Quote Originally Posted by Irulan View Post
if you are not in a spray skirt, don't forget to sunscreen your feet!
And if you are wearing shorts - on your thighs. OMG, the burn I got on my top/inner thighs the first time I went kayaking was bad. I hadn't worn sunscreen on my lower body because I thought I'd have a skirt. My legs were FRIED.

I agree very much with the recommendation to try rocking your boat a bit while still near a dock (or another boat or something you can hold on to). It really helps to get a feel for how tippy it really is. And relax (if possible). Being totally tense makes it harder to control the boat.

Oh one more thing - if you are renting, make sure the place sets you up correctly in the boat with (here is the key) both foot rests at equal distances. One of the girls on our trip had her foot rests slightly unequal and she had a very hard time controlling the boat. She kept always leaning to one side and turning even when she didn't want to!

And have a blast!!