December 26, 2021
Conquer what scares you. We kayaked in Orne Harbour this afternoon. The kayaks are daisy chained to a Zodiac and pull away from the ship. The sea was choppy with chunks of pack ice all around. The water temperature this morning is 32F. Air temperature is 37F and the winds are 12-15 knots.
It wasn’t the kayaking that I found scary, I’ve done that in milder waters. it was being so close to this immense sea of water with the realization of what lies beneath the surface. The possibility of a whale breaching nearby freaked me out. The kayaks were bobbing like apples in a barrel. You literally hop into the kayak from the Zodiac while at sea is rocking an uneven cadence.
They suited us up with specific neoprene technical gear for this activity, along with a different type of life jacket. We were plenty warm wearing the proper gear. For each outing, we had hot packs in our waterproof gloves and boots. Those helped a lot. If anyone is interested in this type of adventure, I would emphasize the need for waterproof outer gear…not water resistant.
