who let the dog out

I have come across this dog swimming with his best friend  from time to time. It always makes me smile. I guess its a variation of taking the dog for a walk, and they go for about 2 or 3 km. that`s a long swim.

Today was a perfect  day to go rock hopping,

I was looking for every passage between rocks that I could find

Some of our paddlers followed me, most didn`t.

With the flat water and low tide it looks impressive

plastic boats are perfect for this as they are pretty tough

a slight swell makes timing important

the more steering strokes you have the easier it gets

we all had a good time though

friday and saturday at sdot yam

Friday morning the sea was quite high with surf about 1+m.

Mission of the day was to get the group out and back in in one piece

for some reason there was good discipline on the water and the group stayed together all the time.We even got to practice some rescues in more than flat water.

coming back can be a challenge in the large surf, but we all made it successfully

Lunch time at the Optimist kayak club

In the afternoon the wind had picked up to a strong northerly with wind waves of over 1m

when this happens the rest of the world comes to play , making paddling an extreme sport

We went out against the wind for about an hour

going against the waves they seem much bigger than the other way around

going home we ran with the waves surfing all the way. What a great day

Again we stayed in a tight group.

the movie

thats all folks

Helen showing how you can get tangled up in a Greenland paddle, better not try this one at home

Ben had us doing all sorts of rescues on the water

this is the scoop rescue

A rare picture of Ehud, our big BOSS

Dont lift the boat , keep it on your deck to drain the water out

all in and cowboy rescues all day long

towing into the wind

cleopatra`s needle and rescue was quite a challenge

there was a lot of discussion

Izzy was very patient while his kayak was being emptied

more cowboy rescues

keeping the group tight and close together

Helen and Hadas  having a ball

Our guests of honour
Now its all over till next year, and we have a lot of stuff to practice and pass on to all those who didn`t get to come and meet Ben and Helen. I must say it was a great experience, to eat sleep and drink kayaking for 4 days. Many thanks to Ben and Helen for the great lessons and company and also to the Optimist club, Ehud Avigail, Yossele and of course Hadas.

in search of the perfect forward stroke and some other stuff too

 Today Ben gave his forward stroke class. We began on the grass with the basic theory of how to sit, hold a paddle and the dynamics of the stroke

Helen on the other hand took advantage of the sunshine

Ben`s explanations and demos are pretty clear and exact, leaving you in no doubt of what you need to do to get it right

both on and off the water

at the end of the day we all got to see ourselves on the video with an analysis of the good the bad and the ugly.

Ben uses video for teaching and its a great tool

while we were working hard, the other group were having some fun and games on the water

ahoy there

our annual symposium, second day, this time with Ben Lawry

Ben`s lessons are always interesting, and thought provoking

why do it like this and not like that is often asked

Hadas and Ben in a serious moment

principles of towing discussed and demo

balance is always an interesting subject

some are more balanced than others

swimming you boat to shore is a good exercise and always an eye opener

`Ben

how to drain the water from your upturned boat

where the hell did that pink paddle come from

and now how to get back into your boat the easy way

scrambling on a raft

is a lot of fun

and quite difficult

the low brace

Theres always more to learn and to improve and the importance of practice was impressed on our group.

We all had a great day with   Ben