Let us start with the important bit: with a life jacket on, in bay water, capsizing is not dangerous. It is inconvenient and mildly embarrassing. That is all.

With a wide, stable inflatable like the ones we rent, it is also fairly hard to do. But it is worth having watched the film before it happens.

First: do not let go of anything

In the half second you fall, the instinct is to flail. Try to:

  1. Grab the kayak. It is what floats and what holds you up. Never drift away from it.
  2. Keep hold of the paddle, or rest it against the hull. If it gets away, do not swim after it before you are back on board: you first, paddle second.

The life jacket does the rest: it keeps you afloat without you having to swim. Which is why we wear it, rather than strapping it behind the seat.

How to climb back on, step by step

Inflatables have a huge advantage: they do not sink or fill with water like a rigid kayak. You get back on from the side, at the middle of the boat — the most stable point.

  1. Flip the kayak if it has gone upside down: grab the central handle, throw one arm over and pull towards you while you lean back.
  2. Position yourself at the middle of the side, facing the kayak, both hands on the far edge.
  3. Kick hard a couple of times to get horizontal in the water, as if swimming. This is the trick: do not try to climb vertically, hauling with your arms. Without the kick you will not get up.
  4. Slide on belly-first across the hull, sideways, until your navel is over it.
  5. Roll into a sitting position and sort your legs out. Done.

The first time is awkward; the second time you know. With two people it is far easier: one stabilises the kayak by putting weight on the opposite side while the other climbs.

Practise before you need it

Seriously: make your first capsize a deliberate one, in warm water, ten metres from shore. Cala de Finestrat, small and sheltered, is the ideal place. Ten minutes of practice beats twenty articles.

And right now, in September and October, the water is still above 24 degrees, so there is no cold-water excuse.

What happens to your things

Anything not closed or tied goes to the bottom. So:

  • Phone in a dry bag and tied to the kayak with a lanyard.
  • Sunglasses on a strap.
  • Backpack clipped under the deck bungees.

It is all in the what-to-pack checklist.

Better still, do not capsize

  • Do not stand up in the kayak. Cause number one.
  • Take waves bow-on, never side-on. Broadside, a small wave will tip you.
  • Be careful transferring between boats or lifting someone in from the water: that is when most people go over.
  • Check the forecast before you go. With chop and an easterly it is a different day: how to read it here.

And if something genuinely goes wrong, we are not the kind of rental that drops the gear and vanishes: you have our phone number all day. You can see how it works on our full-day rental.