Boys Camp by Kitson Jazynka

Author:Kitson Jazynka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

“Okay, now let’s move these kayaks over to the put-in. One person at the end of each boat to help carry,” said Jamie. As the boys moved each of the hollow, plastic boats closer to the water, Jamie asked, “Who here has paddled before—anybody? Canoe? Kayak? Rowboat? Crew shell? Gondola? Punt?”

“I went canoeing last summer,” said Yasu.

“I went bird watching in an inflatable kayak last year with my granddad,” said Nate.

“I paddled a rowboat in a pond once,” said Vik.

They looked at Zee. “Paddle ball?” joked Zee. “Does that count? That’s a kind of paddling, right? How about Ping-Pong? I’m an ace with a Ping-Pong paddle.”

“Not quite the same thing,” said Jamie, chuckling. “For one thing, the kayak paddle is double-ended. You hold the kayak paddle with your hands about shoulder-width apart.” She demonstrated, holding the paddle level in front of her, elbows bent. Then she twisted at the waist to show how to paddle left and then right. “Okay, Yasu. Let’s get you in first.”

Jamie and Yasu each grabbed one end of the lime-green kayak and lugged it to the water. Jamie made a spinning motion with her pointer finger and they turned the boat around, facing back-ward. “Yep, you go in backward,” she said. With his paddle in one hand, Yasu stepped into the cockpit, sat on the seat, and tucked his legs into the hollow space in front of him.

“Piece of cake,” Yasu crowed.

“Good,” said Jamie. “Easy does it.”

The kayak sat with its back end in the rippling water. Jamie bent down and, with one scraping heave, shoved Yasu and his kayak into the water.

“Anchors away!” Yasu yelled. Afloat with the lake at his back, he tried to balance the double-ended paddle across the opening in the cockpit. He squirmed a bit, rocking the boat, and then righted himself.

“Bon voyage!” called Zee, waving exuberantly. “Later, gator.”

“Okay, funnyman,” said Jamie. “Just for that, you’re next.” With two hands, Jamie grabbed an apple-red boat and put it in the same position that Yasu’s boat had been a minute earlier.

“Aye, aye, captain,” said Zee, saluting. He stepped right up and put one foot into the cockpit. Then he reached down to hold on to the side of the boat while he put in his other foot. The kayak wobbled, but he sat down quickly so it didn’t tip him out.

“Just slide forward,” said Jamie, smiling. She stood above Zee. “You got it.”

The rest of the boys launched in quick succession while Zee steadied himself. He quickly learned that if he leaned a little too much to one side, the boat tipped. Too much paddling on the other side, and the kayak veered straight into someone else’s boat. Wham! Soon, of course, with all the kayaks in the water, there was a cacophony of crashing and splashing and paddles whacking against one another as the boys shouted and cheered.

“Kai-yi-yi-yakkety!” hollered Zee louder than anyone else.

“Settle down, kayakers,” said Jamie. “Follow me.” She got into her own kayak and then taught the boys to paddle forward, backward, stop, and turn both ways.

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