs to have powerful hands and legs with LOTS of patience and stamina in general and especially when the KAYAK is against the wind and waves. One just needs to practice for such a activity to control it and of course have a liking for water sports.
C) As mentioned above a single person sits with legs extended on the buttocks with no place to twist and turn the lower part of the body. Sitting in the KAYAK with legs stretched for long hours calls for strong legs and lots of stamina.
2) When one sits inside the KAYAK, it’s necessary to cover the mouth
( entrance of the KAYAK ) or the cockpit with a special sheet to keep the water away from entering the KAYAK. Removing water from the KAYAK, when in water is next to impossible. It’s like inviting trouble and sapping yourself of energy which is very vital when canoeing. If any water removal has to be done, it has to be done on land, usually by two people, since KAYAK’s are very heavy. It has to be turned upside down with each person lifting it’s side one by one to remove the water.
3) If you capsize ( the KAYAK turns upside down when in water with a person in it ) with the water protection sheet at the mouth of KAYAK, one should know the technique to come out of the KAYAK quickly and swiftly under water in few seconds. It’s very important not to panic and breathe correctly at this moment.
After spending almost half a day with the KAYAK I thought to myself well I guess this is it, end of this session and start of something NEW. NO this was not to be. A task which was thrown at us made my life a nightmare and yes, it was KAYAK related. Our task was to canoe for a about a km to another island, where our group had to put up tents and spend a night.
I wished, I hadn’t come for the camp. Is this a fun camp or a torture camp ? A km canoeing in deep sea ? Are the camp heads mad ? These thoughts relentlessly kept lingering in my mind till….. we were almost in the deep.
Deeper in the sea, our travel against the current, made things more difficult to maneuver the KAYAK, though we were travelling parallel to shore. More then hands, my legs started aching and I couldn’t take it anymore. My team mates were quite ahead of me. To make it worse I had slowed down since I was getting pushed sideways and more deeper by the waves, towards a gigantic docked ship, which in turn made me hit the paddle with more vengeance imagining horrible things. My mind was completely shut -
1) I was having unbearable cramps in my legs
2) Due to strong current I wasn’t moving ahead
3) To top it, I was pushed towards a huge ship which would have probably minced me and my KAYAK by it’s propellers, had it been moving.
I just had one thing on my mind, get out of the KAYAK and free my legs, I didn’t care about water going in the KAYAK. On an impulse I just took off my water protection sheet and managed to come out of the heavily bobbing KAYAK. I dared this, due to LIFE JACKET which was on me. I wasn’t scared of drowning. At that moment I just wanted to free my legs, which I did heaving a sigh of relief, stretching my legs holding on the KAYAK, ONLY to have my KAYAK filled with water. As mentioned earlier it’s next to impossible to remove water when the KAYAK is in water. I somehow struggled to take the water out of the KAYAK by turning and twisting it. It was a difficult task as water was constantly reentering the canoe as I was fighting to remove it. Thinking to myself that it was impossible to take the water out completely, I had to get in the KAYAK quickly and swiftly before more water could rush in, cause the KAYAK was bobbing up and down furiously. But HOW? As I tried getting in, the KAYAK would twist and turn and more water would get in. After a long play I somehow climbed the KAYAK, pushing myself through the KAYAK cockpit, without a care for the water which was still inside. I just had one thing on my mind “Destination – Island” for overnight stay. Although I was at my wits end and exhausted with this play of getting OUT and IN, I started for my destination with renewed vigour and strength mentally and physically.
And….. finally I reached the island as rest of the team mates were parking their KAYAKS on the shore. I was shuddering to even think of the next day travel from the KAYAK back to where we started from, but surprisingly the KAYAK literally glided through the water since the wind and water current were favouring us.
As things stand today, I can swim to save my life and others life. Though my Life Saver Certificate validity has expired long back, the Life Saver in me is still alive. I guess the know-how and techniques don’t have a validity period. Having said that, if I were to fall in the same kind of “canoe” situation I won’t require a LIFE JACKET at least for those couple of minutes I struggled then. BUT I will not hesitate to dial L J, my pal and saviour, LIFE JACKET which saved me from drowning and gave me strength for doing unimaginable things in the midst of the ocean, without fear taking over my mind.
Kip expressing :)
