A few weekends ago, I was lucky enough to take a kayaking course on Cazenovia Lake through the Fayetteville L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery School.
You may have seen the green trailer in Lakeland Park near the swimming area — that’s where you meet for the 1.5-hour Kayak Discovery course. In the past, I had done some short kayaking trips but never had been taught the proper technique. For these classes, you don’t need to bring anything other than weather appropriate clothing — all other equipment and safety gear is provided.
The class started off with the instructors, Nancy Sellers and Cliff Hopkins, introducing themselves and getting to know the experience level of each person in the group. We were then given oars and taught the proper way to carry them (which is holding them upright, like a flag pole) and went to the grassy area of Lakeland Park to learn the proper rowing technique.
You are not to just “windmill” the oars, Hopkins explained, but should rotate your body to the side you have in the water as you row. To turn, you need to make two wide circles on the side opposite of the way you’re turning, and then push forward with the oar on the side you want to turn. To stop, simply alternate putting the oars in the water on each side to give resistance.
The group was also taught about the proper safety equipment that should be worn, such as life vests and close-toed water shoes. After the on-ground demonstrations and time spent practicing, we took to the kayaks. We launched from the swimming area and turned left toward Gypsy Bay Park. Along the way we practiced turning and stopping and were told to point kayaks into oncoming waves rather than riding them sideways.
Sellers and Hopkins gave some information about the area in which we were kayaking, and I even learned about the steamboat that sank in the lake a long time ago.
After we had spent our time out on the lake, we headed back to shore.
“I thought it was really nice,” said Brennan Jolly, 13, of Manlius, who took the course with her parents and younger sisters. “I had been kayaking before but never knew the technique.”
Shawn Jenkins, director of the Outdoor Discovery School, said the main purpose of L.L. Bean offering these courses is to get people comfortable doing activities outdoors. Jenkins also said it’s a good way for people to try out an activity without purchasing all of the equipment and realizing it isn’t something they want to pursue.
“L.L. Bean has always been about making it as easy as possible for folks to engage in outdoor activities and we do this in a number of tangible, demonstrative ways,” said Jenkins. “Our programs were deliberately, intelligently designed to remove the most prominent barriers to participation, those being price, time commitment, access to equipment and venue, as well as instructional know-how.”
Currently, the Outdoor Discovery School offers kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and fly casting classes at Cazenovia Lake.
The price for the kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding courses is $25 for the 1.5-hour discovery course.
Full moon, sunset and fall foliage kayaking courses are also offered at a price of $59 and the four-hour introduction to kayaking course costs $69. The 2.5-hour introduction to stand-up paddle boarding course is $55. Also offered is a three-hour introduction to fly casting, which costs $69.
Coming soon to the Lorenzo State Historic Site will be a shelter building course, map and compass course and course on outdoor photography. These range in price from $35 to $49.
The L.L. Bean retail location in Fayetteville Towne Center also offers informational clinics on different outdoor activity topics, many of which are free to attend. To see the full offering of courses and events, and to sign up for courses, go to llbean.com/fayetteville.
