seal landing...maybe

There`s this nice reef that we go through on our way out of the bay, on calmer days the waves are not too threatening and the passage is uneventful. When the sea is too rough we have to use another outlet. Today it was an easy passage and we even had thoughts of a seal landing on the reef. Both Hadas and I are reluctant to try this with our wooden kayaks as the potential for serious damage is daunting, but I can see the day when we attempt it in the Rotomods. These are real tough plastic kayaks and can take a lot of punishment with ease.As far as I know its a matter of good timing, catching the wave at the right time and surfing onto the rock. Sounds like a challenge. To be continued..............

rough water again

Well we seem to be getting a lot of practice with rough water launching these days. What fun, I dont know why we don`t launch and land and launch and land all morning. Today I managed not to loose anything at all, no sunglasses no hats no nothing. What a great day, and one of these days I am going to find that spot under the sea where all the lost items are hiding. There must be a huge treasure of sunglasses, hats and the like which have been swept overboard , maybe also the odd sock that always seems to get lost in the washing.

another week on the water

Well I thought that my Olympus mu 790 had met its match and rusted out when it suddenly stopped working one day last week. And when talking to others with the same camera came to the conclusion that this is not really a great waterproof camera.Then I decided that maybe I should just try a new battery and lo and behold when I put in the new one it began to work better than before. What a relief. So I still have a little faith in the old Olympus.Others including the famous Silbs and I think also Derrick are using the Pentax Optio. I wonder which is the better of the 2 and how long do they function for. This is my second one , the first packed in after 2 months and was replaced under guarantee. These small cameras are very convienient, small and handy as compared to the larger camera housings , but the housings are probably a better bet for the long run.

keep your head down

The eskimo roll seems impossible to master at first and then one day it all clicks into place and it becomes an effortless dance. In between there is a lot of practice, frustration and many small successes. There are some people who manage to roll at the first try and then there are the rest of us . Mostly its a period of trial trial and trial, with a lot of help from you friends. One thing that I have noticed is the insistance of keeping your head down right to the end when you come out of the water, there is a tendency to throw your head to the opposite side in the hope that this will carry you over. This is a BIG MISTAKE, in fact the opposite is the case. If you can learn to keep your head down, lock your eyes on the paddle blade and stick your ear to your shoulder until youi are upright you will find the roll becomes effortless, but you need help to see yourself. And so I have tried to show the end of the roll in a series of photos, notice where the head is , and what you are looking at, if you are looking down at the water and your paddle then you are on the right track.

rolling lessons

Instinctivly we all seem to lift our heads when first learning to eskimo roll, but this is the biggest mistake we can make and if not corrected in the early stages can haunt us for the rest of our rolling lives. And even so most of us are unaware of the fact that we are doing it.The remedy is to bend forward, tilt your head to your shoulder and lock your eyes on the front blade of your paddle, then when you roll keep looking at the paddle blade until you are upright and still looking back and down. Easier said than done but thats what you have to strive for.More later.

how to launch through the surf

Actually if you wait a bit and go out through the lull between sets you dont have to fight the surf, but on the other hand it makes for some nice photos .Pay attention, Ehud is in a blue wilderness kayak, he doesnt go out often but he still has great technique as shown in his photos.

25km from poleg to sdot yam

We planned to leave Poleg beach at 6am and paddle to Sdot Yam 25 km north. 16 kayakers from Optimist club met at the Poleg beach, checked their kayaks and set out , leaving the beach at 6.30 for an easy days paddle. the wind was mild, about 15knots sw and the swell low with small breakers on the beach. First coffee stop after about an hour and a half on the beach just north of Havazellet.Tea , coffee and food left us feeling energetic and ready to continue. Part of the group now split off and made a straight dash to Sdot Yam, about 14 km, the rest of us took it nice and easy and had a pleasant stress free trip arriving next at the beach at Olga[we had to bypass China Bay due to the large dumping waves] for another refuelling, and then the last few km to Sdot Yam. It was a leisurely trip and enjoyed by all. Along the way we had a few rolling sessions mainly to cool us down. No dolphins were sighted and the fishermen we passed reported no fish caught.

welcome home eli

Good news first, Eli came home after a year travelling in Australia and New Zealand, the flight arrived at 7 am and we were at the airport to fetch him. This means that I had to miss my Wednesday morning paddle.[The bad news] As I also missed the Tuesday paddle due to a lecture that I had to attend I was beginning to feel that tingly sensation that takes over when your body doesnt get its fix.Not to worry, by 11am we were in the water, Eli and I dashed down to the beach, Kayaks on the roof and in no time at all we were paddling away in the choppy waters. Amazingly he even remembered how to roll, as he demonstrated after a quick review of the technique.And then we played in the surf for about an hour and a half. Its great to have him home again after all this time and hopefully I will be able to infect him with my love of kayaking. So far so good

no surfing without helmets

We have a dilemma, we encourage our paddlers to learn to ride the waves and have fun in the surf but when you have a large group of kamikaze surfers all trying to get on the wave at the same time the danger level goes way out of control.Helmets are mandatory for anyone in a club kayak, private owners have to use their own discretion, but given the ammount of traffic its highly advisable to invest in a bit of cranial protection. This video shows our friday morning group catching waves at the rock, a reef just about 200m from the shore which produces some great surf.Love those waves.

girl power

Mostly its the girls practising in the surf, ok and a couple of guys too.

Go for it girls, it gets better all the time

how to manage in the surf

I admit it, I am a surf addict, just can`t stay away from the stuff, and the bigger the better, {up to a point} Trouble is its very hard to get good pictures in big surf so today I was on the shore taking pics of our members learning to play in the waves. My camera has a shoot and select function which allows you to take a series of action shots in rapid succession and then choose the ones you want. Its great for these situations , you can see each fraction of a second and follow the motion from catching the wave, beginning the brace and then either flipping over if its not right or side surfing to the shore.Look and learn, and then go back out in the surf again and practice.