 HANK ANDOLSEK has been kayaking for 10 years. He is a Registered Maine Guide, registered in sea kayaking and recreation. He has taught kayaking for several Maine outfitters, and runs workshops on Greenland (traditionial Inuit) paddling techniques. Andolsek, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, also builds Greenland kayaks and paddles.
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Q: What was your first sea kayaking experience?
A: My first experience was with some friends. I borrowed a boat and we went from Portland's East End Beach out around Cushing Island and back. I was hooked after that. Later that summer, I took a lesson from a local outfitter.
Q: Where's an easy and nice place to get started?
A: Any place that is relatively sheltered from wind, waves, strong tidal currents and boat traffic. Freshwater lakes and ponds also make good venues for learning the basics, and as an added bonus, the water is usually warmer.
Q: What do you like about paddling in Maine? What makes it special?
A: I enjoy cruising along any rocky coastline. I like kayaking in shallow water because there is so much more to see. I like being in the transition zone between land and sea. Maine has so many beautiful areas to paddle it's difficult to choose one favorite location.
Q: What's your most treasured piece of gear?
A: I believe equipment should be used and with use comes wear and tear. I don't really treasure any piece of equipment, although I like any gear that protects me while on the water. I try to take care of all my gear, but I also enjoy using it in ways that are sometimes hard on equipment. If you downhill ski you have to pay for a lift ticket to enjoy the sport. My sea kayaking expenses include paying for repair to damaged boats and broken paddles.
Q: What are the key items everyone should always have in or on a kayak?
A: I personally carry a deck mounted compass, chart, paddle float, spare paddle, signal whistle, rocket flares, signal mirror, tow rope, water, snacks, spare clothes and either a cell phone, or VHF radio. I'm a firm believer that you should be responsible for your own actions. I have means of attracting attention and getting assistance if I really need it, but my skills and common sense are my best tools for avoiding trouble. It really bothers me to see kayakers heading out across a shipping channel with nothing but cotton shirts and shorts on and PFDs [personal flotation devices, or lifejackets] attached to their rear deck. These people are just asking for trouble.
Q: How does one choose an instructor or guide?
A: Make sure they are Registered Maine Guides. Guides get certified in different areas so make sure your guide is certified in sea kayaking. If you are going camping on an island, your guide should also be certified in recreation. However, you don't have to be an experienced kayaker to be a Registered Maine Guide so just having the certification doesn't guarantee that person is a great teacher. Also, ask around and try to find someone who has taken a course from that instructor.
There are some other certifications you can look for. BCU, the British Canoe Union, certifies instructors and so does the ACA, the American Canoe Association.
Q: Any tips on what to look for in a class?
A: The instructor to student ratio should be 1 to 6 or less. Look for the lowest ratio.
Also, make sure a guide has all the appropriate safety gear — wet suits, a tow system, pumps, all they would need to keep you safe.
Q: Is it better to go in a group or one-on-one?
A: There are some advantages to being in a group. You can learn a lot from watching other people's mistakes and successes. Also, if you are intimidated by anything, someone else might be as well, and watching them deal with it can be helpful.
Q: If you are afraid of the water, does that make it hard to learn?
A: It shouldn't be a barrier to learning, but it does help to be comfortable in the water.
Q: What are some pitfalls to avoid or misconceptions that beginners have?
A: A lot of people think it will be hard to come out of the boat if they capsize, that you will get stuck in the boat. It's easy to come out of the boat; you just pull the spray skirt off.
Q: What are some common mistakes that beginners make?
A: The most common mistake is that people aren't loose enough. You need to be loose in the hips and keep your center of gravity nice and low. That's why women tend to have an easier time since their center of gravity is usually lower than men's.
People also think they can put their life jackets on if they go into the water so they leave their lifejackets in the boat or strapped to the deck. Same with wetsuits. You cannot put your wetsuit on when you are in the water. People often misjudge how cold the water is.
Q: Can anyone learn to kayak?
Anyone who has a general level of fitness, has two good arms and no injuries. That's why sea kayaking is so great. It's not limited to people with high physical prowess . It's relatively easy and people with a range of abilities can do it. I've taught people in their 80s and kids who are eight.
Q: What's the most important thing you need to enjoy kayaking?
A: You just need to enjoy being on the water. If you are prone to seasickness this won't be fun. You also need to not mind getting a little wet, maybe a little sunburned.
Q: What are the first things you will learn in a class?
A: The basics — how to get in your boat so you don't damage the boat, how to get out of the boat so you don't drown. Then you learn how to go forward, how to stop and how to turn.
Q: What if you go sea kayaking with a friend and not a guide? What's the most important thing to know?
A: Make sure you have a plan in case of emergency. Take five minutes before you set out and talk about what you'll do — what you'll do if your friend capsizes, and what your friend will do if you capsize. Talk over a side-by-side rescue or just make sure you establish a plan ahead of time, especially if you've never kayaked together.
Q: Are there any rules of the water that are different for sea kayakers?
A: It's different on the water than it is for sailing. For one thing, the kayaker does not have the right of way. Never assume that another boat is going to move for you. Also, you want to stay out of the shipping channels and boating lanes. So in general that means you stay on the outside of buoys, between the buoys and the land. The "red right return" saying about keeping the red buoy on your right as you come in to a harbor does not apply. You want to be close to and parallel to the coast. If you do have to cross a shipping channel, cross at the shortest point and go straight across. If you are in a group, stay close together and cross in a tight group.
Q: Can you describe your first capsize or the worst thing that's ever happened to you kayaking?
A: My first "dump" is still the scariest thing that's ever happened. I was inexperienced and out paddling with two other inexperienced paddlers. I got caught in unpredicted high winds, maybe about 40 knot winds, coming from the northwest. So I was getting pushed out to sea, away from land. There was a strong current with big standing waves. We were all in different types of boats that were taking the wind differently so we got spread apart. I got hit by a wave and did a brace, but the next wave finished me off. I went over and tried to do a roll, but only came up enough to get a breath of air. So I set up again and made the roll on my second try. I knew that if I had to come out of the boat, the boat would be gone.
Q: Are there any types of kayaks that are better for beginners?
A: You just want to find a stable boat, and that doesn't necessarily mean a wider one. A wide boat has a lot of primary stability, but in really rough water it's worse since it has less secondary stability. A boat with a really curved keel is better for turning, but is harder to keep on track if the wind is strong.
Also, you want to learn in a boat that doesn't have a rudder. It's best to learn to steer the boat with paddle strokes. The rudder is meant to trim the course of the boat, not to steer, so you should stay away from using rudders until you have learned how to control the boat without one.
Q: Is there something that you do that most other kayakers don't, or you'd advise
against for a beginner?
A: Kayak in the winter.
Q: What special features exist in Maine that someone coming here would need to be aware of?
A: Maine has very high tides. If you are from the southern part of the U.S., you won't be accustomed to our high tides. Also the water's pretty cold.
— Interview by Melissa Kim, MaineToday.com
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MAINEJOBS
Watch a video of Hank as he demonstrates two self-rescue techniques, an Eskimo roll and a paddle float self rescue, a technique involving a float that goes on a paddle blade, turning the paddle into an outrigger. 
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