I was out in Maine for a 3 star sea kayak training and assessment. I hadn't had much chance to get out on the open water this year. In fact I had been doing about 3 days a week of whitewater and 2 days a week of flatwater. Were talking really flat here, it is a glorified lake. I was helping instruct and that was about all the on water practice I was getting before taking this training and assessment. Needless to say the conditions were not nearly as bad as I was making them out to be in my head. The training went very well and I feel I learned a lot. I have a few areas for improvement but who doesn't.
The big story was the assessment. Everyone was a little nervous but we quickly relaxed and started joking around. Near the end as we were heading back I decided to go in between a few rocks with the large ocean swell. No problems. The problem was when I turned around to go back through the swell picked me up, turned my boat and dropped me bow and stern up on the rocks leaving me suspended upside down head in the water. After a wet exit, I came up laughing. I had just been the "victim" in a rescue about 10 minutes ago and had just warmed up. Here I was back in the water and could barely get my boat up off the rocks. I really wish I had a picture of the whole thing. Good news was I passed the assessment and was praised for having a good sense of humor and good attitude.
