and theyre off....

The second of three surf ski races held at Optimist took place this morning. there was a good turnout, I guess about 20 racers

The conditions were not exciting, flat water, no wind or waves, more like olympic paddling

Some of optimists entrants

Someone should tell Eyal that he just cant keep up with them.
Hope the sea is more exciting for the last race in the series, from a spectator point of view.
 Surf skis are relatively new here, and are becoming popular with paddlers who want a good work out and are looking for speed. They are also great for surfing and can catch the swells for a great ride.
Well done to all the competitors. These boats demand a high level of technical skill and lots of practice and our guys are improving all the time. Maybe its time for me to get one too?

the changing raging nahal hadera

2011, to get to Nahal Hadera we  have a short portage on the beach into the river

then we paddle upstream in shallow water with a rec area on the right

Here we are facing upstream, behind the wall is the power station

2013 after the winter storm  the river is transformed. See the brown bush on the north shore and compare it to the green bush on the north shore[looking upstream] in the previous picture. Its the same bush

Going upstream today with the rec area on the right you can see how the river is fuller than at any other time

There may even be some new paddlers this time too

And the biggest surprise is the outlet to the sea, instead of portage we can paddle straight out into the sea

Todays paddle was a nice surprise, oh how we need more water in this desert country

dead sea med sea

Here we go again, The Dead Sea 2013, we do it every year round about this time of the year. The weather is usually pretty nice for winter, warm and dry.

There are a lot of new paddlers in the club and for them the first time is usually a challenge

We had a really windy start to the day, and paddling into the wind with the spray in our faces is a bit daunting. The water is very thick and oily and tastes disgusting  so paddling through the wind waves is a real experience

There were more than 30 kayaks out there 

Shelter in a small cove with interesting chocolate rocks behind us

As always interesting salt formations line the shores

Lunch at a fresh water spring with water bubbling from the bottom. a nice place to rest

Salt crusts on Davids face

Setting out through the waves, not a common sight on the Dead sea

I was also well salted at the end of the day

Meanwhile back at the Med Sea on Saturday the waves were building

Out at the Rock the surfers were having a great time

Nice waves for a morning surf

Kayaks and sups were sharing 

My Petrel is in dry dock getting some repairs so I had to sit this one out today. Better get  done soon 

First paddle of 2013

Warm water on a cold day, its a nice playground if you like moving water

playing in the foaming outlet from the Electric Co can be a challenge

there`s always something to learn

you can play in the eddy

or you can paddle against the flow

or you can cross the stream and try to keep your direction

and afterwards you can celebrate , mostly there`s someone with a birthday or some other excuse for a party.What a great way to start the year.