and now for something mildly different

Today,a cold wintery day, perfect for paddling in the warm waters of the Israel Electric Company.
Off we went, and after a short dip in the current we decided to go up the river.
 Alongside the power station is the Hadera river, a park has been created for recreation, and on the weekends it is quite popular, but today its deserted.
There is a small estuary where the water runs into the sea making a portage needed and then you can paddle upstream for about 15 minutes till you come to a barrier. I have not been past this  but others have and it leads into the industrial area of Hadera.
There were lots of fish jumping all around us and the river was brown and who knows how clean, but it made for something different .
Too often we just do the same old stuff day in and day out, so a different route can suddenly turn your day into one of adventure and discovery.
What a great way to start the day.

can you explain this one?

This is not what you would expect to see while paddling along the shore

So we came in closer to get a better look

If parking in the surf zone,its advisable to close your windows.. Now how to explain this one to  your wife??

perfect practice makes perfect.

Going through  the rocks today we had a capsize

Luckily Efrat had learnt how to do a rescue at our symposium and now was her chance to put it all to good use

Everything went according to the plan

Its good to practice from time to time

And everyone got home safely .
 Its not too difficult but if you don`t practice, when the time comes for a fast rescue things can go wrong. At least the water is still not too cold and the days are still warm.
 Good one Efrat.

Application of symposium lessons in real life

The first thing Jeff taught us about incident management is prevention. And this makes a lot of sense, for if your preparations are good and your decisions are based on good experience then your incidents will be minimal, hopefully so. 

Today we had wild rough seas with dumping waves, not conducive to good surfing, especially for a long kayak. My decision was to stay in the bay and just fool around in the breakers

Yoni on the other hand was on a Chaos surf kayak and spent some time at the rock  trying to catch the waves. He had some successes but didn`t stay too long

Dror was there too

And now back to incident management
. Do you carry a repair kit with you when you go out?
 Can you fix a broken paddle if you are miles away from home?
Well this little agricultural aid may just be the thing you need to keep handy. It`s for joining irrigation pipes, this one is 32mm, just the size of my Werner paddle.

these are the components

Heres` my Werner, actually its a few years old and the original joint had broken, and it was just sitting around because I hate to throw old stuff away. I always think that some day I`ll be able to use it,  fix it or do something with it  The one day Izzy showed me how to fix it.

Here`s how the parts go together

And finally , also you can have any angle feather that you like.
Now I realize that it`s a bit bulky, but so what, it can get you out of trouble  and may save your day.
Your paddle remains a 2 piece and the cost is minimal.
Something to think about if you go out in rough water or play in rock gardens.

what did you learn at kayak school today

I learned to do a Eskimo roll with Helen Wilson

We learned the secrets of the forward stroke with Ben Lawry

And we learned leadership, incident management and rescues with Jeff Allen

There was always someone in the water

We were always getting into and out of trouble

Kayaks had to be repaired on the water

We played in the waters round ancient Ceaserea

Jeff likes to be in the moving water

Zviki being rescued by Jeff

We swam our kayaks onto the rocks

This was a first time for most of us

Don`t scratch your new kayak on those rocks
Everybody who took part in the symposium went home with a deeper understanding of the art of kayaking.
 For some it was the Eskimo roll, others improved their paddling style and stroke and others learned rescues and incident management. It was a fantastic 4 days of total immersion in seakayaking and I loved every minute.
Thanks to Ehud and Avigail, Hadas and Yossele and of course to Jeff, Ben and Helen and everybody who took part. See you again next year.

at first and then now

2006, Kid was a beginner kayaker

Now she`s progressed to surfskis and is taking part in races and beating the boys. That`s progress, just look how the style has improved. Rotation,. straight arms, legs working ,and all the right stuff, great work Kid.

Today ,wind waves and clouds and a big group

Nice big swells out in the ocean

Setting out and punching through the waves

Yossie has this bright orange flap on his hat,fantastic visibility, I can see him from a great distance

Big boat, small boat.