winter paddling

Winter is a great time for seakayaking here in Israel, its not cold like in northern Europe or USA, and the water gets down to a minimum of 15C at the coldest. Usually round about February. Sometimes we have winter storms with rough water and wild confused waves, these are great days for playing in the surf

Other days the sea is like a glass lake and when the tide is out more of the rocky reef is exposed creating new scenery and playing spots for us

Its a great time to try out the new Greenland paddles that we made

and hone our skills by going in and out between the exposed rocks

We get new scratches on the bottoms of our boats

but if they are plastic who cares

Its more serious for new owners and their carbon or fiberglass kayaks

The low water exposes the reef  the seaweed dies and leaves a characteristic smell in the air. In a while new growth replaces the old

Meanwhile we have fun going in and out of the channels between the rocks, 

The only problem in winter is the cold makes it more difficult to pee and instead of jumping into the water you have to scramble onto the rocks in order to not get wet. Soon its going to be new year so I will take this opportunity to wish everybody a HAPPY NEW YEAR, hope 2014 is a great one for everybody and keep paddling.