wooden boats, wind and rescue and a race, but someone has to watch the store

There are more and more wooden kayaks on the water these days, heres Ori and Vered in my double meeting Etai in his Night Heron

Then Izzy gets into the picture with his stitch and glue Chesapeake as well,  so now there are 4 of us together, I`m in my Night Heron too

Off they go , practicing for tomorrows outing to Michmoret  to watch the surfski competition

Later that morning I took out a small group, the wind was picking up and there were choppy seas.
In order to keep the group together we used a tow rope to help the slower kayakers to stay with the group. This also keeps the impatient paddlers with the group.

The wind picked up all morning  and by the time the afternoon group went out it was gusting at 18 to 20k.I  was not there {someone has to watch the store} but have managed to piece together the events after talking to those who were.
As the group began to paddle into the wind and surf some realised that the conditions were beyond their abilities and turned back. Those that went out of the bay passed the reef and also decided to return. The group had one surfski with them. The surfski capsized in the waves and wind and could not remount. This resulted in them being swept downwind in increasing large seas, making them not visible for periods. Most of the group made it back to the shore with a few capsizes along the way . A couple of the more experienced ones tried to help the surfski but to no avail.A kite surfer with a dislocated shoulder was rescued along the way. The surfskier held onto her kayak ,was swept downwind about 2km until she managed to swim back to shore and then had a long haul back to the club. There was a boat in the water looking out for them and the surfer.
All ended well and lessons were learnt.
Know your abilities and trust your instincts, when you feel that you shouldnt be out on the water go home, unless your`e with an instructor who is helping you get better and can rescue you if needed.
Be sure that you can rescue all in your group if the need arises, surfskis and seakayaks are incompatible in rough water unless you have practiced and learned to help each other.
Listen to your group leader and don`t endanger yourself  by trying to help if you cant manage in the conditions. This just complicates the whole rescue procedure.
Get more training in rescue techniques and practice practice practice.
That`s why we have symposiums , there are still a few places available, so hurry before its too late.