The previous day we got back from the beautiful Ajishima on what we were told was the last ferry before the typhoon waves got too big, so I was expecting some big surf today. It was obviously storm surf but the height wasn’t as terrifying as I thought it might be, I’d say from crest to trough somewhere around 5 feet on the bigger waves. Some of the waves were breaking really nicely – holding up for a long time and then crumbling down while others were dumping so it was really pot luck on a lot of runs. The beach shape was also a bit funny causing the waves to break flatten and then reform into a shore break with 2-3 footers and a 20m run into shore.

I’m not sure if I am getting better or less scared of the surf (by the way I think a helmet really helps your confidence) but I was able to get on a lot of waves and was even waiting for the bigger waves….

Still not doing very much; starting to carve a bit on the wave face and I think I even got the steering rudder worked out but I definately need to engage with the ‘power pocket’ of the wave more. Still, enjoying the speed very much. As usual got tossed a few times but had great fun.

It was raining when I started around 10am but the sun came out and the beach got busier by 1pm when I packed up – exhausted. So that was it.

Thanks Japan for a great place to sea kayak and surf: the pacific is a lovely warm ocean to learn to sea kayak.

Thanks also to everyone who helped me, taught me how to kayak and provided priceless snippets of information about sea kayaking in Japan…

And Victoria Jason (the first woman to paddle solo the Northwest Passage) getting chased by a Polar Bear:
“At one point they had to paddle ferociously to keep out of reach of a polar bear swimming after them. When they had escaped from the bear, and spread a map out over the two kayaks, the bear suddenly reappeared and they again had to paddle, but now the bear was getting so close, Vicki could see her yellow kayak reflected in its eyes.”

I went surfing again just to get in the sea and to cool down. The sea is still not super warm but is beautiful. Lots of washed up broken seashells on the beach from the recent Typhoon that I had to be careful off in my bare feet (practicing for when I ship my kayak boots back home on Monday).

The waves were only 1-2 feet high but I still had lots of fun carving and bongo sliding and I even managed my first, unexpected, roll in the surf – using the paddle in an extended C to C.

From 4 to 6pm I was all alone on this part of the beach. Then two surfers arrived and like assholes swam right out and just sat in the middle of the break I was surfing. I decided not to worry about it, it’s probably their break anyway.

About 30 minutes later a fisherman walked along the beach and started setting up his stuff right in front of where I was playing in the surf. I waved to him to make sure he saw me but before I had a chance to say anything, Plop, in went the heavy weight about 5m from me. Abunaii! I didn’t shout that but my wife says I should have – what an asshole. What I wanted to do was beach the kayak and start pumelling him… I restrained myself of course.

I find the problem with Japan is that because no one tells other people off – face saving is so important here – then people just do what they want. Around where they live or work they are restrained by duty (actually I think it’s “the neighbours”) but at the beach or in the mountains they are free to be totally sellfish. Hence beaches are covered in trash, car parks with piles of cigarette butts from the car ashtray, huge SUV’s drive down the beach, and Jet skiers come with 5m of swimmers. And fisherman act badly secure in the knowledge that no-one will say anything. And they would be right.

There are good and bad things everywhere right? I mean as Rik described in a comment here, the other extreme is North American rightousness…

I got rolled and had to swim three times (in 1-2 foot waves, I know!), once after battling through a small rip tide swimming the boat to shore I realised that a sit-inside kayak isn’t the right thing for me, for surfing. I should get a sit-on-top – be like surfers who never have to beach and bail, just climb back on if I fail to roll.

This one from dagger.
Some much nicer looking designs and a review of sit on top surf kayaks is here and here.

I also found out about the term Pearl in kayaking and a Plowing Ender, a related technique that I will try next time.

Of course proper surf kayaks are not sit on tops. Paddle Surfers United is a good place to read about boats like this one; the Reaction from Murky Water in Canada

Anyway I can’t wait for the images.

I got to the beach at noon and played around in 2-3 foot surf for a few hours. As ever I failed to roll except when setting up in advance (except once when the wave rolled me back up by itself). I need to find a roll that I can do from the back deck, which is usually the position I find myself having been tossed in surf: I’ve been leaning right back high bracing into the pile, trying to keep the bow from sinking…

The wing paddle peforms okay for high braces though it does have a tendancy to slide out but I found this managable, I could flip the blade to the back and draw back to finish on a low brace. However that might be to do with the size of these waves. Where it is less good is in the strain it puts on my lower back and joints punching through waves to get back out – the paddles inflexibility really takes it’s toll. The 60 degree feather was also too much in the surf and caused some soreness in my grip (probably gripping too tightly).

The waves today were very short frequency, about 6secs which is a short as they get here, so getting back out was the hardest part as you have to punch through at least 3 breaking waves.

I planned to go again on Sunday (9sec frequency and 4-5 foot waves predicted) but my body was too sore!

It’s in Japanese but should still be useful.

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A previous post with descriptions about the oshika peninsula and kayaking trips here, here, here and here.

The sea has been wild these last few days as the largest typhoon ever recorded in July hit Japan. I got soaked visiting the amazing island Naoshima near Kobe which has become an art island with probably the world’s most amazing art gallery the chichu art gallery by Tadao Ando.

This is the best building I have ever visited (I’m an architect and have visited a lot of buildings). Please go to Naoshima.

It is an amazing country.

No pictures again (makes blogging pretty boring) so here are some from Seacliffe Beach in Scotland (wikipedia) which will soon be my local surf beach.

The people surfing are members of the Edinburgh Kayak Club which will soon be my local club – I’m thinking of joining… You can see more pictures of their trip to Seacliffe beach in this gallery.

My surfing was ok. The sea was almost totally flat and the waves small but as usual the sand bar at Oku Matsushima pops up some nice little waves  perfect for a beginner like me. I guess 1-2 feet.

My only noteable event was getting cartwheeled when stationary and an unusually big wave suddenly reared up, I was hoping to hold on with a big high brace and leaning right back to the rear deck but as the front of my kayak disappeared down into the water my spray skirt popped a bit as the wave landed on me and water rushed in sinking the front and ending any hopes of saving it – I went over backwards and failed to roll.

Pretty exciting in an 8 foot river kayak in small surf wonder what it would be like in a 16foot sea kayak in huge storm surf?

At the Niseko Adventure Centre

“A tail wind meant that we could raft the boats together and hoist the purpose made sail. The sail is a sheet of tarpaulin with pockets for paddle blades in the top corners. These paddles are hoisted as masts by the front outside paddlers in the raft. Sheets from the top of the sail go back to the rear outside paddlers to take the strain of the sail. In this way we soon crossed the excellently named Hopeless Reach.”

posted by wanderings of a farmboy in Australia on a tour run by rivergods but sadly with no pictures of the sail or raft.

The same post goes on like this, next day:
“Although strong, the wind was behind us, so we rafted up again. The wind was so strong that we were physically not strong enough to hold the sail in place. Instead we hoisted our paddles in the air and this provided enough propulsion to move us at a descent speed.

After 2 hours of sailing like this we approached the Cape Peron. At this point Easterly waves started to meet the South-easterly waves we had been riding along. The resulting 2 metre of so seas on our aft quarter started trying to pull the raft apart. As the seas got bigger more ropes and eyelets snapped so that in the end most people were holding the kayaks together. One particularly large wave broke over the heads of the rear paddlers.

Just when we were at our most terrified we spotted a large dugong with her calf a short distance away. Our tribulations were forgotten briefly as we watched these rare and remarkable animals.

Eventually we were washed up on the more sheltered shoreline, where we broke up the raft, bailed out water and set off for Cape Peron.”

Souns interesting.