A spray skirt (A) is disclosed for covering the cockpit opening (14) of a kayak (10). The spray skirt includes a fabric cover (24) for spanning the opening which includes an elastic band (B) secured around the perimeter of the cover for retaining the spray skirt about a rim (16) of the opening. The retaining band includes outer and inner elastic bands (30, 32) joined by a compressible bulbous retaining element (34). The bulbous retaining element is rounded and rolls over a lip (18) of the rim and compresses to interlock in a channel (36) beneath the lip. The inner band 32 is of sufficient width to prevent contact of the interior fabric (24b) of the cover from being abraded by lip contact. Upon initial rolling of the retaining element (34) over the lip, the entire retaining band snaps off the rim for quick removal.