Every Inch a Sailor NOT!

Our second RV park on the pilgrimage to Duck Lake SK was a warm and sandy location on the east side of Osoyoos Lake. In the heat of summer, this part of the lake is jammed tight with tents, trailers and noisy jet skis. In June, deserted except for hardy Europeans with rented RVs. Turned out our beach was less than a click across quiet water from the border, an easy hop with leaking water wings. I took my kayak across the first morning without knowing about the dotted line and discovered later that I might have been confronted by armed guards if I'd tried to leave my boat.

Blarney got his first ride in a kayak that same morning. His lack of enthusiasm was pretty evident by the way he wiggled as he was handed across the water gap between us, but once he was in, he settled with a little help from my knees clamped over his rear end. After the first voyage and pictures, we took him in the bigger boat for a longer cruise, with Joan holding him firmly. He clawed onto her, head over her shoulder then head inside her life preserver. No amount of coaxing would make him relax. When the bow hit shore he turned ballistic in his attempts to get away. "Maybe a little practice and he'll get used to it," I said, not too confidently. For now, Blarney is not a happy sailor.