learning to dance on waves and kayak building

Yesterday and today the sea was a real playground, a bit messy in the waves with no real structure which makes surfing difficult but lots of fun. Rami was out there with his video but had some tech problems and so we didn`t get any nice shots. Today the waves were smaller , ideal for learning to manage for newcomers. Only Nir stayed after the morning run to begin his learning stage in the waves. Luckily the water and weather was not too cold. There is only one way to learn to handle waves and that is to get out there in the surf and practice. Bracing low and high, surfing forwards and backwards and rolling in the surf time and time again are the only way to get confidence and skilled at handling this part of the sea. Once you can master these conditions its the same when the waves are bigger, they are just a lot more powerful and everyone will find their own limits.It is definitely worth while to spend time in the soup zone and it makes kayaking a lot more fun.
Today I started stripping the deck of the Greenland Night Heron, its amazing how quickly it goes.
See the photos in the web album
http://picasaweb.google.com/nseligster/ProgressReportForTheGreenlandNightHeron/photo#5171661306021356034

happy birthday Iris and kayak building report

So what did we have today? our trip to the Dead Sea was cancelled which left a few of us very disappointed, but on the other hand we had a nice paddle in the wind and then a birthday party for Iris with cakes and wine Later on I came home and worked on finishing the hull of the Greenland Night Heron. It has taken me a week of intensive work but today I finished the hull, I have put in about 45 hours up to now and it is going really fast. I am often asked how long does it take to make a kayak and up to now I don`t know as I never logged the hours. So this time I am keeping a building log to see just how many hours it takes. I guess I shouldn`t count the time that I just stand there and marvel at the beauty of all the wood as it turns into a fantastic kayak.

lunch at the club

Menu of the day, shrimps , moules, rice , salad, focacia .
Nothing beats eating outside when the weather permits, and today was one of those days. A spontaneous picnic at the kayak club turns into a feast with great food , good wine and great company.So what if we cant go paddling, at least we can have fun doing other stuff together.

building report

Heres a short update on the kayakbuilding .
I have gone quite a long way with the hull , rounding the corners is easier with narrower strips and I use elastics or some type of rope to hold the strips together while the glue dries. One bit of advice I read was to use hot glue, but It didnt seem to be strong enough .If the glue was faster it would be better.
http://picasaweb.google.com/nseligster/ProgressReportForTheGreenlandNightHeron
Heres a link to the album with a few new pictures.

fun on the water

Saturday morning the sea was still nice and big, waves about 1 to 2 m at the rock and nice dumpers at the shore.Getting out was something of a challenge for a couple of us but most managed without a hitch. Paddling south with nice swells and into the wind was a nice change and then the return leg with the wind behind us made for some interesting times. One capsize and a good rescue made a good tale to tell.
Once all were safe and sound a couple of us went out to surf the big ones at the rock.And there were a few really large breakers out there.I caught what seemed to be a nice sized one but realised too late that it was a monster, it flipped me over and carried me down for what seemed like a very long time, I just managed to keep hold of my paddle with one hand and when I tried to roll it took me 3 attempts to get up.In those conditions taking photographs is quite a challenge and so there are no real good pics. Later on we went closer to the shore to play in the smaller waves.What fun, we were there for about 3 hours before having to call it a day. And what a day it was.

and now the video

chasing rainbows

Somewhere over the rainbow....... kept coming into my head this morning as we walked down to the beach for our regular Friday 7am paddle.What a great view, and Hadas was singing the song right next to me. This is the pot of gold right here on our doorstep. How lucky we are to be able to paddle all year round. I hear tales of kayakers getting almost stuck in ice on the water, of waiting 3 months before being able to get out and loosing all the fitness that they built up over the warmer months. So we should count our blessings and enjoy every minute that we can out on the water.

Homemade kayak building report

Today we couldn`t go paddling as the sea was too high?? really.
So I used the time to make some good progress on the GNH. I finished putting all the forms on the strongback, made sure that they were all lined up nice and straight and began the stripping process with the first strip which is the sheerline. This marks the joint between the deck and the hull of the kayak Then turned the frame upside down so that I can strip the hull first. It looks like it will go quite quickly. I am just waiting to receive the red cedar boards that I ordered last Friday and then its all systems go. So far it looks pretty good to me.I love the feeling of watching the kayak take shape bit by bit, its like something growing under my hands. There is a strong connection to the boat which gets stronger as the process proceeds and you put more and more of yourself into the boat.

sink your teeth into this

It looks like a good eating fish that Eyal caught today.I have to admire his persistance. Every time he goes out he trawls his line behind his kayak, mostly bringing up plastic bags, or loosing his lures in the rocks, but then now and again he gets a nice sized one that makes it all worthwhile.
Maybe I should try it too since I was recommended to eat fish at least 3 times a week .
There are fish around, we see them jumping and even flying around us as we paddle past, and then there are all the fishing boats from Jasser Azarka that ply the waters, mostly though they bring up empty nets. It looks like this area has been fished out and you have to be really lucky to get something that you can sink your teeth into.
On the other hand you can always get fresh fish at the local supermarket but its a lot less fun.
My new kayak is comming on quickly, I have almost finished building the frame and should be able to begin striping next week, just need to take a few more days off work.

Homemade kayaks at last

Today I began working on my new project, building the Greenland style Night Heron, an 18ft [5.5m] strip built sea kayak with a low back deck for easy rolling.The first step is to cut out all the forms and string them on a strongback to make the frame for building. Once this is done the stripping can get underway. Avital is also getting on with her Guillemot S, she has put on the sheerline and has begun stripping the hull. Here are a couple of photos of both of our projects. I have to have a hip replacement op in March and so have one month to get as much work done as possible .
See you on the water.

friday 1 feb 2008

This morning there was a trace of the storm of the last few days, shorelines have changed , beaches are strewn with debris and stones and there was a slight swell with nice easy waves for surfing. I attached my camera to the deck when we went out and this is what I got.We went out to the pier of the Electric co. where the coal ships dock to unload their cargo and then slalomed between the pylons, then went to our rock for some surfing. What a great way to start the day.And we get to do it again tomorrow.
At last the plans for Hadas`s new kayak have arrived and so I can start building. I am going to make her a strip built Greenland style Night Heron.I will keep progress reports here on my blog. The plans come from
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/NHG