The Seychelles: Paddling in Eden , 11 - 18 April.

We are happy to introduce to you a NEW Expedition Center destination - the Seychelles. This archipelago is made up of 115 granite and coral islands situated north of Madagascar. It has been described as “a string of pearls” set in the azure waters of the Indian Ocean. The new Expedition Center destination is run by "Terra Santa Kayak Expeditions,” which offers seven-day yacht-based kayak trips in this island paradise between November and April. On this trip, you spend each night in the same room, but in different locations. That’s because our base is a mother ship, a luxurious yacht rigged with five sails. This arrangement gives Terra Santa the flexibility to choose the paddling destination for each day according to the weather and paddlers’ abilities. Terra Santa can also pick up tired paddlers who prefer to relax on board with a glass of wine. This is also a unique opportunity for non paddling friends and family to come along and enjoy sailing our sleek yacht or go scuba diving. All Terra Santa guides are B.C.U. Coach Level 4. Terra Santa uses only Nigel Dennis kayaks . For more informatin contact Terra Santa Kayak Expeditions

Kayaking, paddling, expeditions and worldwide adventures: From Terschelling to Herzilya and many points in between.

I’ve always liked traveling around which I’ve done for many years in the past; having moved to a different country in my childhood probably stimulated this later. Now living in one place for a long time makes me miss the traveling world now and then. Not that I’m sitting at home doing nothing, I do get out on the water every week, and paddle and bicycle through the fields and along the shore. I started to get involved in other peoples expeditions by sending sms messages to our club expeditions. Mainly in Greece, and later in different parts of the world.

 After some years, others heard about me and started asking me to help them on their expeditions. The great thing is that although I’m not traveling myself, which is not so great, but helping others in their expeditions and being involved deeply in their travels makes me feel like I’m part of their expeditions. Which also makes me feel I have to do my best. Another nice thing is getting in touch with people from different countries; some I have met, some not, and you start a friendly relationship being in touch daily through email or satellite phone messages. I also like to read about different expeditions like ocean rowing .
This used to be a dream of mine in the beginning, and after reading Kontiki I had serious thoughts about doing something like it, especially having grown up on an island in the Netherlands (Terschelling). As a child we made rafts out of oil drums and went on the Wadden Sea which lies between the mainland and the islands of the Dutch coast.
Having known some people in the past that have made Atlantic crossings on rafts, I got pretty close to joining once but that’s as close as I got to it, oh well life goes on. I think you never know what will happen in the future, so who knows maybe I’ll get involved in an expedition myself.
It reminds me of what people used to say to me in the past when I was in my traveling days and not staying in the same place more than a few months, people used to tell me I’m lucky that I can go when I please, and I remember telling them you can also do what you please, you just have to make that decision. Once you put an anchor in some place you can always haul it up and move on.

The alarm clock tolls the waking hour

The alarm clock tolls the waking hour. Must exert energy to leave the comfort of the warm, dry bed while the sun is still sleeping. Racing around I walk the dogs, who decide to sniff each blade of grass in turn, feed the cats, who want to play pet fur games, make lunch for the kids and snack for myself and buddies, grab my bag and rush to the car for the thirty five minute ride from my mountain abode to the sea shore. The sun is starting to peak in the east. When I arrive I am greeted by others who have already gone out and returned.

It is a kayak morning and what a glorious morning it will be. As late arrivals we sort through some cold, wet deck skirts to find the one with the right fit. Next is the selection of the life preservers, equally cold and wet. For one brief moment I think of that cozy bed left behind at 5 AM. We each grab a paddle and assist one another to get the kayaks to the water's edge. After some stretching exercises and we are off. The quiet is thrilling. The sun is at the right height to give the beach an early morning creamy glow. Some suicidal fish are riding the water surface. This is the way a Terra Santa morning begins. We paddle along greeting swimmers, divers and surfers along the route.

Terra Santa, the holy land… quite an odd name for a kayak club. But we are a club and share a certain camaraderie. We go out in a pack and accompany each other at their individual pace; some faster, some slower, some more graceful, some more awkward but as a cluster, a group. The harmony of the group stems from the club's staff.

They are the experts who compel us to go the limit and get pleasure from it all. It could be cold and it could be rough and definitely wet but exuberant.
I am just sixty, very new to the sport and have a lot to thank the club staff and members for: Rottem and Omar for giving me the confidence; Seggi for trying to get me to do the stroke correctly; Kobi for teaching me to read the water's rhythm; Nir for teaching me to ride the waves from west to east; Hanan for teaching me right foot from left when edging; Tal for teaching me how to steer straight; Karel for giving me a weather corner; and all the members who never leave be behind and alone!

Sarah

Terra Santa Ambassador: Paddling the Sai Kung / Hong Kong with Paul Etherington

My Kayaking roots are from Hong Kong. I have done huge amount of Paddling in HK and still Paul managed to surprise me and show additional face of the magnificent Coast in Sai Kung, in the east side of the New Territories. Paul run a day tours combining power boat ride between the many Islands, Snorkeling to see corals, viewing outstanding volcano-created stone formation, special hiking and - of course – Kayaking in the most interesting locations of Sai Kung park. During the day we visited floating fishing villages, remote Islands and had a sea-food Lunch on one of the Islands in a local restaurant. TS avid paddlers will have to do thought, one “concession” – kayaking in a seat on top kayak…. My experience – first…don’t underestimate the effort…second, in a very hot days, the ability to jump in the water was great and last, navigating between the amazing arches and caves with a bit swell, is much more easy with a seat on top and not 5.6 meter kayak…(not to mention that touching walls and scratches are not harming the Kayak) Also joining a first-time kayaking group should not make you run away. While the fellows paddle with the Guide, one can always explore nearby caves, bays and paddle one meter from the reef on the edge of the breaking waves….(by the way, As Paul alert me, I found out that 2 fit first-time paddlers on a tandem can be quit fast, even with compare to a experienced single paddler… Great day. Very recommended to fellows visiting HK or passing thought and wish to do more than shopping… Paul and Sara, his wife, were great guides. Avi Glasberg Additional readings: http://paul_etherington.tripod.com/id21.htm http://www.exploresaikung.com/people/pauletherington.html http://www.feelfreekayak.com/family/hongkong3.htm http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2978

Surf In Portugal

Finally we are driving along the Atlantic shore of Portugal, last turn & we are parking,

In front of us is a long sandy beach on the North side of Peniche - one of Europe's sacred surf spots.

It is a dream that came true; we are going to surf in Portugal!

For 7 days, Rotem & I drove up and down for different surf spots, for me, after surfing the short nerves waves of Israel it was a big excitement to run on such a long and stip waves, to be able to think & execute my turns and moves and push my self into my limits.

The area is full of board surfers from all over the world and to watch them dance on the waves was a great stimulation for me, I think that I have learned allot just by watching this guys who are surfing the good waves since childhood.

It was a pity not to meet a surf kayak on the water but in a way you do learn a lot from board surfers.

Obviously some of them were very possessive re the surf spot and some could be hostile as well. But on the other hand we met some friendly people in the water who became very supportive and it made me feel very much welcome.

In the end of the day I prefer a smaller & less quality surf with friendly people rather then a great surf with bad energy & the need of fighting to get your run.

I was using my new MEGA REFLEX

kayak, there is not much to say, I simply in love with this kayak.

Rotem was using WATERTECH LUSIFER and she liked it so much that in the end of the trip she ordered one!

Watertech kayaks is owned by Rui Calado who is one of Portugal top ww paddlers & surf kayak. He is a great guy! Extremely friendly and relax. It was too bad we didn't have time to be together on the water this time. I'm sure we'll meet again soon.

I'm happy to say that Terra Santa became an official dealer of Waterteck in Israel.

And now for the bad part of the trip: this are the only pics we have from the trip... we took A nice Nikon slr camera with telelens & a video camera but it was stolen from our bags on the 1st day....

So we must get back there ASAP

Omer

TORSO ROTATION BY Jim Tibensky

A former age group national champion in both sprint and slalom racing. Jim is teachung at the Geneva Kayak Center in Geneva, Illinois USA. http://www.genevakayak.com/ Most of us know that torso rotation is crucial to a good, efficient, powerful forward stroke. But not enough of us truly attain it. Using the whole body in the forward stroke provides more power, allows you to paddle longer with less effort and looks really, really good. Even though the forward stroke has always been the foundation of kayak paddling, there have not always been good ways of teaching torso rotation. At least, not until now. Give me fifteen minutes and we can probably have your torso working hard on every stroke! While watching students struggling to learn torso rotation the old-fashioned way, by paddling with their elbows locked in the straight arm position, I noticed that what they were doing looked a lot like sweep strokes tilted sideways. After thinking about it and fooling around with my own sweeps and forward strokes, I realized that the muscles we use in a torso-involved forward stroke are also those used more in the forward sweep stroke than in an “all arms” forward stroke. That is, the abdominal, latisimus, and obliques, all the important muscle groups in the middle and lower torso, get used a lot more in a forward sweep than in a typical forward stroke. The Sweep Lesson A good forward sweep has at least the following five characteristics: 1) both hands are kept as low as possible 2) the top arm scrapes across the front of the waist from one side of the boat to the other 3) the lower arm stays straight 4) the head and shoulders follow the blade in the water, which causes the torso to rotate 5) the legs are pushed hard in the opposite direction to the blade in the water Sit quietly in your boat. Relax. Clear your mind. Prepare to become one with the boat, to feel every subtle muscle movement that you will make. Prepare to feel which muscles are working the most and which are not. Now do four or five forward sweep strokes on each side. Pay attention to what muscles and muscle groups are being used. They should later be used in the forward stroke. Putting it Together Sit quietly in your boat and think about using those torso muscles. As you go through the following steps, keep those muscles working. 1) Start the boat moving through the water by doing perfect forward sweeps alternating on each side: left - right - left - right, etc. Be sure the head and torso are following the blade that is in the water. This really helps the rotation. The boat will S-turn its way along. 2) After five or six such sweeps, start bringing the lower hand (the one whose blade is in the water) closer to the hull on each successive stroke. Do this gradually, moving in a couple of inches at a time. Do not change anything else about the muscles you are using. 3) At the same time have the upper arm start to punch gradually higher above the hull instead of just crossing from gunnel to gunnel along the deck. Raise the top arm a few inches more on each stroke until the punch is at shoulder or eye level. 4) Have the head and shoulders continue to follow the blade in the water to encourage the rotation even more. 5) Once you are pulling the blade in the water close to the boat and the top arm is at normal forward stroke height, shorten the stroke in the water by taking the blade out at the hip. After this sequence is complete, there should be a very torso-involved forward stroke. There will be almost no change in arm and body motion from the sweep to the forward stroke. It’s mostly a matter of shaft angles and blade distance from the hull. Helpful Hints Your legs must be involved. Without anchoring the body in the boat, a lot of energy is used to move the body around in the cockpit rather than the energy being transferred through the body to the boat. The knees should “bicycle” a bit on each stroke, with the right foot pushing on the foot brace during the right stroke and the left foot pushing on the left stroke. The backband or seat back should allow some movement of your butt in the seat. A good, forceful leg push will cause the butt to lift off the back of the seat just a bit. The shaft of your paddle should not ever cross the cockpit rim at any point if the torso is working. (This is the “paddler’s box.”) The shaft describes a semicircle around the front and sides of the rim. If your arms are a bit short, or if your cockpit is a bit large, then at least attempt to maintain the paddler’s box by keeping the paddle shaft as far toward being outside the cockpit rim as is possible for you. The top (“pushing”) arm will probably cross well over the center line of the boat. This is good! It will cross in front of the cockpit rim, so there should be no conflict between keeping the paddle shaft outside the rim while crossing over with the pushing arm. Your head should still move slightly side to side. Our neck is most comfortable when the head is kept perpendicular to the plane of the shoulders. Since the plane of the shoulders is moving, the head should too. Your navel should be moving at least three or four inches from the centerline of the boat on each stroke. If you look down and nothing is happening at the level of the navel, there is no rotation. The shoulders are not the place to look for spotting torso rotation. It is easy to thrust a shoulder forward on the stroke without any middle and lower torso involvement. In fact, this is what many paddlers do, thinking that they are using their whole torso. But their waist looks as though it is set in concrete. If you are wearing a centerline zipper pfd, the zipper will tell the tale - it should be moving side to side. Remind yourself to drop back into this sweep-blended-into-forward-stroke practice technique any time you want to work on torso rotation.

The Holocaust Remembrance Day - One story

This photo, taken in 1933, shows Chava Dochleuter (forefront) together with Gizella Bond (middle) on a kayak on the River Sola which runs through the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz).

The young girl sitting in the back of the kayak remains unidentified.

Chava and Gizella both perished during the war.

A Page of Testimony submitted to Yad Vashem in 1957 in memory of Gizella tells us that she was born in 1914, was a housewife and was killed in 1944 when she was 30 years old.