Nearly swimming

This afternoon, Anton and I met up at the usual spot for a paddle. Finally my intentions worked and I got there in time to do a bridge lap before Anton arrived. My shoulder felt heaps better straight away, and I felt good in the K1. It was very gusty, and I was just thinking how much more confident I felt in these conditions now, when BAM, a gust of wind grabbed my paddle and I nearly lost it. Well, I was soooo nearly swimming. I did a serious couple of braces, nearly lost the paddle in the wind several times, not quite sure how I pulled it off, but managed to stay upright. Confidence...gone!
Anyway, when I got back to the boat ramp Anton was ready to paddle and we headed up to the point. At least if I fell in heading that way, I knew I had easy re-entry spots. Anton was in his TK1, so the pace was a bit faster than when he paddles the Mirage. It was a solid paddle up and back, and my shoulder was starting to niggle a bit by the end. The wind was really gusty and several times, I was caught off guard and had to brace, but I managed to complete the session without swimming, so I guess I am getting more stable in this K1. We decided to do another lap up to the powerlines and back, and then called it a day. In all I covered about 9km, and had a nice solid paddle. The shoulder held up better than I expected and I think it'll be right to do the club race on Sunday - my first club race in a K1.