Long distance kayaking trip is one of the best sport moments to a lot of people.
It is one of the best times you enjoy with your family and friends on the water.
But before you embark on it, you have to make sure that you take time to figure out how it is going to be.
This is when you make plans towards the kayak trip.
In the planning time, a lot of things will be put into consideration.
This cuts across the start location of the trip, inspection of kayaks to use, food and drinks to take along and the destination of the kayak trip.
This is to make sure that the trip is filled with fun and success without casualties.
Tips On How To Plan a Long Distance Kayak Trip
1) Choose The Right Kayak
Anytime you are on the water with your kayak, one of the important safety tips to remember is to avoid overloading your kayak.
This is a very bad thing to do.
To avoid this, you have to make sure that you know the weigh capacity or weight limit of the kayak to be used.
With knowing the weight limit of the kayak, do not go above it.
This means that your weight and the weight of other things in the kayak should not be above the kayak weight limit.
That is why you should make sure that you check your weight and that of the items like the snacks, bottle water and drinks you bring into the kayak.
The total weight of these should not be above the weight capacity of the kayak.
2) Make Sure Your Inflatable Kayak Has No Hole
When you are using your kayak, it is very important to make sure that you do not have water coming into your kayak.
One of the ways in which water comes into a kayak is when the kayak has a hole in it.
Once there is a hole in a kayak, the kayak should not be used for any kayaking trip.
One of the things that causes a whole in your kayak is when you drag your kayak on a rough surface.
When a kayak is dragged on a rough surface, the friction between the kayak surface and the rough surface will create damages on the kayak.
This develops a hole in the kayak when you keep dragging the kayak.
Kayaks to be used for a long distance trip should be free from holes no matter how small it might be to avoid cases of kayak sinking.
3) Know The Number Of People For The Long Distance Kayak Trip
When planning for a kayak trip, you should make sure that you know of the total number of people that will participate in the trip.
With that, you will be able to properly select the right type of kayak for each person.
This is because a fat person with much weight might not be able to use a kayak in which other people with less weight are using.
In this case, a kayak with a good weight capacity should be provided to the fat person to avoid drowning or kayak flipping over.
4) Choose a Start Location
Before the long distance kayak trip begins, there should be a place where all the participants take off.
A great long distance kayaking tips is to make sure you choose a good location.
With a good location choice, it will be easy for everyone to take off on the trip safely.
5) Budget For Some Food And Snacks
One of the things that is needed when engaging in any sport is energy.
Energy is what you will use to be able to participate in a sport.
Kayaking is also a sport that needs energy too since you will be paddling your kayak all through.
When it comes to a long distance kayaking trip, more energy is needed.
That is why you have to carry some food along when you are involved in kayaking that spans across a long distance.
This will give you strength in case you become weak during the kayaking trip.
But in selecting the food to carry along, make sure that it is not something that will cause running stomach.
6) Make Sure You Are Physically Fit
Kayaking is a sport that demands fitness in your health.
With a weak body, you will not be able to move your kayak effectively.
This is because for your kayak to move, you have to paddle it in the direction you are heading.
This required the person in the kayak to be physically fit.
In a kayak trip that involves a long distance, the fitness of the person in the kayak must be good.
If the person in the kayak has a bad fitness, it will slow down the movement of his kayak.
This will cause a delay in distance covered.
As a result of an unfit person in the team, other people kayaking will be delayed.
7) Avoid Turbulent Water
One of the flaws of a kayak is that it does not perform very well in highly turbulent waters.
This is due to the nature in which the kayak is built.
Kayaks are built for recreation and sport competitions that are not related to extremely turbulent waters.
When you put your kayak in a water that is very turbulent, you run into a risk of your kayak flipping over.
That is why turbulent water bodies should be avoided especially when you are kayaking across a long distance.
8) Use a Personal Floatation Device
When you are kayaking, you have to make sure that you practice all the possible ways that will keep you safe from casualties.
One of the best things to do while kayaking to maintain a high level of safety is to make sure that you use a personal floatation device.
With the use of a life jacket, the casualties on the water body is reduced.
In a long distance kayaking trip, you have to make sure that you wear your life jacket irrespective of your level of experience in kayaking.
This will help boost your safety when you are kayaking on the water.
9) Use a Communication Gadget
Communication is one of the most essential things in life.
During a kayak session, the participants should be able to communicate with the next person kayaking.
Also, a communication device that is capable of communicating with people that are not close on the water is also very necessary in case an emergency sets in.
A mobile phone will be a good device to solve problems like this.
10) Carry Some Sugar Source
As you kayak, one of the things you will face is tiredness.
This might not be felt on all parts of the body.
One of the places you will feel tired when you are kayaking is your arm.
This is because the arm will be the one to do majority of the work when you are kayaking due to the paddling of the kayak.
This will lead to fatigue and loss of strength after paddling for a long period of time.
To refresh your strength, you need some sugar intake.
This is easily available in some drinks.
The drink will also help you feel refreshed.
This helps in making the kayak trip fun filled.
11) Make Use Of The Weather Forecast
A great long distance kayaking tips is to make sure that you check for weather data from the weather forecast results.
This is to make sure that you do not encounter casualties like heavy storm.
Another thing to avoid is water entering your kayak due to rain fall.
This is very dangerous and can cause the kayak to exceed it weight capacity limit.
Kayaking while raining is not also good for the health of the person kayaking.
If you discover that the weather is not good, make sure that you shift the kayak trip to a time when the weather will be good.
This is because it will lead to hypothermia which is a very deadly disease if you still continue to kayak in the rain.
12) Carry Enough Water
As you kayak, you will experience a loss of water in the body.
This will normally occur when you are sweating due to the energy you expel while paddling your kayak.
Dehydration is one thing that is very bad when you engage in any sport.
To avoid its effect from causing harm to your body, you have to make sure that you carry some water along.
In carrying water along during your kayak time, make sure that it is not too much.
This can cause a negative impact on the weight capacity of the kayak.
13) Choose Your Destination
When you plan a long distance kayak trip, you have to make sure that you also choose the destination of the kayak trip.
The destination of the trip is where you will finish or end the kayak trip.
In choosing the destination location, you have to give priority to the safety of the place.
On the water, there a lot of casualties in which people run into.
One of it includes thieves on the water body.
You have to make sure that you avoid such places when you are kayaking.
14) Carry Some Cash Along
Anywhere you go, one of the things you should avoid is an empty pocket.
This also comes into consideration when are kayaking across a long distance.
At some point, you may need to purchase something.
This can be during the break times before you continue on your journey.
The money to be carried along should not be too much.
But also make sure that you carry your debit or credit card along incase the physical cash you carried is not enough to take care of what you want to buy.
15 Choose a Place To Relax
Irrespective of the length of a long distance kayaking trip, you have to always stop at some point to relax.
This relaxation will help you regain strength for the trip ahead.
That is why places of relaxation along the places you kayak across should be identified when planning the kayak trip.
With this, you will be able to gain more energy when you relax.
16) Determine Kayaking Duration Before Taking a Break
When going on a kayak trip that is long, breaks have to be taken.
This is one of the ways you can kayak for a long period of time without feeling much fatigue.
But when there is no provision for relaxation, the trip will not be enjoyed.
That is why you have to make sure that you include relaxation places in which people in the trip will be able to regain strength before they proceed on the trip.
This break period should not be done anyhow.
It should be done per time interval.
This could be like taking a break after every two hours.
It can also be done by taking a break after some distance interval.
This could be after every ten kilometers.
Further Reading