By Vladimir Brezina
Kayaking in open waters far from land, there’s not much to photograph except endless waves—and yourself!
These are photos from a kayak-sailing trip, with the camera mounted at the top of the mast.
A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Self.
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
 | CurlsnSkirls on The First Leg! |
 | Johna Till Johnson on The First Leg! |
| Johna Till Johnson on The First Leg! |
 | Marilyn Albright on The First Leg! |
| CurlsnSkirls on The First Leg! |
| Johna Till Johnson on Looks Like They Made It! |
 | Pit on Looks Like They Made It! |
| Johna Till Johnson on More Scenes From the Nort… |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
 | Larry Jensen on More Scenes From the Nort… |
| Johna Till Johnson on R2AK: Scenes From the Northern… |
 | Frank Winters on R2AK: Scenes From the Northern… |
| Johna Till Johnson on Halfway There! |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
| Johna Till Johnson on And They’re Off! |
Wind Against Current 
Looks like a bit of a rough ride there :)
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You can’t win. If it’s smooth, it’s because there’s no wind, and you are not going anywhere. If there’s a lot of wind, it’s rough. You have to hope for something in between… :-)
Actually, this day was just right—a lot of fun.
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Either way, you have to use your arms and strength to steer the kayak. And that is always fun ;)
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Actually, if there is wind, with that kind of rig you don’t have to do any of that. It’s a bit disconcerting when you are used to paddling rather than sailing. When sailing, you can just sit there, eat lunch, even go to sleep (done that…) :-)
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How can you control the sail behind you? Is this a balough sail?
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Yes, it’s a Balogh Batwing sail:
Mounting the sail aft of the cockpit was a conscious choice, primarily to allow unobstructed paddling while sailing in light winds (or no wind at all). For Mark Balogh’s discussion of the pros and cons of mounting the sail aft rather than forward see the earlier full post.
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A definite different take, or should I say, “view”. I like it. It gives one a better idea of what you are seeing and how rough the waters really are.
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Well, this is how it was in the conventional view—
It was just after a cold front had passed through during the night, so there was a strong northerly wind…
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I seriously need to learn how to swim.. I cannot enjoy such water sports :(
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Knowing how to swim is always a good thing! But if your boat capsizes, don’t try to swim to shore—stay with the boat :-)
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What a great camera perspective!
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If you’ve got a tall mast, you might as well make use of it… :-)
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Yes, indeed. Why do I feel that’s a bit of bawdy humour common to the seagoing types? ;)
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I am shocked, SHOCKED, that anyone would read it that way :-)
Really, it never occurred to me.
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Haha, excuse me, my brain must have stumbled, temporarily, into the gutter. Or maybe I’m hanging out with too many mariners. ;-)
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great shots!
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Thanks!!
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Great angle on these photos! And they are much more interesting than most “self” photos!
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Glad you like them, Marilyn! :-)
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