do you remember when you first did this

If you have been paddling for a while you probably have forgotten what it was like the first time you capsized. Some of us take it in our stride , while  for some  this is a traumatic experience.
Everybody is different, some learn quicker, others take more time. In the end it makes no difference but we all have to go through the learning process..
Capsizing is a fact in seakayaking, it happens to all of us sooner or later and the quicker we learn the various rescues the better off we will be.
Once you have mastered the technique in flat water look for more challenging conditions. We often see veteran paddlers get into trouble in rough water because they have not bothered to practice rolling or rescues and they think.....it cant happen to me......
We know that it can and it does
Heres a small video of the first time learning  and overcoming the fear of capsize.

http://youtu.be/HZZthgDWHLI

for some reason I cant embed this video in my blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZZthgDWHLI&feature=youtu.be 

winter makes a comeback

Last week it was summer, I got roped into putting away all my winter clothes and also packed away my winter paddling clothes, hell I even had my car cleaned

Then Winter came back in full force, cold and lots of rain, I scrambled to find those winter clothes and  pulled them out again,  the car will not get washed for a while , but out on the ocean we had a lot of fun

This morning started out with strong winds and confused seas, not great surfing but  still nice to be out  in the rough stuff. Yosi had his camera out this time and so theres a rare picture of me

Racheli took this one of me from the shore

Some waves are better viewed from behind.
It was a rare privilege to be out in the thunder and lightening this morning, and  soon the lightening sent us off the water. Lets hope winter sticks around for a while.

the ups and down of spring

As we go from winter to summer through our very very short spring, the changing temperatures from day to day and wild swings in the weather cause the sea to react as well. We tend to get rough wild water whenever the weather changes, making paddling quite a challenge.
Some days are great for surfing, others are better suited to sitting round  drinking tea or coffee and just sheltering from the wind.
After missing a paddling session I tend to get withdrawl symptoms and my body craves the water.
Yesterday I  went out with Yosi, he in his new Zypher, all shiny and green. When we got to the rock that we usually surf, we were faced with a couple of really huge waves that made us both turn and run for our home beach

My camera is not mounted on my deck and all my pictures are hand held, but yesterday I didnt manage to get any pictures in the really rough stuff, no I didnt want to let go my paddle.
This morning the sea was still wild, smaller but strong. Zohar and I went out for a play session. the waves were no good for anything except bouncing about. We played in the soup zone for a while and had a lot of trouble punching back out after beaching .  Just when you think you have made it , along comes a large wave and pushes you back. Heres a short video showing Zohar playing in the waves. You definitly need a strong roll in these conditions.

I managed to loose a lens from my glasses in the surf, I guess it was bound to happen in such rough stuff.

At least those withdrawl symptoms have been held off for a while now.

birthday cards

My birthday was in January ,
idit gave me tha card with the waves and Lynn had made me a little cutout when I came back from a kayak trip.
they fit great together
thanks Ladies

new buoy in the neighbourhood

Today we visited the new buoy, its been there since the desalination plant became active some time ago.Its painted black with two red horizontal  stripes  and two round balls on top. This is an Isolated danger buoy, signalling boaters of a danger in the area and thus an irresistable attraction for us kayakers.If there is a light on top its white and flashes 2 flashes every 4 seconds.I guess we will have to make a night paddle to check if its working

Just east of the buoy there are a couple of areas of water full of bubbles rising from the sea bed. this is one of the pipes from the desalination plant about a mile shoreward. It makes for an interesting visit in a kayak

On the way back we stopped off at The Rock for a couple of great surfing waves and met Amitai and Israel who had been surfing all morning