Terra Santa Kayak Expeditions Blog

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

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:05:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:59:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:11:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:18:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:21:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:11:00 +0000

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.

Kayaking In Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Following my short but determined tradition of kayaking in the various places that my work takes me (so far – Seattle, LA, NY and London), I had the great opportunity to Kayak in Sydney, Australia. Ahh, Australia – the land of the kangaroo, Kuala, and 3 different types of Rugby. The place where the water in the toilet is flushed counterclockwise, where the light switches are up-side-down, and where drinking (and watching one of the 3 types of rugby) is the favorite pastime. About a day before I arrived in Sydney I decided to search for “kayaking in Sydney”. Amongst the dozens of “touristic” options (“Experience of a lifetime – tour the Sydney harbor by Kayak!!!”) which sounded tempting, easy and with all the promise of a cheap restaurant on the Tel-Aviv boardwalk, I found the nice website of the NSW (New South Wales) Kayak Club (http://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au). A quick link to “2008 trips” revealed there is a day trip planned for the weekend I am in Sydney and the experience level is grade 2-3. I e-mailed Keith who was mentioned as the trip leader and was thrilled to get a reply that he will be happy to let me join the trip. The only catch was the line “I assume you have your own Kayak and gear”… well I will spare you the details of the logistics but thanks to Keith and Denise from Kayak Australia in Tarren point, I had a very nice Salamander kayak delivered direct to the trip starting point. How cool is that? An hour’s train ride south of Sydney is the pristine town of Cronulla – the starting point of the trip. Keith greets me and soon other people start arriving. At 9 we head out from a small boat launch and start to paddle between all the small boats that are anchored in the bay. 1- Cronulla boat ramp - the starting point The scenery is great – we are paddling out of a bay close to the north end which is layered with summer houses. On the farther south end is a rather large national park or as they call it in AU “quite a lot of bush”. The paddle itself is amazingly similar to what we experience here in Israel. Paddling, catching waves, talking – this may sound like an obvious thing, but I found after Kayaking in different places, that the water conduct and group dynamics are very different in other places. Here, it was so close to feeling at home that I almost started speaking Hebrew. The group is wonderful and friendly. A guy called Eric tells me he used to work in a moshav near beer sheva 25 years ago, but he can’t remember the name. Another guy asks me what kind of sharks we have in Israel. The paddle from that point was quite similar to our paddle in the dead sea – you don’t want to fall into the water. We paddled for a couple of hours and then stopped for a break in a small bay. After the break we paddled out next to quite a rocky shoreline with the waves breaking on the cliffs. One of the guys falls in the water and the rescue is a bit challenging since the waves are breaking and there quite a few rocks nearby. His kayak is towed to safer waters while he is holding on to another kayak. (well – it seemed to me a little challenging, Keith just shrugged it off…) Some words of wisdom from Keith about the rescue: “Group spread was well controlled with most people mixing as we paddled across the Bay, 2 (non critical) wet exits due to small breaking waves that helped us demonstrate rescues in a real life situation. Remember when this happen (and is does) • The group is the most important consideration, as we do not want to compound the situation with others getting into difficulty • Do not attempt to get the person back into their boat while still in the area of breaking waves, get them to move out of the area 1st • Unless required only one person to assist, again we do not want to compound the situation with others getting into difficulty” We continue to paddle for another hour and then start to head back stopping again for another break. I start talking to Matt who asks me about paddling in Israel (and if I know Hadas (!) – is there a place in the seven seas she is not known? ) We compare their grading system with the BCU system and discuss the main topic of contention of sea kayaking followers – to rudder or not to rudder. On the way back we have nice waves that take us back at half the time. Its quite windy and considering my plastic kayak is zigzagging all over the place – I decide to finally take down the rudder. A little embarrassing considering the strong position I held a few minutes before…but – what can I say – its was a huge difference. Only later I learned that the kayak is designed to use with a rudder so while our Explorers are quite stable without them, the plastic salamander zigzags quite heavily if the rudder is not in the water. It was wonderful to learn that after fighting with the kayak for half the trip  Overall – 23 km of a friendly and scenic paddle. Definitely the sort of getaway you can use in the middle of a business trip. I want to thank here Keith and the entire group for the good time and of course you are all welcome to paddle with us in the Medeterenean Sea. Gil Almog

Kayaking In Florida

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:39:00 +0000

And for our next stop… After exploring the east coast of the US this past summer, we headed to sunny Florida for spring break! We contacted Jean Totz from Sweetwater Kayaks (http://www.sweetwaterkayaks.com) and arranged to paddle with them for a couple days. Our original plan for the first day was to paddle in the Gulf of Mexico. However, bad weather and high winds forced us to change our plans, and instead we drove about 2 hours north to the Weeki Wachee River - a crystal-clear spring-fed river that remains at 72 degrees year-round. We paddled upstream towards the springs, and were surrounded by beautiful birds, turtles and fish About half way to the spring we finally spotted a manatee! A manatee is a large and strange looking marine mammal (known also as a ‘sea cow’) that can weigh 400-550 kg and average 2.8-3.0 meters in length! Although profoundly funny looking, they can swim at about 5 -8 km/h and look quite elegant and graceful in the water! They are not pretty. Manatees are endangered species that are officially classified as vulnerable to extinction. Slashing boat propellers are the main threat to threat to manatees, and indeed, most of the manatees we saw had nasty looking scars on their back, souvenirs from close encounters with boats in the past… We followed the manatee down the stream and made good use of our new waterproof camera. On our way back, after a good Cuban-style lunch, we spotted several more floating cows and by the time we got out of our boats we could feel our kayaking muscles waking up from their long winter sleep. On our second day we paddled with Russell Farrow, also of Sweetwater Kayaks, and a participant in Immersion Research’s upcoming “Vacation from Hell” (http://www.irvacationtohell.com ). The day’s paddle was from Fort De Soto to Egmont key – a state park island that can only be reached by boat. The island has a huge colony of seabirds, and about half of the island is a bird sanctuary where people are not allowed to enter. After circumnavigating the small island we headed back to shore, and came across a group of 2-3 dolphins eating their afternoon snack! The dolphins were very close to us, and we were very excited, but we didn’t realize then that those dolphins were only the beginning! When we got back to the Sweetwater shop in St. Petersburg, we loaded our car with two kayaks and headed back to Steve’s father’s place on Longboat Key. The next morning we paddled out just the two of us. We launched from a boat canal in the backyard and then around the island and out to the Gulf of Mexico. The nice weather and friendly waters of the bay were great for our first ‘solo’ paddle in the US. Since there is a narrow pass to go through on our way back to Longboat, we planned our return so that the tide would be in our favor. It turns out that the dolphins like to swim in on that same tide too! The flowing water brings all the fish to the narrow pass, and the dolphins follow them for a tasty, easy meal. All we had to do was stay in place in one of the corners of the pass and let the dolphins come to us! A group of about five dolphins circled us for about 20 minutes before moving on into Sarasota Bay. We couldn’t believe how close they were until one of them spit in our faces (well, mostly Aluma’s face) and another swam upside down, right under our kayaks, and smiled up at us! All in all, we had a great time paddling Florida’s West Coast and inland rivers. A wide variety of beautiful birds were everywhere, and the weather was perfect. If anyone finds themselves in Florida, we definitely recommend looking up the kind folks at Sweetwater Kayaks! We promise to continue exploring all the great paddling options here in the US for you, after all, someone has to do the dirty work, right? Until the next blog… Aluma & Steve

WW In Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:02:00 +0000

After a long dry period I finally have some more wet stories.
I was told that the only WW available in Guatamal this dry season is the river in Lanquin which is the vilage next to Semuc Chamey.
Semuc Champey is a wonderfull place where a very strong river flows under a rock and comes out in the other side of it.
Above these rock there is a series or pools in beutifull colors, the water in the pools is from a spring next bye and not from the river under.
In the pictures you can see the pools and the river flowing under the rock.

http://picasaweb.google.com/yaron.yagoda/SemucChampeyKayaking
When I got to this place and asked where is the rafting company I was told by the receptionist that the season is over and they all went.
I kept a strong face outside but inside I was crying like a litle girl. How can it be over??? I was told they are still there !!!!
Havent the Jewish people suffered enough???

I decided not to give up and found the owner of the rafting company Martin (who from the pictures you can see that he is Omers twin brother)
who offered me to go paddling with Iris, his girlfriend and a great kayking instructor while he will drive the car due to a bad back.

The river is quite calm with the occasional class 2 rapid, coiple of playwaves and one class 3 in the end, not quite a chalange to paddle but the views were breathtaking, the day was with great weather and paddling is always great so I had a perfect day in the end.

This was the first time Iris is paddling this strech so we got to scout the big rappid for quite a while till we chose the best lane (Iris chose and I nodded with my head).

At the end we needed to cross the bridge you can see in the pictures which misses quite a few pieces of wood (sometimes you need to take steps almost a meter long while carring youy gear) and in the middle of it I heard a wood break and one of my legs fell under, nothing happned but it was very scar and the moral is not to trust every bbridge you see and to lay low on the tacos here (will not happen!!!).

I have pictures only from the begining and the end since we had no waterproof camera.
I want to thank Martin for the arangement and transport and Iris for the great guiding and camera.
Martins web site : www.GuatamalaRafting.com Going to Cuba now and the next paddle will be probably in Honduras. Till next time Yaron

Paddling the USA

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:14:00 +0000

Sitting in our new apartment in Chicago, minus 15 degrees outside, looking out of the window at frozen Lake Michigan, it is hard to believe just a few months ago we left our sunny homeland and started our American adventures. After a warm farewell from our friends in Terra – Santa, we left to explore other worlds and seas.

We arrived at the land of endless possibilities in the middle of June, and immediately started to look for places to paddle. We started our adventure with Rob from Adventure Crafters (http://www.adventurecrafters.com/) in Maryland; about an hour drive from where Steve’s family lives. Rob was very generous and let us use his NDK boats.

We paddled for a few hours and mixed up open water with some trips up quiet side channels to see wildlife. We saw a number of bald eagles, the American symbol that has only recently staged a comeback from near extinction, and had some close encounters of the water snake kind. They were everywhere! From there we continued our journey to New England. Our first kayaking stop was on the Penobscot river in Maine for a whitewater course with Dan (www.penobscotadventures.com) Between play boating and river-running, we even learned how to hand roll! (Well, almost…).

In the mean time we were looking for a sea kayaking course on the internet and could not believe our eyes when we found a 4 day 3 night expedition course in Maine with no other than… Jeff Allen (www.seakayakingcornwall.com)! We immediately enrolled and on the last week of July met with Jeff, his son Oliver, Mark the course organizer from ‘Carpe Diem Kayaking’ (www.carpediemkayaking.com), and two more students - Carrie and KC.

We started at Jonesport, just an hour away from Acadia national park. By the time we hit the water on the first day it was already noon, and so we paddled just a few miles and set up our camp at Steven’s island (that’s really what it’s called)… The morning after, amazed by the tide line that just barely missed our boats, and after a dry towing lesson, we started our way to Bois Bubert Island.

We paddled several miles, and learned the basics of navigating in the sea which came in very handy, very quickly over the next couple of days… We saw some seals from afar and arrived to our camp site almost at sundown. We had a warm meal (it’s amazing how anything can taste so good when you are wet and hungry) and fell asleep immediately after…

The next morning we woke up to a foggy and rainy day. We decided to leave our tents at Bois Bubert and started the day with some rock-gardening (lots of fun!) and towing practice (also – fun when you practice…).

We then decided to paddle to Petit Manan, a well known Puffins colony and bird sanctuary. As we paddled out the fog got thicker and thicker and we had almost zero visibility. After paddling for several miles we stopped to check our bearings, only to see Petit Manan’s lighthouse just a few meters in front us! Even the lighthouse was almost invisible in the fog!

We were surrounded by puffins and seals and it was really a sight to remember (and take as many pictures as we could)! On our way back, trying to find our path in the fog, we took turns leading the group, and just couldn’t believe how lucky we were to experience all that…

We arrived at the camp site and couldn’t have been happier that we left our tent ready for us, since it was already pouring rain, but we had a dry place to sleep

On the last day, we headed back to our starting point at Jonesport. We took turns again leading the group and tried to navigate by ourselves in the fog (well… Jeff had to help… quite a lot).

Every now and then Jeff created an incident for us to react to, and we practiced some incident management skills (capsized friend, survival on the rocks, broken kayaks). Good fun!

We paddled quite a long distance that day, and arrived at Jonesport by late afternoon, very tired but very, very satisfied. The expedition course was a fantastic learning experience, and so enjoyable!

We could not have asked for more from this trip. It was great getting to know a lot of nice paddlers around the USA and hats off to Jeff for an amazing 4 days!

We are now in Chicago; we used the summer here to explore the paddling options in the area, and are waiting for the summer to come again.

We miss Terra Santa a lot – we miss the club and the chance to paddle 365 days a year (OK, maybe 362), but most important, we miss the people, our friends!

See you on the water (once it unfreezes),

Aluma Steve and Steve Aluma :-)

Forward paddling Clinic - Symposium 2008

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:03:00 +0000

In this January Our 7th annual symposium Occurred.

We Have Hosted Pete Jones, James Stevenson, Karel and Sam from osprey sea kayaking as our current guests and guides

This is a little peak from our forward paddling clinic

enjoy, Tal

Open Up Your Speakers

Huatulco in the pacific coast - Mexican Embassador

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:21:00 +0000

We have arrived to Huatulco which is today a village with many bays but mainly for American and Canadian tourist. It is not the town for backpackers since all the hotels on the beaches are 4 and 5 stars, and for people with yachts and not kayaks. They do have a river here but it is running really low (no more than grade 2) and was not recommended by Berto from Explora which is a rafting company.

I asked to go surfing and we agreed on the price and scheduled a guide to take us (me to go kayaking and Yael to take pictures, read a book, eat papayas and talk to the local people). We waited at 9 o’clock and saw a pickup with 3 guys and 3 kayaks, (Gyermo from Chile, Ariel from Uruguay and Stefan from Germany) they were all rafting guides that had nothing to do since there is very little water so as soon as tourist comes and offers to pay to go to the ocean they are happy to jump on the opportunity (I must say that I was happy to be this tourist).

After a long search of the perfect beach with perfect waves (driving through jungles with lots of birds) we got there and found out there are no waves today, just little ones occasionally but we were already there and the beach was wonderful so we got some.

We climbed the little cliff out there and saw many voultures soaring right by our heads, we had a pelican the size of a horse fishing right where we were surfing and we had about six dolphins playing not really near us but in a seeing range. It is amazing how many wild beaches they have there but the hotels are being built everywhere. It was great day even though the surfing was not that great (little unformed waves) but we got to see many animals, meet good people and see a beautiful beach which we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

And the surfing was nice too since I didn’t do it in a long time (but I was excepting a perfect 2 meter pipe like in the movies).

I am afraid that this is it for kayaking in Mexico, since I will see big surf soon but probably will not find a kayak.

Hope I find some in Guatemala.

Tile next time Yaron

Terra Santa Ambassador: 5 Star Training with Nigel Dennis – Holyhead Harbor by Night

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:10:00 +0000

Navigating in a relatively closed harbor doesn’t sound complicated. On the map all looks simple. And in daylight it is indeed so…

But try doing it at night with all the surrounding lights, strong winds and some tough competition. Now that’s a different story.

axiom: What might appear trivial on the map during a preparatory meeting in a heated room will appear confusing on the water.

You can look at the map and take compass readings, but the wind takes you where it wants.

While the map may mark several lights, on the water there are many lights which confuse the picture and make navigation difficult. But we eventually found our way, and then paddled back fast to reach the heated restaurant.

Avi

Avner, Avi, Tal – Kobi in front – all very happy at this stage…

Kobi, Avner, Tal

Launching has its hazards in complete darkness

Tal ready to go

Having a rest near our target, a sunken ship. We fantasized about towing it back to Nigel as proof of execution…

Resting near the sunken ship

Our Mexican Ambassador - WW kayaking : Jalcomulco

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Long time no seen.
At last after a few dry weeks we arrived in Jalcomulco which is a small paradise. It is a small village (I guess everybody knows everybody) and it feels like a kibbutz here.
Everybody is keeping their doors and windows and doors open because of the heat (and it is January!!! the middle of winter)
And you can see their living rooms and bedrooms which are also their stores, they all sell something here and if you need something just ask and you will be directed to the right house.
The village is on a big river called PESCADOS (fish) which still has water now in the dry season.
There are 22 rafting companies in the area and this village is considered a great financial success because of all the Mexican tourism coming here in weekends and holidays (there is no outside tourism and for some reason they are not approaching it).

There is no kayaking company (there was one but they are mainly into rafting at the moment). There is a local guy called Nacho which rents kayaks and I rented from him. The is also a Canadian company called ESPRIT which deals with Canadian groups only and outside business in order to not interfere with the local business (smolanim yefei nefesh and that’s why we like them) they were very nice to us and helped us, it is so strange to see a Mexican village like this with a small, blond Canadian community.
The first day I paddled with Jason, which is one of the Canadians while he was safety kayaking a little rafting trip. The river is now a 2.5 hours paddle with lots and lots of rapid 2 till 3 + with quite low water level.
It was a paradise to me, just what I needed and I enjoyed it very much although my bout (Jackson Fun2) was not outfitted right.
There are many birds (cormorans, something like an ORVANI but with a big tail and eagles in the sky).
There are a lot of Langoustine (river shrimp) traps on rocks inside rapids (we did not eat them not for the fear of god but because they cost 40$ a kilo and it is too much for food but not for kayaking). The second day I asked Nacho to come with me and take pictures and he agreed to do it with no charge for the pictures as long as I rent the kayak from him and pay for the taxi (which I intended to do anyway) so he invited 2 little friends Chico (16 years old) and Luis David (12 years old and I guess that’s why he doesn’t have a knick name yet) which paddled the smallest boat I have seen ( I couldn’t get in and not because all of the tacos I had these recent weeks).
It was a perfect decent, I felt much more comfortable and tried more stuff and it was much more fluent since we had no raft to wait to. In conclusion I think this river is perfect for me (beginner+ in WW) and the atmosphere here was really great.
My next place will be on the pacific coast were there is another river and I might even be able to surf in the ocean.
Thanks to Doron Pelleg, Alex aitken and Ori from Imagine en Mundo for their help in the information and Nacho for the pictures
Till next time Yaron

The Adventures of Carl & Sam - Israel 08

noreply@blogger.com (tal shani) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:43:00 +0000

This past year has brought Sam and I some very interesting opportunities, among them the chance to visit Israel. We have had the chance to work with Omer on a few occasions, on our home turf in the US and in Greece. While in Greece over a drink or two he mentioned having us over to visit in Israel, we could not say no.

What an amazing trip!! The hospitality from everyone in the club, the food, the paddling and the history of the place just blew us away. We can’t thank everybody enough.

I can’t remember a time that we have tried to fit so much in to so few days my head is still spinning. From surfing, climbing Masada, rolling kayaks, dinner with Udi, floating in the Dead Sea, running the Jordan River to strolling through Old Jerusalem, it all adds up to a great experience made better by the people we shared it with. It was also a pleasure to get to work and paddle with Pete and James, two paddlers we have a great deal of respect for.

Many thanks to all especially Omer and Sagi for showing us a great time, the two of you are truly the guides of guides. Rotem, Tal, Nir and Kobi, you all were incredible for making the logistics happen and driving us all over the place.

We would like to extend an invitation to any club members traveling to the New England area in the US, if you are here you will have a place to stay. We look forward to getting the chance to paddle with you all again some time.

Thanks Again,

Carl & Sam

Terra Santa Ambassador -AVI GLASBERG: 5 Star Training with Nigel Dennis – unique case study

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 08:22:00 +0000

It is undesired situation however very realistic- a Group of paddlers MUST land ! Its a windy day and the best location found is a rocky coast with serf and currents..

NO group will run such landing just for visiting the Rest Rooms… Unfortunately, many times such landing is needed…

Nigel was scouting for an appropriate landing spot for long minutes…only during and after the drill we could appreciate how careful he was. If there would be stronger currents / stronger breaking waves on the landing spot …it would be by far more complicated…

Kobi – tided his tow line to his Kayak and had to come near the landing spot, jump into the water and swim & climb on the the rocks and then pull the kayak to him.

He swam in a place where a small rip current pulled him and his Kayak away from the rocks and after few attempts he gave up on swimming and called Tal to carry him on his Bow to the lading spot. Now all went fine. Tal was the next one. after a minute and he was on the rock.

Now My turn... First attempt. I connect my tow line to the kayak, paddle toward the rocks, xxx, open my spree deck…and the waves push me to the wrong place….

Second time all work smooth. Kobi is working hard and pulls the third kayak to the rocks.

All three of us are happy on the rocks and enjoying the moment of glory.

Avi Glasberg
Side remark:

Guys, mastering reentry and roll in difficult circumstances is a MUST. A MUST ! Many times there is no time and the circumstances are not allowing any other self rescue. Just Re-entry and roll, and very quickly continue to help your friends with kayak full of water and open spray deck. ...

You can use the coming symposium to practice it ! Again and again. In rough conditions.

Its all relative

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:12:00 +0000

Hi guys

Some people told me during our last club sessions that it's getting cold.....well, its all relative. I just got this email from Richard Meadow who lives & paddle in Norway.

he is paddling on the Oslo fjord with his club from the town of Drobak ALL YEAR ROUND !!!

"I will be going this weekend with air temp minus 5 and water plus 2. We use goretex dry suits and have clothes under based on the water temperature. We even have rescue/rolling practice in the winter! Crazy northerners!....The trees were covered in a magical thick frost."

Drøbak kayak club has members from the town of Drøbak, Norway, and surrounding towns. Drøbak is a beautiful village on the Oslo Fjord. We paddle every Sunday all year and one week day evening in the summer. In the dark season we have to cut out the evenings. In addition, we arrange and participate in longer trips, and courses usually including one or more overnights. While the winter darkness limits our possibilities for long trips in winter, Near 24-hour light in the summer more than makes up for it!

Thank you Richard and happy new year for all Drobak kayak club members

Omer Singer

Another Surfing Saturday ...

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:26:00 +0000

Another Storm has passed, after that the sun came out and wonderful one meter waves with it. so Saturday 15 Terra Santa paddlers went out surfing and this is what you've got. enjoy the pics. Thanks To Adam For yet another wonderful pictures.

Avi's On The Move!!!

Gideon

Udi's Hand Low Brace

Omer

Sat morning in Herzelia

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:23:00 +0000

Our dear friend & paddler Adam show up with his camera
(insted of his kayak) and this nice pics came out of a great day on the Surf

Terra Santa Ambassador: 5 Star Training with Nigel Dennis- one case study

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:47:00 +0000

The following describe one exercise done during the 3 days training in Holyhead - Wales. Each one of us can find himself during regular times in the following situation...as indeed happened to me in the past. The Situation: A group paddle just close to rocks/breaker when one of the members capsize. Wind and waves can potentially put in short time the victim and his kayak on the rocks. The Target is to rescue the Victim and his kayak in a safe way. The drill we exercised: 2 members of the group should operate as a team;the first assist the victim to go back into his kayak and during this time the second tow both kayaks out of the danger zone. We become aware to the following Points of attention before & during the drill: 1. Choosing the drill spot at large It should be a place which enable a safe escape rout for all participants, including the victim, if everything go wrong. By the way, during the training we were exposed to debates a group leader has: "what will happen if it goes wrong ?" what will be our possibilities ?" "Will we be able to negotiate the situation ?" Will we be able to do it if one member will capsize ? What if he will depart from his kayak ? Will we be able to rescue him ? Etc etc 2. Specific location Does the level/intensity of waves at the spot, the wind, the distance from the rocks, the type of rocks (some places any contact with the rocks/shells on it will create deep cuts...) allow for safe drill ? We had quite strong wind and from time to time the wave did surprised us with their intensity. Nigel run the drill in a relatively protected area south of Holyhead,just before a rocky head. If all get wrong the wind and wave push the kayakers to an entry into a sheltered Beach. The group take positions.Nigel play the rescuer, I play the victim and Koby play the second rescuer which should tow Nigel and myself out of the danger spot. We did had a pistol in the first act... Koby participate with a kayak full of water..to make things real (not based on the original script of Nigel but surly he was aware to it as nothing escape his eyes...) Side remark: many of the rescues are done when the rescuer has lots of water in the kayak and the spree deck totally open as there is simple no time to empty the kayak and not even to put the spree deck on.... Most important: Tal, very gracefully, play the cameraman on top of the rock. "Avi, when ever ready capsize"...shot Nigel and i give push or two to put some distance to the rocks and go down. Nigel run the rescue in seconds. By this time we should be towed away by Koby....tine pass (seconds) and we drift close to the rocks... Kobi was very close by however because of the strong wind, waves and the kayak with the water - he had tough time to turn around the kayak (I did not mentioned...but in the drills , Nigel was not placing each participant in the right angel etc etc but run the drill in a realistic way...in one drill, I found myself in a need to rescue while being few meters ahead with my back to the victim - the first challenge -: turnaround real quick in powerful wind...) Nigel understand that we will not be towed away and as there is no time for me to put the spree deck he quickly connect my kayak to his with a short contact line which he carry all the time on the kayak in front of him (now I do the same...) Nigel asks me to hold his Kayak and start to paddle full power to take us from the rocks....which are feet's away. With very powerful strikes he take us both to the open sea (one can see Nigel's determination in the rare picture..) We were lucky...a strong wave will indeed put us to rest on the rocks.... Eventually we are safe (Koby still struggle...) The final was indeed very interesting twist to the drill. Rescue with the contact two line. (We did studied how to use the contact tow line early in the day however we did not expect to use it so early.) Koby and I had still to struggle to enter the small protected bay with kayaks full of water ....but we were happy....

Sharon Ron

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:23:00 +0000

Terra Santa's family will miss you. "If we wish to die well, we must learn how to live well"...(Dalai Lama)

Please Open Up Your Speakers

Circumnavigating Kho Phi Phi - on Friday the 13th . In Memory of Zohar Aloni

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:53:00 +0000

We must go and see for ourselves Gisela and I left to Thailand to follow Zohar's steps during the last days of her life. Zohar, Gisela's only daughter, arrived in Kho Phi Phi on the 25th of December 2004 with her boyfriend Eran. They wanted to spend their first annual vacation together in a dreamlike vacation resort in Thailand. Zohar, a flight attendant in El Al, Israel's national airline, didn't think of this heavenly island as a destination for their unplanned vacation. It was a spur of a moment decision, made in the last minutes of the flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok, to set sail towards Kho Phi Phi. The next morning, December 26th, 2004, a lethal tsunami wave hit the Island and killed thousands of tourist and inhabitants. Zohar was 24 years old when she died. Her friend Eran was miraculously saved.

Our route started in Bangkok, and from Bangkok we went by air to Krabi. The next morning we took a ferry from Krabi to Kho Phi Phi. Gisela wanted to see the place where Zohar had spent the last day of her life. She planed to tour the island to view the same scenes viewed by Zohar during her last hours. Gisela also wanted to gather together a "Minyan" and hold a memorial ceremony near the memorial wall. Logistics against logics I wanted to express my feelings in a different kind of ceremony.Karel my good friend and paddling mate at "Terra Santa Kayak Expeditions" made some calculations and figured that the island's circumference does not exceed 25km (app. 13.5 nautical miles). Instantly I made a decision to circumnavigate the island by a kayak. At that stage I had no idea how I was going to do it. I was thinking of the following options: • To rent a kayak in Phuket and ship it by the ferry boat to the island • Hope to find a kayak on the island, and perhaps someone willing to join me. • To borrow Avner's folding kayak (Avner agreed) • To get a folding kayak from a different source. • To paddle on a "Sit-On-Top" • To give up the whole plan Early in 2005 I met Karin, Zohar's friend, who told me that her father, Yaron, goes quite often to St. Petersburg for his business. I asked her to check whether he would be willing to go to a well-known kayak manufacturer and get a first-hand impression of their products. Yaron agreed with no hesitation. On his return from St. Petersburg Yaron called, praising the kayaks that he had seen, saying that he brought for me a catalog and a price list. I met Yaron at his house and gave him a little bit over $500 so that next time when he goes to Russia he can get a brand new folding kayak for me - a single-seater type Ladoga I. One day we heard the saddening news that Yaron suffered a massive stroke and died in the hospital. I only knew Yaron for a short period of time, but his warm and intelligent personality left in me deep impression in my heart. Struggling with a Russian In the end of 2005 our travel plans began to materialize. At that point, the most feasible option was Avner's kayak – the Folbot cooper. We agreed to meet at his house to get necessary assembly instructions. And then there was an unexpected change of plans: Doron Eytan, a relative of mine who had heard the saddening story about Yaron, convinced one of his workers, who happened to visit her ailing father in St. Petersburg, to bring the Russian kayak with her. The kayak arrived just on time and the total purchasing expenses mounted to $680, a ridiculous price comparing to other folding kayaks on the market. Assembly instructions were in Russian. Avner said: "don't worry, we’ll manage somehow, bring the kayak to my house, together we'll figure it out" In no time we found ourselves in a big trouble, and after several hours of tremendous physical efforts we decided to quit. Avner suggested that we take the kayak to Michael Hoichman (an experienced kayakist and a friend who had circumnavigated the island of Tasmania), as he reads Russian. The three of us toiled over the kayak parts for three hours, employing hard physical efforts, but finally the kayak was assembled on the living room floor of Michael and Ina Hoichman’s flat. When we left, the kayak was still on the living room floor. That night Michael, Ina and the kayak shared the same bed. Gearing up for the trip On Friday, December 23rd, I wrote in my logbook the details of the sea trial of my new folding kayak: the sea was angry that day, so we paddled inside the marina. Later Sagi decided to try the open sea, and I decided to join the group, because only in extreme conditions is it possible to find out all the pros and cons. The wind wasn't strong, but the waves were high, I noticed no difference between the "Ladoga" and my regular glass-fiber kayak. I dare to say that this one was even more stable. I brought the kayak home and started to prepare for the trip. My checklist included two spare paddles, flotation bags and, most important, a rubber hammer that I received from Avner to help in fitting aluminum components together. Without this hammer I couldn't have done it. Especially for this trip I purchased a two-wheeled trolley, which together with the kayak and additional accessories weighed 34 Kg. A remote spot in Eden We arrived in Kho Phi Phi around noon on January 2006. Gisela wanted to tour the island, especially the beach where the tsunami had hit, and where Zohar and Eran had stayed in those tragic moments. The next evening she intended to hold a memorial ceremony in front of the memorial wall. The next morning I started to assemble the kayak. In the tropical weather it took me more time then I had anticipated, and by the time I had finished I was covered in rivers of perspiration. The shape of the island is reminiscent of a saddle. In the northern part there is an observatory at an altitude of 185 meters, from which one can observe the sunrise on one side and the sunset on the other side. It took a great effort to climb all the way to the peak. When we arrived we discovered a small monument in memory of a young Englishman who had lost his life in the Tsunami. Together we lit a memorial candle. Sticking a paddle in the waters of Andaman Sea At 4 P.M I launched the kayak for a sea trial at "Ton Sai" bay. I wanted to test the kayak, make sure it was well assembled and that I can make the circumnavigation with no particular problem. After paddling for one hour I landed and made some improvements to the kayak. Now it was ready for the mission. In he evening we held a ceremony in Zohar's memory. David Erez, owner of the local Israeli restaurant, gathered some Israelis, so that together with Gisela and myself we had a “Minyan” plus two women. We told them a little bit about Zohar and we said "Kadish". On the way back to our hotel we met a skipper of a "long tail" boat who agreed to escort me through the whole route. The price we settled upon was equal to 150 shekels. Friday the 13th I am not superstitious, but the journey was set for Friday the 13th, a day which is known to be unlucky, especially for seafarers. In the past I had always tried to avoid traveling, sailing, or even flying on this date, but in October 2000, during a kayak trip in the Aegean Sea, I ignored the rule and nevertheless everything went smoothly. I decided to do it again. Karel supplied me in with frequent weather updates. The night before he had forecast northwesterly winds with a speed of 10 to 15 knots. Everything looked suitable for paddling. Gisela is riding on a "Long Tail" At 8:02 I stuck my paddle in the waters of Andaman sea, paddling northward in a counterclockwise direction. I paddled against headwinds for the first leg of the trip. Gisela was sitting in the "long tail" taking pictures with her digital camera. I paddled close to the beach, and after one hour and twenty minutes I turned around the north tip of the island, and started paddling southward. I didn't get into bays, paddling straight without interruption. On the map my calculations showed a route longer than 20 kilometers. I only stopped once for an energy snack. After two hours and fifty-two minutes, at an average speed of 7 km/h, I arrived back at the starting point. Dedication In my heart I dedicated my circumnavigation of Kho Phi Phi to three people: Yaron, Karin's father, who inspired me to get a folding kayak; Eran, who faced hell but survived; and our beloved Zohar, whose young life came to a dramatic end on this remote spot of Eden. Amnon Ram

start & finish point

Our new Tandem....

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:42:00 +0000

Since our club is growing and there are lots of people interested to paddle together, And since we don't have too many tandem kayaks in our club, thanks to Avi Glasberg we have launched our new interpretation of tandem.... (thanks to Madi for the pics) Omer

U.S. Surfski Championships San Francisco.CA. 2007

noreply@blogger.com (saggi) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:26:00 +0000

On last April 2 Fenn kayaks were send from South Africa to Israel – Fenn Mako XT and Fenn Mako 6. A friend of mine and I started to learn how to paddle correctly on these kayaks. It took us nearly three months to learn how to keep balance and only then we started showing some progress on our paddling.

course map

At the beginning of July My wife and I decided to go on a trip on the West coast of the U.S. and we were meant to arrive to San Francisco between the 26th to the 29th of September. Two weeks before my departure I found out that there is a Surfski competition taking place in San Francisco on the 29th of September. I immediately went to contest's website to find out and get some more information about it. In the site I found out that there are two different paths, one is 17 miles long and is designated for the the professionals paddlers, and the other one is 6 miles long and it is designated for the less experienced paddlers. The registration is divided into different groups of paddlers on different age group. I sent an e-mail to Helen the one who’s in charge of the registration for the competition, and wrote her that I am interested of participating in the contest. Her answer was negative and she informed me that the competition is designated for the professionals paddlers only. After I wrote her another e mail, and she connected me with Mr. John Alfonso, which was willing to lend me a Fenn XT kayak for the competition (the same as mine). He wrote me his phone number and we agreed of talking on the day of the competition. On the 27th of September I talked to John and we decided to meet at the place of the competition on 10:30 a.m., and that he will bring with him the kayak.

me , john and rami tzor

On the day of the competition the weather was good, and we were on our way to the site where the competition was held – Crissy Field beach, near the golden gate bridge. There, I met John who helped me find my way around, and explained everything to me. I met also the Israeli kayakist Rami Tzor, which is competing for the Olympic American kayak Team on Beijing Olympic Games which take place next year. Rami participated in the 17 mile path paddling and he finished in the 10th place, well done!! When I arrived I Decided that I am going to participate for sure. I got ready and took the kayak on a 10 minutes paddling to see if I am managing to paddle without problems. After that I paddled back to the shore and joined the other paddlers who had a safety briefing before the competition began. There I saw all the "Big Names", got some information about the flows and tides et cetera. The competition started at 12:20 a.m. that was the hour when the low tide was at its peak. Therefore at the center of the bay was a very strong flow that was pointed towards the ocean.

training rowing

At exactly 12:20 a.m. the jump off whistle was heard and all the competitors were on their way. We started paddling according to the path that was planned for us a head (see pictures attached). The first buoy that we were supposed to bypass was located at the northern tip of the bay over Alcatraz Island. I started paddling, there were some crowded waves that were created by the passing boats. As I got closer to buoy I started feeling the strong curve of the water, and by the time I was very close to the buoy the curve pushed me towards the buoy. I tried to stable my kayak and then started paddling towards the next point (by then, I already noticed that the other paddlers paddled really strong and that I was left behind). Towards the middle of the way I took a quick glance to my left and I noticed a huge ferry sailing towards me and me exactly in her course. I decided to paddle very strong and to get out of its course as quickly as I can. While I was beginning to paddle, the escort boat was coming towards me ordering me to paddle as fast as I can to the direction of the shore, so that I will get out of the ferry’s way.

start of the competition

what does the dog thinks about us ? me and jhon

I did as I was ordered and then the escort boat gave me a green light to continue as scheduled. I headed west and then I felt head wind between 10 to 15 knot. I got to the last buoy and passed it, immediately after the round I felt the back wind and I paddled to the finishing point (see attached picture). I pace was about 11 kilometers per hour. I finished at the 32 place from 37 paddlers that competed in the competition at the short heat. The score table is presented on the website (www.surfski.com). In summary, the competition was amazing and it was a wonderful experience to take part in. I want to thank John for all his help and his support. I also want to thank Helen for connecting me with everyone she knew who could help. I will be glad to tell more about that wonderful experience to anyone who is interested. Yair Glass.

golden gate bridge

Alcatraz Island

the finish