Team Building in #Kayaks: #Paddling Your Way to Success

CNY Kayakers End of the Season Banquet Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 

By Pete Koerner
Team Building is more than just a new catch-phrase in the business world. Success in business means having a winning team; and the difference between a winning team and a losing team is found in how well they work together. There are many different kinds of team building exercises and evolutions available to businesses today, but perhaps the most interesting team building activity of them all is kayaking.

Kayaking offers something to both business leaders and their teams. Unlike many team building activities that can generate resistance among employees, kayaking is a fun and exciting activity that is becoming more popular each day. As one of the big growth industries of this decade, there's a good chance kayaking is something most employees have been wanting to do for a while -- and are chomping at the bit for an opportunity to try it. By setting up a group kayak outing, business owners can give their employees what they've been wanting while accomplishing a valuable business objective.
Without trying to make more of it than it is, a simple kayak excursion -- using tandem kayaks -- will accomplish several team building goals. First, paddling a tandem kayak requires two people to communicate and cooperate in order to make the boat go where the team wants it to go and do what they want it to do. Without stating this as an objective, everyone on a tandem kayak outing will quickly learn to work as a team while accommodating different paddling styles. There simply is no other option.
A second team building objective is met when each two-person team is launched into the fray and must maneuver their boat along with several other boats as they all adapt and learn on the fly. It's not unusual for a large group of tandem kayaks to spend several minutes bouncing off one another as the individual pairs gel as a team and, finally, the group takes shape and starts paddling as a flotilla. Within minutes, a group of individuals has formed working teams that have formed themselves into a group with a common destination and goal.

When people share new and exciting experiences and learn to work together as a unit to overcome a challenge and complete a task, bonds are formed that will transform a group of individuals into a team. Kayaking provides opportunities to overcome challenges in a fun and enjoyable setting while giving employees a great experience and wonderful memories they share with their co-workers -- which further brings individuals together as a group. Most important of all, kayaking, unlike most team building evolutions, is something employees will look forward to rather than dreading and resisting or avoiding. And, as a group, they'll look forward to it time and time again.

Pete Koerner has been a Professional Kayak Instructor and Guide for over 16-years, as well as being a 26-year Fire-Rescue-EMS veteran. Pete, along with his wife, Jennifer, owns and operates Up The Creek Xpeditions in St. Marys, Georgia.

Up The Creek Xpeditions has provided Corporate Team-Building and luxury resort kayaking services to clients such as The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island Plantation, Cabin Bluff and several Fortune 500 companies since 1997 with a Perfect Safety and Customer Service Record. Up The Creek Xpeditions provides the very best in professional kayak guiding and instruction and, because of our Public Safety background, has the highest safety standards in the industry. Visit: http://www.UpTheCreekX.com to find out more.

Or, you can email us at: KayakUTC@Gmail.com.

Also, feel free to contact us by phone at (912) 882-0911. Videos of some of our trips can also be seen on our YouTube channel: UpTheCreekX.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Pete_Koerner/175321

http://EzineArticles.com/?Team-Building-in-Kayaks:-Paddling-Your-Way-to-Success&id=7077577

Building the Half Moon #Kayak

Kayaking Butterfield Lake

By Dale S Nelson
When I was ten years old I had to do a project for my grammar school class. I always wanted to build a boat, so the plans for my first kayak took form in my imagination. There were several criteria that this project had to meet to be successful. The first was cost, as my budget at ten years of age was non-existent. Second it had to be of a modest size as it would be brought to school when finished. The materials had to be something that was not too difficult to find lying around the apartment house where we lived. I found round bottom wooden barrels that varied in size. I cut out a portion of the round barrels following the outer radius to form the ribs, or more precisely, the frames. Using the largest barrel at the center and progressively using the smaller bottoms toward each end, the boat would taper toward each end. To tie these frames together, I would need some kind of long, strong, flexible material. Back in those days, rug cleaners rolled the rugs on long bamboo poles that were later discarded. I found several of these and, with my father's help, we found we could split these poles down the center and fasten them with screws to the barrel bottoms.

This made the horizontal structure we would use to stretch a heavy canvas cover over the entire boat. At each end, we made sharp wedge shaped pieces of old 2"x 12" construction lumber forming a shaped bow and stern piece. The long pieces of bamboo were fastened to these bow and stern blocks. When this was completed, my father invested in some heavy canvas and a liquid that would saturate the canvas making it water-tight. I can still smell the pungent odor of that liquid to this day. We installed narrow pieces of wood on the inside to sit on. Finally, we painted the hull blue with two half moons at bow and stern, christening her the Half Moon. The boat was finished.

I was anxious to launch this marvelous craft, but it was March and the small stream near our house still had some ice on it. No problem. With the great consternation of my Norwegian grandmother, we brought the boat to the river. I got in while my father stabilized her, and off I went. The first thing I noticed while paddling was the Half Moon was very tippy as her hull shape was virtually semi-circular. A fact, I would remember to pay attention to in my later boatbuilding projects. I managed to paddle a short distance down the river and made landfall without tipping over. So, if kayaking interests you, take the plunge and get out on the water.
Dale Nelson lives in Newport, RI and has always been active in the boating community there. He frequently paddles on Narragansett Bay and along the coast.

If you want to learn more about kayaks or you want to purchase a kayak, come to [http://www.oceanstatekayaks.com].
Article written by Dale S. Nelson
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dale_S_Nelson/1249210
http://EzineArticles.com/?Building-the-Half-Moon-Kayak&id=6823008