RECREATION : Small-Scale Cruises--in Kayaks

Like any sport that requires a piece of equipment that floats, kayaking presents novices with an overwhelming dread: how to get in and out of the darn thing without looking like Rush Limbaugh vaulting into an inner tube.

For Brad Bjornson, the ordeal was compounded by recent reconstructive knee surgery that left him hobbling on crutches. Still, Bjornson was determined to try kayaking, a sport he discovered through Malibu Ocean Sports, which offers kayak treks in Marina del Rey, Malibu and the Channel Islands. Bjornson recently joined the group’s two-hour moonlight paddle around the marina.

“I play a lot of tennis and like to bike and run, so I’ve been going nuts sitting around watching TV for two months,” said Bjornson, 40, a marina resident who signed up for the trek through the Learning Annex. “I didn’t need to use my legs at all in the kayak, so I really enjoyed the exercise.

“Kayaking is great by moonlight. First you see the sunset, and then the marina’s lights come out, and you can see stars and the glimmer of the city when you get to the breakwater. The paddles have light sticks on them, so when it gets dark, all you see are ghostly lights moving in circles.”

Bjornson used an open-deck kayak, a self-bailing boat that’s less tippy than closed boats. The new boats are designed so that “almost everyone can hop in and go,” said Sean Caples, owner of Malibu Ocean Sports.

On the moonlight paddle, Caples takes participants through various marina channels, pointing out celebrities’ yachts.

“We start out every group with a quick lesson in how to hop in and out, and how to stabilize the boat if it tips over, which it rarely does. Our ocean trips require a bit more mastery. People who are a little timid usually try the moonlight paddle first.”

Two weeks after his marina tour, Bjornson sank his timidity and joined Caples and 15 others on a kayak tour of Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands.

“This is my first week off crutches,” said Bjornson, limping down to the shore, paddle in hand, “so I’m ready for something more drastic.”

Bjornson spent the next three hours navigating golden kelp beds, peering through crystal water and gliding through the island’s caves. Some kayakers brought snorkel equipment, easily jumping in and out of their boats for a glimpse of underwater life.

Harbor seals occasionally poked their heads above the surf, peering at the neon-colored plastic boats that resembled huge plastic toys.

Caples gave ample instruction on how to paddle, demonstrating a figure-eight motion and a brisk backstroke that sharply turned his kayak.

“You have to be coordinated to do this,” said Suzie Matthews, who added that some novice paddlers initially find the strokes awkward.

“As soon as I got in that boat, I thought I was in heaven,” said Matthews, a nurse from Sherman Oaks. “I feel very independent when I’m in the kayak.”

That was the experience for those in single boats, said several kayakers on the one-day trip.

For others, the prospect of a two-seater posed additional challenges--such as deciding who should steer, who should take orders and just how close the fragile-looking boats should get to looming, barnacle-covered rocks.

Caples said most novices who initially try the double boats yearn for time alone in a one-seater. “It’s really a loner sport,” said Caples, who has been leading tours for 10 years. “And it’s very meditative.”

For information: Malibu Ocean Sports, (310) 823-6524, or Learning Annex, (310) 478-6677.