Paddling along I sometimes have this scandalous, sacrilegious thought. Kayaking along the Thames is fun, don't get me wrong. But then you see the rowers going passed twice as fast, and then there's the dinghies sailing by. I remember once seeing something pretty staid like an Enterprise or Wayfarer hoist a spinnaker and just had to sigh.
The thing is kayaking is slow and hard work. With a sail you just hoist it, cleat it and lie back and relax (apart from that small boat starting with L which has no cleat).
On the Thames there are so many different ways of travelling by water, almost all of which are faster and require less effort, that one has to wonder why choose a kayak.
But on the Wandle last weekend it all made sense. No other vessel could go down that stream, up a much bigger river, the Thames, or even across something as wide as the English Channel.
Raise your paddles high for the mighty kayak (or canoe)
