Funny how my memory slips
while looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme
Drinking my vodka and lime
But look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Look around, leaves are brown
There’s a patch of snow on the ground… p.simon

- –

No words, just a walk in the woods. . . - d

Huh, please don’t you rock my boat’
Cause I don’t want my boat to be rockin’ anyhow
Please don’t you rock my boat, no’

Cause I don’t want my boat to be rockin’ – b. marleySometimes I think the hardest thing for people to do is to remember when they didn’t know something. Something in us tends to take new knowledge and incorporate it in such a way that over time we feel it’s genetic. The fact that we struggled to learn it is easily lost or at least buried in our memory. However forgetting how we learned tends to make us less patient and understanding of others. Certainly something be have to be careful of.

As an instructor myself now, i’m always trying to remember my first attempts at learning new things. I can remember how nervous I was when I first tried a low brace in an ‘intro to kayaking’ class. Of course those first attempts were pretty silly when you look back on it. I couldn’t possibly get it right when I didn’t want to lean the boat. How can you keep your paddle low and parallel to the water if you are on a calm pond and not edging a bit? You inevitably end up lifting your inner arm and angling the blade to reach down to “slap” the water. Over time as we become more confident and start leaning a bit, the low brace begins to make a lot more sense. But hey, that’s where most of us start.

Another thing we often forget is how 8 inch waves can look like 6 footers and a bit of a breeze can seem like a gale. You don’t want to forget what that was like if you are paddling with folks who may be less experienced. While you’re truckin’ along happy as a clam, they may be starting to stiffen up and feeling like they are losing control of their boats. Without mitigating that fear a bit you’ll soon find yourself practicing your rescues. Keeping your own experiences close will help you recognize them in others. We’ve all seen the self-acclaimed super kayaker who is always 10 miles ahead with zero group awareness. They’ve buried their learning experience and assume they were born god-like on the water. They feel others should just, “keep up”. You don’t want to get in trouble with this guy. By the time he notices you’re not there, you’ll be drifting halfway to Spain. Let alone the humiliation and criticism he’ll dish out if he did come back.

I can remember one of the first times I was out a bit of wind, and I could not keep my kayak straight to save my life. It weather cocked all over the place as I battled to keep it on course. Then at the same time, I was worrying I’d go over in those mean looking 8 inchers. My gyro was off and I could tell I was going to dump it any second. It was pretty serious to me at the time. I know I had to have stiffed right up and just made it all worse. As soon as you get stiff your braces and sweeps go to hell and the spiral just keeps spinning. By the time I’d paddled a couple miles and slid up on the beach I was exhausted and my shoulders, wrists, and legs were alternating between numb heat and pain. I really had to get up some courage to go out in waves again.

Over time 8 inchers and a little wind became if anything, an irritant. But that’s not the end of learning. Next it’s two footers, 4, 6. . . Each step along the way you tend to re-visit those early days. Luckily it seems I always had someone nearby who would notice my nerves. Inevitably they paddle up and start a silly conversation that is akin to throwing you a rope and allowing you to climb back out of the hole you’ve been digging. This in turn allows you to keep growing. These days I’m really into waves. I enjoy the ride. But it could have been much different without those occasional angels saving me from my head.

Today when I am out paddling with less experienced folks I do my best to remember those feelings. Now if I just go up to them and say, “loosen up”, “concentrate on torso rotation” or whatever, they’re going to just look at me blankly. They may try mentally to do what I ask, but within seconds they’re just back to fighting the wind and waves. Fear will maintain control. I know it would for me. So many times, depending on the person of course, I just concentrate on checking in. Chatting and being sure they are not too far over the edge. I slow my cadence down to match theirs. I don’t push or nag them to keep up. Feeling like you’re falling behind just adds to the pressure. I know as well this is not the time to teach “skill work”. But I also know I can have an effect on building confidence. It’s amazing how much better you feel when someone by you demonstrates calm. Another boat near by and easy mindless conversation can do a lot to help you relax. Then as you relax of course, your boat begins to feel “less tippy”. You become more confident, and more focused on paddling and not the niggling fears of going over.

I think as we grow in this sport, personal memory is something we need to really work to hold on to. Staying close to our memories and experiences help us to better understand and truly assit others as they learn and grow. Building confidence is one of the great gifts we can give others. With that confidence in place their skills will come along, without it they’ll be too busy fighting their head to master skills. Just my nickle!

- d

Here’s a picture us Wisconsinites will relate too.

I’m not afraid of anything in this world
There’s nothing you can throw at me
that I haven’t already heard
I’m just trying to find a decent melody
A song that I can sing in my own company – bono

Ok, so I’m not really shocked. But I’ve been feeling better. One of the great things about sea kayaking is that it actually helped me to have a little more faith in mankind. No, I’m not full of optimism. Far from it. But at least I know now that there are a lot of good people around. It’s just hard to find them in daily life.So then I come across this story. “Boater Rescued From Sharks Off Florida Coast” from November 12, of 2005. This is a story of Rogers Washington whose boat capsized in rough seas off the Florida coast. Apparently he watched his friend, Robert Lewis Moore die while two boats signaled to them yet refused to assist. Washington said, “They waved at me. I know the saw me”.

The article suggests that the boaters refused to rescue them believing that they were illegal immigrants from Haiti. Now, I’m not sure how easy it is to leap to that conclusion, but if this is so, my faith in mankind has just slipped another notch.

-d

Somewhere just under the white crystalline surface
summer is waiting in ambush – d

If this is love you’ve got to give me more,
give me more, hey hey hey, give me more. – lennon-mccartney

You know how it is with first impressions, but I can’t help but at least mention Swedish Kayak Manufacturers, Skim Kayaks! The first time I came across their website was about a year ago and I was more than a little enamored. The first thing you notice of course is the funky paint job. Cool!, a kayak with racing stripes! Then as I dug around a bit I started to see that they were doing a pretty good job at covering all the bases a sea kayaker might expect. Lots of nice little details. I’m especially impressed with the tow rig placement. Now that was designed by someone who’s climbed up on their back deck before! Getting that cleat off the back deck would be a God-send! Other little details include;

• recessed skeg control with protected wire
• hatches secured internally
• tilted aft bulkhead to get the water out easily
• rescue straps for paddle float recoveries (we just talked about that!)
• plastic beads on some of the bugies right off! (easier to grab)
• nice low flat rear deck. (I should probably call this a really big detail!)

Right now they have just a couple models, the Skim Distance which is 19’2 with a 17’6 waterline. The width is just a bit under my Explorer at 20.9, and it weighs about 55lbs. It sure looks to be a fast expediton boat. The other is the Dex which is just over 16 feet and has an ocean style cockpit no less! It’s like a play boat for control freaks! The Dex is intended to be a nimble little play boat that can handle weekend trips as well. I’d love to get the dex out and give it a go in surf.

What inspired me to write about SKIM was the fact that they put a giant ad in SeaKayaker’s last issue which expectedly spawned a discussion on one of the message boards about US distributors. So I had to ask! The answer to that question is that SKIM is expecting to have a US distributor in the near future. We need to keep an eye on their “contact page” on the website. From there maybe we’ll get an opportunity to paddle their boats. I sure hope they are as awesome to paddle as they look resting on the beach. Until then, we can just fantasize that this is the “do everything” kayak we’ve all looked for. . and hey, wouldn’t that be great!??

Visit Skim Kayaks at http://www.skimkayaks.se/
or in English at http://www.skimkayaks.com

*Photos provided by Skim Kayaks. Used by kind permission. Thank you!

Ver s’vet gicher fun aych kennen ivre, Der bakumt a fon
“Whomever learns their Hebrew quickest will receive a present”
- from Oifn Pripetshik (listen)

. . . or at least downloads the font! In order for the message board at Terra Santa in Israel to display properly you have to install the hebrew font on your PC. Why would you do that? Well to see the pictures of course!

I just had to share some photos with you from the “Terra Santa Kayak Expedition” 5th Symposium in Israel. The photos I’ve included are from a rescue class with Peter Bray. Peter as most of you know, recently returned from a record circumnavigation of South Georgia island with a team of 4 adventurers including Terra Santa’s own, Hadas Feldman. At some point during the symposium they will be getting the two of them together to share all the details of that adventure. And hopefully the audience will give Peter a proper teasing for being the only one of their group to get rolled! (at least that was mentioned). And while I’m instigating audience rebellion, they should also ask Hadas to regale them with song. But no sea shanties!!

You know, in the US there are a million kayak/sports shops. New ones open and close regularly like blooms of a dandelion. It’s the nature of business in America. However, for people like Omer Singer and Saggi Nechustan, owners of Terra Santa, they have the unique position of introducing sea kayaking to their part of the world. Terra Santa is the only sea kayak shop offerng expeditions and courses in their region, which includes the Mediterranean shores of Israel, Cyprus and Turkey, the Red Sea, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea. Along with being just really cool, I can only imagine this must introduce all sorts of singular challenges that would be hard to imagine over here. You’ve got to give them a ton of credit!

Oh, and if nothing else you have to add Omer Singer to our “Male Sea Kayaking Pin-up” list along with Simon Osborne of NDK, & Uber blogger, Ignacio Wenley Palacios!!

You can contact Terra Santa at terrasanta@seakayak.co.il.

Photos provided by Terra Santa. Symposium shots by Adam Dunsky. Used by permission. *Thanks to Josh as well!