I’m On a Boat Ya’ll

. . .. I’m on a (small, bright yellow, non-motorized) boat!

Kayaking from beach-to-beach was an amazing way to spend my Birthday morning.  Megan and I rented a two person kayak in Manly and went on a self-guided tour of the Harbour.  Along the way, we stopped at small beaches that I had never seen before (the only way to get to certain beaches was by boat!).  It was a beautiful morning and such a perfect day to Kayak.  Nothing was going to get in our way. . .except for . . .maybe a ferry!!!

The ferries that travel from Manly to Sydney are large ferries.  They sit 1,000 people!  Megan and I were able to avoid the ferries by staying close to the shoreline and near the beaches.  After passing by 4 small beaches, we decided to kayak across the harbour to the other side (we were feeling ambitious).  So, before crossing we looked left, right, left. . .actually right, left, right here- ha, I don’t remember if boats (like the ferries) travel on the opposite side like cars!  And it was CLEAR!!!  Paddle, paddle, paddle.

When I say it was clear, I mean that there were no ferries traveling near us at that time.  There was one way off in the distance near Sydney and another at Manly Wharf, but they did not seem of concern.  When we crossed the harbour, the waves were large and it was so much fun to paddle through them.  We made it to the middle of the harbour and then, to our surprise, started to see the ferry at the Wharf start to steam.  Oh. No. Paddle faster!!!

After around 30 strokes, I looked to my right and the ferry had started to move, but it seemed like we were still in the same place.  So, we kept paddling (very quickly and without a break) to finally get out of the way!  I wish I would have recorded this because 1. I think we would have made the Olympic Rowing Team with that video and 2. We probably looked pretty funny when we were paddling.

And, I don’t know if it was the constant paddling for a long period of time when crossing the harbour or because of the long time that we spent kayaking, but my shoulder was kind of numb the next day!