the fear factor

Yesterday the sea was getting higher and higher, and today the sms came in at 6.05, the morning paddle has been canceled due to seas too high . As usual this means that all those with privately owned kayaks and no fear will turn up at the beach to see if we can go out on not. The decision to paddle is our own, and we take full responsibility for anything that may happen. To take a group of kayakers of mixed ability and skill levels out in rough seas is a heavy responsibility and one that is not taken lightly, and so if the sea is anything like dangerous, Ehud will rather postpone or cancel the outing, but if you own your own kayak you can choose what you want to do.
Anyway there were a few of us out today in high seas, and I must admit to feeling a bit apprehensive at times when seeing this huge wall of water rushing towards me . I decided not to surf at the rock, the waves were huge and of the dumper kind,not my favourite conditions for surfing, so 3 of us went out to sea and then came back. Mickey decided that the sea had calmed down again and headed off to catch some waves, Shahar and I decided to play in the shorebreakers. Zohar was on the beach and got some nice photos of us in the surf, meanwhile Mickey had come undone. He had caught a large wave, flipped over and broke his paddle , then his forward bulkhead failed and his kayak filled with water preventing a reentry and roll and making a rescue very difficult. We decided the best thing to do is to tow him back to shore. As I had the only towrope it was up to me to tow a swamped kayak and a not too small paddler and his stabilising friend back to shore. I can tell you that this is very hard work, and not a job to be taken lightly especially in large surf.
Lesson of the day: make sure your kayak is seaworthy and that all the bulkheads and hatches are in good working order, and always have a spare paddle.

High Seas today

Nice rough water today, everyone was smiling all the time

Yochai`s new kayak

Yochai has just finished building his Night Heron and today he brought it for the official launch.

The fleet of wooden boats is growing and all additions are welcome. I wish you many hours of happy kayaking in your fantastic new boat.

bungees ropes and strings=oops

What a great day in the surf, huge waves and not too cold. But wait, trouble ahead. I have a pump under my bungees on the front deck for those times when a bailout is needed, and it is attached to the deck lines with a short cord to prevent it getting lost or washed away. It has come in very handy in the past and is essential gear .Yesterday while surfing, I flipped over in a rather large wave and while attempting to roll felt something holding my paddle, not letting me get any movement. At first I thought I had broken a paddle but then discovered that the paddle had become entangled in the cord holding the pump to the decklines, thus preventing a roll and causing a wet exit. Thus is experience born.

cloudburst

The weather changed over the last couple of days, the sea rose up and gave us swells and waves for a few days of fun. Yesterday and today were overcast and rain was predicted. This morning we went out for our morning paddle at 0700, the sea was lumpy with shorebreakers and a bit of wind and in the distance we could see the approaching storm.We finished our outing after about 2 hours and while waiting in the clubhouse the rain came down in buckets. The club has a tin roof and you can imagine the sound of the rain drumming it, it gets so loud that you cant hear anything else.


In a moment we had rivers running down to the sea, the second group of paddlers had to give up and come back as the wind was gusting in sudden strong attacks.


And then when it was just about over we had 2 brave souls get in their boats and go play in the water. All in all a great morning.


Later on I went to see a new kayak almost finished, Yochai has been building a new Night Heron and launch date is coming soon, be sure not to miss it.

Way too much sun...maybe

Yesterday just as we came back from our morning paddle and were chatting in our boats before going ashore he came up to us all excited"you have to come and listen" he shouted, "the sea is talking, you have to come and listen". Hadas and I looked at each other with a knowing look, of course it must be the exposure to the sun and he is a psychologist anyway, we thought. So as not to cause too much of a scene we went with to listen. It really was magic, there is this channel in the reef which we call the Channel of Death, on a rough day its a real challenge to negotiate through it , but yesterday the sea was flat calm and the swell was very gentle, rising and dropping without any threat. As we entered the channel and just listened to the sounds we could hear the sea talking. As the water rushed in it caused little puffs of air to squeeze through the rocks bubbling and sighing, like a giant breathing and snoring away. He was right, the sea was talking. I tried to capture the moment on a video, be sure to listen carefully to the sounds of the sea.

fun in the surf