KAYAKING

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across a body of water. Due to a large array of water bodies on the island especially a very large beachfront, Sea Kayaking in Sri Lanka has become very sought after a mainstream activity that locals as well travelers like to engage in. A kayak has a structure that is low-to-the-water, with a canoe-like appearance with the paddler sitting facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Kayaks were created thousands of years ago by the Inuit, formerly known as Eskimos, of the Arctic regions. They used driftwood and sometimes the skeleton of whale, to construct the frame of the kayak, and animal skin, particularly seal skin was used to create the body. These were extremely sturdy for their build materials and the vehicle has retained this exact same shape throughout the world. By the mid-1800s the kayak became increasingly popular and the Europeans became interested. German and French men began kayaking for sport. Incidentally Kayak races were introduced in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. In the 1950s fiberglass kayaks were developed and commonly used, until the 1980s when polyethylene plastic kayaks came about. Kayaking progressed as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s when it became a mainstream popular sport.