Kayak Adventure Gone Wrong

 

Today on Pine Island we took the pedal kayaks out. Usually we take the double kayak out but after Martin’s little mishap yesterday, paddling is not a possibility for him. In fact typing is a bit of a stretch.

It all started when…

Martin dropped my toothbrush on the floor next to the toilet. Like a loving husband he actually told me he did this rather than just rinse it off and put it back. *thank you* 

We biked the 8.1 miles to Winn Dixie to pick up some groceries and a toothbrush. The bike ride was lovely, but I was pretty tired and sweaty by the end of the 16.2 mile ride. As we were putting away the groceries, I remembered – TOOTHBRUSH! Ack! 

Being terrified to drive the Honda Odyssey because of the airbag recall and not wanting to bike another 16.2 miles, we decided to check out Four Winds Marina store to see if they have a toothbrush.

Let’s take the kayak to the marina!

Four Winds Marina is about 1/3 mile by foot away from the house. By kayak it is a little closer. Plus, boating to a location is still a novelty for me.

We plopped the double kayak into the water, forever thankful that the baking soda had absorbed the dead fish smell from when we forgot the kayak in the water while in New Orleans (lesson learned!) and paddled away.

Near the marina we noticed a 2×6 board floating in the water, well most of it was underwater, but the top of it was still floating. It looked like a dangerous situation for a boat motor. We decided to take it out of the water.

Looking back, taking a waterlogged 2×6 board out of the water while in a kayak was probably a bad idea.

Since I was in the front of the boat, I grabbed the board while Martin paddled us over to the sea wall.  

With all of our strength, we heaved the heavy board out of the water and up to the sea wall. We only had to lift it about a foot, but it felt like 10 feet. “Ouch!” Martin yelled. Oh man. What happened!? Oyster shells that were attached to his end of the board had cut his hand. I turned around to see blood everywhere. 

Now it was my turn to paddle. 

I paddled as fast as I could over to the marina where Martin climbed out of the kayak and made a b-line for the bathroom, blood dripping down his arm and onto the dock. Well, I thought, good thing his medical insurance card arrived in the mail today. 

He was able to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on the wound and holding his hand over his head. We went into the store.

No. They do not carry toothbrushes.

Back at the house, I used a tweezer to pull a piece of shell out of his hand and we cleaned the wound. No, the cut was not deep enough for stitches (too close for comfort though!). 

Using a ruler as a splint, I helped to bandage him up. He didn’t want his fingers moving since every time they did, the wound would open up again. Now he likes to make little shooting gun noises from his bandage. 

And this is why today we took the pedal kayaks for a ride instead of the double kayak.