It’s a Tuesday afternoon, but nothing about this day is ordinary. Right here in Connecticut, a team of marine specialists pack in a van, on what seems to be just a typical weekday. This group is heading off on a wild journey that doesn’t guarantee a safe return, and some risk the chance of never seeing their families again. What most would consider an undesirable experience, kayaking is something these students do every single week.
These few students take the plunge into one of Connecticut’s roughest bodies of water and the shark-infested Long Island Sound several times a week. Just getting your hands on this type of equipment is extremely rare, as only several million people have access to these types of cutting-edge and advanced apparatuses. After the students have suited up, it’s only a matter of minutes before they enter into the realm of the unknown. Kayaker Arianna Gonzalez-Wagner ’16 said, “At the end of the day, I think [kayaking] demands more than crew physically, and that’s not easy; but you begin to crave the adrenaline.”
Anything can happen out there on the water, so it’s not surprising that several of these group members report capsizing, and a lucky few have even had encounters with the Great Whites (waves) that encircle the kayaking site. These daredevils paddle through the shark-infested waters only to encounter some of the roughest rapids Connecticut has to offer. Moving at speeds of over 2 miles/hour, this group faces the threat of capsizing and even the chance of never remounting the boat and straying from the group. Gonzalez-Wagner continued, saying, “I sometimes question my decision to join kayaking. What have I signed up for? Is this rush worth the risk I’m putting myself in?” Violent water currents can push a hopeless kayaker like Gonzalez-Wagner away from her boat and towards the waterfalls that are sometimes as high as twenty five stories.
In an interview with the group, I asked a few questions about their life off of the water. The students unanimously agreed that their favorite pump-up song was “Row, Row, Row Your Boat;” however, their favorite artist was FloRida. If they had to have one app of their phone it would be KaYikYak. And finally, most admitted to canoeing as their guilty pleasure.
Extreme kayaking is a sport known to few, but it’s making big waves in the States and the town of Wallingford already. These brave souls congregate several times a week, never knowing if it will be for the last time and never seeking the glory that comes with being an intramural kayaker. Proceed with caution if you bump into one around campus; these thrill-seekers are known to be more dangerous than the art of kayaking itself.
