Kayaking to Catalina Island - Part 3

"Twenty-six miles, so near yet far
I'd swim with just some water-wings and my guitar"

           "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)"
             by Glen Larson and Bruce Belland

The 10 UCLA Marina Aquatic Center students and instructors who will journey from Cabrillo Beach to Avalon on October 1st won't be swimming or using water-wings – they'll be paddling kayaks. They're not novices. They've been training for this every weekend since June. 

One of them is John De Rago, an I.T. Director for an online fashion store. He started kayaking at the UCLA MAC about four years ago and now helps with classes as a teaching assistant.

"I love motion and absorbing the outdoors whenever I can," says John, who regularly competes in triathlons. He and his wife, Traci, are familiar faces at the MAC. Having lost family members and friends to cancer, they both believe in living to the fullest.

"There's so much scenic beauty in our world that I would be amiss in not experiencing it at least fifty-two times a year," he says. A 1985 UCLA graduate, when John isn't on the water he enjoys mountaineering, cycling, rock climbing, and running. 

Kayaking is a popular year-round sport at the MAC. UCLA students can use the facility's sit-on tops free for two hours -- no training required. Non-students pay a nominal rental fee. Some of them get interested in sea kayaking.

There are four Sea Kayaking classes. SK1 gets you on the water. Gives you the basics so you can decide if this is your game. SK2 gets you on the ocean. 

The SK3 and SK4 classes teach you about handling waves, rip currents, surf, beach landings and launchings, and paddling in the wind. You learn recovery methods with names like the "eskimo roll," the "T-rescue," and the "cowboy scramble." You learn towing methods like the single, the one towing two, the in-line, and the tandem tow. You learn the variations of each stroke technique.

You start reading the kayaking magazines and blogs and forums, if you weren't already. Like so many of the expedition's participants, you assist with kayaking classes and also come out to paddle on your own. The sport's language becomes your language. You attend clinics and retreats. That's what you do to get ready for 26 miles of open water and eight to ten hours of paddling. 

For this trip, the participants will use kayaks with names like the Current Design "Storm" and "Squall," the Necky "Looksha" and the Perception "Shadow." Each is a bit different than the other. Some are longer, some are wider, some have different deck shapes. Each participant chooses the one that best suits their paddling style and body size. It fits. The kayaks might belong to UCLA, but when they're in it, it's their boat.  

As the weeks have gone by, the training distances have gotten longer, the drills a bit more challenging. The kayakers preparing for the expedition sometimes follow long elliptical courses and sometimes paddle up the coast and then retrace their path. They're usually on the water for much of the day. Absences were frowned on, but no one dropped out. They became a team, sharing not only the training but also their thoughts, their hopes, their dreams. 

"I want one of these students to lead a Catalina paddle some day," says Brendan Nelson, the MAC instructor leading the expedition. "That's a goal of mine. That, and having fun." 

In the fourth installment of this series, we'll meet the other MAC kayakers in the expedition and learn more about their training and what they hope to gain from this experience. 

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