something to sink your teeth into

lessons learned

2009-11-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

Today we were smarter than yesterday.

The sea was still rough and had large waves, the group was more selective and more disciplined too. Yesterdays events were on all of our minds as we headed into the surf. We had more towropes as well.

Going out was an adventure in itself with at least 3 capsizes.

The group stayed together and when it was time to return all behaved very well.

One by one we came home until one of us capsized, rescue was quick and effective and the capsizee was helped back into his boat and at the same time was towed into safer waters.

Once safely out of the danger zone he was released and allowed to paddle to shore . His kayak had a lot of water in it but he managed to maintain control very well and get ashore without mishap.

It can happen that you get swamped and do not have time or opportunity to empty your kayak immediately, then you have to paddle an unwieldly kayak until you beach or bail the water out. I remember one exercise we did with Jeff Allen, we all capsized, all had to do a self rescue, close sprayskirts and continue to paddle with swamped kayaks. It was a good eyeopener and learning experience. Yes you can continue to paddle a waterlogged kayak albeit with some difficulty and more skill. I guess you should practice this for when it will be needed
When we were all back on shore it was time to go and play in the waves

look what they did when I wasnt there

2009-11-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

This morning I had to miss the 7am outing, but planned to go out a bit later. I arrived at the beach at around 8 and went to have a look at the sea.
Ehud told me that the group was coming back as the sea had risen and they decided to shorten the outing.

I went to watch and saw the kayaks coming in. In rough weather there is a safe passage through the reef where the waves don`t break and we usually come back through this gap. From my vantage point I saw Hadas signing the way and the group begin to land. Then I saw one kayak capsize, but didn`t take much notice because it happens to newcomers quite a bit, and if they are past the reef they usually get rescued or washed to shore.So I went back to the club and found Ehud on the phone to Rami. Now Rami lives on the frontline of the beach and has a great view of the sea. He was watching and told Ehud that there were a few in the water including Hadas.
It sounded out of the usual and so I got changed and ran down to the water with my kayak thinking that I may go our and help with the rescues if needed.

By the time I got there they had all beached and were discussing what had gone wrong.

One of the kayaks capsized and was rescued, but another in a homemadekayak also capsized and because his kayak doesn`t have bulkheads it flooded and was impossible to right. He was being swept into the rocks and 3 others tried to rescue him. Hadas had given her towrope someone else and none of the other rescuers had one. Not good. A huge wave then lifted them all up and threw them onto the reef causing various injuries to kayaks and kayakers. All are ok now and one kayak has minor damage to its prow.
Lessons have been learnt and advice given, and the next outing will be a lot safer.
We all went back to the clubhouse to celebrate Zohars birthday with cake and alcohol and then I went out to play in the surf.

same movie, different producer

2009-11-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

Heres my version of the surfing, but as I dont have any videos from Rami, I don`t appear in the show

perfect waves for surfing

2009-11-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a fantastic day for surfing, calm seas and well formed waves gave us a fantastic time in the surf. both Rami and I had our cameras with us but as you can see it takes a lot of skill to make a surf video from on the water. sometimes you just put your camera in your pocket and have fun in the waves, but then its hard to describe to your friends.

greg`s rolling lesson through vered`s lens

2009-11-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ok so i`m still going on about our symposium, forgive me but seeing that we dont have too many of them round here they make a big impression on me. There were lots of us with cameras and everyone has a different point of view. This shows up strongly in each ones pictures or videos.
So here`s a great video of Greg giving a rolling lesson and demo to a group of aspiring Greenland rollers.

eat .sleep .paddle........last day

2009-11-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

I confess, I stole the headline from the back of Bens head.

But it does seem appropriate as thats what we have been doing for the last 3 days.

This last day was divided into BCU assesment by Jeff, Greenland rolls with Greg and fun and games with Ben in the wind.
[the right place for a short nap before the afternoon session]
It was a very windy day with gusts of 20plus Kn.
Perfect for a lesson of how to manage in the wind, direction control, using the wind to help turn you kayak and managing to stay on course without being blown into foreign waters by the winds.
For Jeff the sea conditions were way above 3 star levels, and everyone managed to do the recommended tasks, staying upright, towing with and against the wind and rescues.
Greg spent the day in the water again, teaching rolling, and it looked like everyone managed to learn something.

Ben managed to get his message across and at the end of the lesson we were all so good we managed to have an olympic race across the wind with a 360 degree loop going and coming , both forward, and believe it or not, backwards too.
I am sure that after this great symposium everyone who attended came away with a better understanding of the art of seakayaking and some improved skills in a number of areas.
Many thanks to the organisers, the coaches and especially to Ehud, Hadas and Yossele for a fantastic experience.
Remember Eat.Sleep.Paddle.

to the sea of gallilee ... or not

2009-11-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

rescue practice in rough water

According to our most accurate forecasters, the sea should have risen up to 3m overnight. This would make Saturday a no no on the water and so the decision was made to move to the Sea of Gallilee for the next day. All were notified of the change and travel arrangements taken care of. Next morning frantic calls went out to cancel the change as the sea was a bit more user friendly than expected and we were able to continue on site as planned originally.

I spent the day with Jeff Allen, the topic was incident management and group leadership in the morning and navigation in the afternoon.

Whatever happens in Jeffs lessons, you cant help having a lot of fun, learning by doing and going home with lots to think about.

We spent the morning in a wildish sea causing incidents and then making the rescues go wrong, just as a demo of what could happen in real life if you don`t know what to do.

Later on we learnt how to read maps and tide tables and plan a journey accordingly.This is a relatively easy task in Israel as we don`t have any currents nor any meaningful tides, but if for some reason any of us finds our way to a foreign country with kayaking possibilities then we would know just what to do. Thanks to you Jeff.

on the second day............

2009-10-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

Rain, thunder and lightening characterised the second day.Worried looks on the faces of the organises, Ehud and Hadas. Would the sea conditions allow our sympo to continue or not.To sea or not to sea was the big question.

Well, the decision was to go for it, and see what happens. Kayaking is a wet sport and a little rain does not scare us at all. Now lightening is another matter. So keep your paddles down, dont attract that electricity from the sky and youll be ok was the motto of the day.[usually in these lightening conditions we get off the water as fast as we can and go play golf].

Today I attended Bens forward paddling class, and what a delight it was.
Ben starts by asking questions, why do you sit like that, why do you hold your paddle like that, why why why. We were sitting in the kayak cage and doing all these experiments designed to make us think about what we do instinctivly all the time. What an eye opener it was for all.Then we got to go on the water and put it all to trial.

To quote Ben, "if you only take 2 things from todays lessons[and now I hope my memory is good], first dont start the power phase untill your paddle blade is properly planted in the water, and rotate that torso."

Now I am sure that not everyone wants to be a racer, but we all got a lot of food for thought from Ben and if we watch Hamish we all can loose a bit of weight and develope those fabulous abs just like Ben................

3 coaches walk into a kayak club.................

2009-10-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

Jeff has been here before, but for Greg and Ben its a first time and after 3 days we hope it wont be their last. That is to say that we are all enjoying the sessions with them so much that they will have to come back for more.Summer turned into winter on the first day of our symposium, heavy rain, thunder and lightening were the order of the day and at one stage the wind was gusting at 44 knots.Nevertheless the lessons continued , despite the conditions and later that day the sun came out wind died down. I spent the day with Greg and a group learning Greenland rolls, and what a good day it was too.Not to go into details of the lessons, enough to say that most of the participants had a great time and were successful by the end of day one.
I heard from others that Jeff and Ben`s sessions were just as good.
Later that evening we were lucky to hear a fabulous presentation from Greg on Greenland and Newfoundland expeditions.
Day one gets an excellent grade.

it can happen to you too

2009-10-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

On saturday they registered for the symposium, they decided it was about time to learn some rescue techniques and get some experience under their belts in incident managment. On the Friday before, they were still confident in their belief that they could manage on their own, as up till then all had been fine. They usually paddle together, often not with the group, and usually not in wild seas, so they had no reason to worry . It has been a long time since any of them capsised, and so they havent had any rescue practice, until Friday,[ not even the 13th.]
As they were going south, Y noticed that they were too close to shore and there were still some largish swell coming in.

Before he could alert S to the potential danger a large wave came in, Y managed to crest the wave but it caught S and flipped him over. He bailed out and while Y was doing a rescue he also flipped over. Now we have 2 kayakers in the water in the shorebreakers along the reef.Luckily they managed to get to shore, empty their boats and carry merrily on their way.
Being intelligent souls that they are, they began to analyse what had happened and find out just what went wrong and what needs to be done so that it won`t happen again.

I heard the tale on Saturday morning and recommended that they both sign up immediately for a course on incident management with Jeff Allen.
As luck would have it Jeff will be here on Thursday for a 4 day symposium and his area of expertise will be just what they need.
I`m sure everyone who reads this will have something to say, some invaluable piece of advice, or critisism. And they will all be right.
The thing is that even in our benign conditions, warm water, lack of current and tides, ease of getting back to shore mostly, one should not become complacent. Incidents happen all the time, the more you practice, the more you think about them and the more skill you have, the easier it is to deal with them.
So, heres another reason to come to our symposium.
By the way, Y told me he was going to write the story in our forum, but till now I havent seen it and hope he doesnt mind my telling it here.
Ps, as I wasn`t in the neighbourhood I had to use archive photos for illustration only.

black and white and colour

2009-10-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

Vered has a new camera, she bought the canon d10 waterproof and is experimenting with it all the time. Some people , before using any new appliance will read all the instructions and only then begin to use it. Others on the other hand, and I fall into this catagory, will begin use immediately and only read the instructions if all else fails. Seems like Vered and I have something in common.

Heres Kobi and Kid in color , taken with my Olympus, just a regular snapshot

And heres a few taken by Vered with the black and white function, you lock onto a color and then click, giving you a colorful black and white photo. Nice for an added effect if you like that sort of thing,

Thanks to Vered Shachaf for the pics for the post today

The Canon looks like a hit, its much faster than my Olympus, allowing you to get the action pics easier, and the video also looks a lot better. I am just waiting to see how it holds up under water, lets see after 6 months or so. After ruining too many "waterproof cameras" very quickly I am a bit hesitant to spend money on unproven technology.

So far so good

greenland style rolling with Greg Stammer.....Who?

2009-10-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

So you made a Greenland paddle and maybe used it once or twice, then hung it on the wall as a decoration.

What a pity, the Greenland paddle is awesome, versatile and supremely useful. If you don`t think so or have had a negative experience with it then you definitly need to come to our symposium and take a lesson or two with Greg Stammer

Greg will be in Israel at our symposium at the end of this month, this is a great opertunity to meet and learn from one of the best Greenland paddlers outside of Greenland. Follow the link and read about him and you cant help but be impressed.

Rolling is also one of the most confidence boosting skills to learn, and if you learn it early in your kayaking career then youre off to a head start, as you will be able to go out in rougher water without the fear of a capsize. Playing in the surf becomes a lot of fun when you dont have to worry about being upside down in you boat and you dont need help from anyone to right yourself each time. You dont need to know all 30 of the rolls , but at least learn to roll on your left and right side.

Also the rolling skills you learn with a G stick can be used with a Euro paddle too, so dont worry if you havent got one.

Jeff Allen of Cornwall will be here too as well as Ben Lawry, so there will be lots of fun and new stuff to learn.

Even if you just come for the beer you`re sure to have a great time.

from rosh hanikra to sdot yam in 3 days

2009-10-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had our annual trip from Rosh Hanikra on the Northern Border down to Sdot Yam.Its a 3 day trip with 2 nights camping on the beaches along the way. There were 20 kayakers all in all, quite a large group, and a varied level of skills from relative newcomers to more experienced paddlers.We began at Betzet beach and went into the caves with a mildly rolling sea which made for an exciting trip. The wind came up, a northerly one with quite strong gusts making paddling downwind quite a difficult experience for many of the group and by the time we reached Acco we had a well deserved rest. We decided to shorten the days mileage and head for Kiryat Yam beach where we spent the night. On arrival the beach manager brought us a kettle of tea as a welcome gift. What a nice gesture. All our meals were communal affairs with a wide range of delights, pasta , salad and soup and the inevitable alcoholic beverage to ease the days aches and pains.Living in nature we tended to sleep early and rise even earlier. Next day began with flat seas and no winds but then the wind came up in the afternoon and made the last couple of hours a bit more interesting. We spent the next night at Habonim beach and were surprised by Racheli and Avigail who brought us a fantastic meal of couscus chicken and meat and knafe for desert.The last day we paddled past Nachsholim and the beautiful rocky coast and caves and then a dash home for the last hour or so. All in all a great weekend and a wonderful trip. Thanks to all those Fantastic Optimists for a great trip.

the petrel in the waves

2009-10-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today the sea was a bit more cooperative, giving us some small swell and breaking waves. A perfect test for my new Petrel. theres only one word to describe the performance of this kayak......FANTASTIC......
Going out against the waves it breaks through with ease and rides over the crests of the waves. The bow is raised enough to prevent diving into the waves making it easy to paddle against them.I had the same experience on Friday going out aainst a 16knot wind and wind waves of about 1m. Moderately easy to get out.

The fun starts when paddling in a following sea, coming home with the waves this morning was just beautiful. The kayak catches the waves with ease, breaking waves or just swells, it doesnt matter, I managed to speed along with the waves for a great ride. I have never been able to surf so easily before.

Playing in the shorebreakers was also a lot of fun, the Petrel is a great kayak for surfing, handles easily, rolls like a dream and is easy to steer in the foam and waves and I had almost no fear of nosediving even in the breaking waves today.
I admit the surf was not too large , but good for a start.

test rolling the petrel

2009-10-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like a popular kayak, all who tried it for the first time gave it rave reviews. Although it was only on flat water it feels great and rolls like a dream. Mickey had a rollfest and came up smiling each time, he even aaaaalmost got the handroll.
More to come as the seas get wilder.

new kayak launch

2009-10-02T03:22:00.000-07:00

This morning was launch day for my new Petrel and when I got to the beach there was Itay Bahar with his new CLC Double kayak also out for his maiden voyage. Luckily Itay had brought the traditional bottle of Champagne for the christening, but up til now I haven't managed to give any of my kayaks a name. Maybe I`ll just give them numbers.
Anyway it was an exciting morning and a great maiden voyage. The Petrel is a terrific kayak, just waiting for the rough water that it`s supposed to be built for.
Itay brought his son with him, Amir, 4 and a half years old and already an accomplished kayaker with his own Greenland paddle.Now he just needs a kids sized kayak to complete the outfit.What are you waiting for Itay?
Today there were lots of wooden boats on the water making it a wooden kayak day for sure.

beach closed for the triathalon, and then some surfing

2009-09-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the beach was closed due to the annual triathalon. There were 900 athletes in all competing in different age groups from the youngest about 9 yrs old to the over 40`s. Each group had a different course beginning with a swim, then a ride and then a run.
How does this affect kayaking you may ask, well apart from closing the access to our beach and thus having no kayaking , we were asked as usual to be out on the water watching out for the swimmers.
This time Hadas and I had the honour and we were out there from 6.45 when the first group took to the water.
Its a fine sight to see all those competitors running , splashing and then swimming the set course, and Hadas had to help one of them who just couldnt make it.
The sea was cooperative with flat water making our jobs easy and the swimmers had an easy time of it too
Yom Kippur followed on Sunday and Monday , again no kayaking, and so by tuesday morning we were rearing to go.
We had a bit of a wave and lots of fun in the surf.Getting good shots takes some effort as you have to be in the face of the breaking wave with the kayaks surfing directly at you, or as I tried today to film while riding a wave. Not so easy unless you have your camera mounted on your helmet [which I did not wear today}.

let my turtles go

2009-09-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day for 4 turtles who had been hospitalised at the Michmoret hospital for sick Turtles.
About a month ago Yoav and Shahar brought a sick and listless turtle back from their paddle. They had found him floating around just outside the fishing village of Jasser A Zarka, north of Ceaserea.
Zohar quickly took charge and delivered him/her, not quite sure.. to the hospital where they nursed it back to health.It was diagnosed as having post traumatic stress syndrome probably after being caught in a fishing net and then released.
Today we were privileged to be the release team and together with 3 others, it was set free in the sea about a mile and a half from the shore.
I carried one of them in a plastic box on the deck of my kayak, and I swear that he knew what was waiting for him. At first he didn't move at all, but as we began to paddle and feel the swell of the sea he became more and more active and tried to climb out of his box.
We were accompanied by a team of kayakers from our Optimist Kayak club who cheered and applauded as the turtles were released one by one.
Eventually we reached the release spot and let them go, they are amazingly fast swimmers and as soon as they were able they just swam away into the deep as quickly as they could.
The photos and video were taken by Vered and Rei, fearless swimmers around the kayaks as the turtles were released.
I have been told that these creatures can give a nasty bite if so inclined so its best to keep fingers and other vital organs out of harms way.

new years day paddle

2009-09-20T02:48:00.001-07:00

The first outing of the new year, was on Saturday, New Years Day, afterwards we had a toast to the new year. The sea was calm and the water was crystal clear

I tried to take some shots of Mickey underwater but my camera wouldnt focus properly and I only got this one shot.

Later on in the day we had a rainshower, this is very rare for us here as the rains usually only begin in about another month. Maybe its a sign that we will have some badly needed rain this year. Hold thumbs.

Today Sunday is a holiday, oh yes , we celebrate the new year with a 2 day holiday, so no work today. The sea has changed with the weather and the waves were about 1.5 to 2m, just perfect for surfing. Again my camera failed to work, this time because the battery had run out and I didnt have a spare.
So to sum up the year so far, it has to be a great when you can go kayaking every day..

learning to paddle and then learning to surf

2009-09-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

There has been a steady stream of newcomers to our club all summer. The first lesson is a brief intro to seakayaking with the emphasis on safety. We go over a wet exit, an assisted rescue and the basics of forward paddling, how to turn and brace and how to stop. Then if they want they can join the group on the regular outings learning as they go. In the summer there are skills sessions once a week. Most people find this a great way to learn as each outing they are accompanied by one or more of the coaches. This allows everyoneto progress at their own speed and level with no peer pressure at all.

Today, with a change in the weather we had some surf for a change.It`s been a long flat summer with almost no surfing.As the seasons change from summer to autumn the sea responds too, becoming much more playful.

There were not too many of us out there, and the waves were perfect for beginners.

The only downside was that it gets dark much earlier these days and so we had to stop much too soon .

happy new year

2009-09-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Friday night is the official beginning of the Jewish New Year,תש"ע, in English that translates to 5770.
New year is always a time of optimism, hope and joy, in all faiths and religions even for us non religious types.
I guess we all want to believe that the next stage will be better than the last, no matter how good its been up to now.
So I`ll take this opertunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year, lots of safe paddling, good health and contentment.
Be careful what you wish for as it may come true.
All The Best.
Steve

finishing the petrel

2009-09-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

At long last I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This weekend I am joining the deck and hull together. That`s number 49 out of the 71 steps listed in Nick shade`s book . So only 22 more things to do and then its launch day.
Because the deck meets the hull at a right angle at the ends I decided to use a sheer clamp here as it`s quite difficult to get the fiberglass tape down this far. A sheer clamp is just a strip of wood clamped and glued onto the inside of the hull making the edge a bit wider at this point and thus giving a larger surface area of contact for the epoxy to stick on to.

Here`s a picture of the sheer clamp being glued to the hull.

Before joining the hull and deck I made loops of nylon to hold the decklines and bungees. This is a nice way to have the decklines attached without having any hard padeyes sticking up from the deck. In the picture you can see the white shock cord which I will change to black when the boat is finished

Next is to tape the boat together and then place fiberglass tape on the inside seams. This is easier said than done and taping the inside seams is a job that requires patience and persistance.
Now that the boat is assembled its nice to see and appreciate the shape and nice lines of the Petrel.

yes, you should come to our symposium

2009-09-06T04:07:00.000-07:00

Optimist Kayak Club has its annual symposium in October. The weather is still pleasant and the water is warm.

The stars of the show this year are Jeff Allen, Ben Lawry and Greg Stammer. all three of them are well known names in the world of seakayaking.

Greg is one of the top Greenland style paddlers with a wealth of experience in rolling and paddling with the famous Greenland stick. Now I know that there are lots of you out there who have made a Greenland paddle, but for some reason don't use them. This is your chance to get some quality coaching and then you can start using the paddle that you made.

Jeff has been to both of our previous symposiums and always leaves us with our tongues hanging out for more. His approach to safety and incident management is unique and enriching.He also makes learning this stuff so much fun that you tend to forget that you are in a learning environment.

Ben, who you can see on Justine's "This Is the Sea" videos is an expert in the ergonomic aspects of forward paddling. Since we spend almost all of our time going forwards, why not make an effort to improve our technique and style.

Then again its a chance to spend 4 full days kayaking , immersing oneself in the sport for days at a time instead of a short paddle now and then. This is a wonderful experience and the social aspect is lots of fun too.

I highly recommend that anyone interested in kayaking in Israel make an effort and attend our symposium,you will have a great time and spend a few days with lots of terrific people

what if??

2009-09-04T02:46:00.000-07:00

Say you went out with your group, the sea was calm and there was a nice breeze, nothing you couldn't handle and nothing to be concerned about. After about an hour you suddenly found yourself alone, no one else in sight, believe me it happens.The wind gets a bit stronger and some waves appear. You stop for a rest and a drink and when you turn to get something from your day hatch you simply capsize. Now if you have a roll its not a problem, but if you don't and if you have not practised getting back into your kayak on your own you are in trouble. The wind is against you swimming back to shore, the waves and wind are getting stronger and suddenly you find yourself becoming religious.

Whenever we go out , we always stress, don't go off on your own, paddle with at least one other person, but more often than not we find stragglers or daydreamers way out there all by themselves. When we ask them who they are with they always say "I`m with them" pointing to a couple of kayakers in the far distance. Actually they are not, those in the distance don't know where you are and if you need help they will not be there for you.

Develop and awareness of your group, know who is around you at all times and keep an eye out for people who may need help.You never know when it may be you.

I know that this is the most simple scenario, and you could take it just about anywhere, for example, what if you lost a paddle, etc etc.

Think about it.

about cameas and water

2009-09-02T09:14:00.001-07:00

So Rami showed up on Tuesday morning with his new Canon waterproof camera.

The price has come down quite quickly and now you can get it for about 350$. Thats still quite a bit of money for an untested gizmo. Im talking about the waterproofing, as thats the most imortant aspect for me.

I have ruined about 4 of these waterproof cameras in a short time and am happy to let Rami test it before I make the plunge. The quality of the pictures is a lot better than my Olympus and the video is miles better.

Lets see how it handles the raging seas for a while before we make any comitments.