Showing posts with label sea kayak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sea kayak. Show all posts
Monday, 28 September 2009
Some company
It was great to have some company on the water. Too much of my paddling seems to be solo these days.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Goat Island
It was good to get back in the Carolina after the SOT that I paddled on my last stay in Norway. This is an excellent boat, although I prefer the expedition version that I have at home. It is reasonably fast, very stable, relatively cheap and is a great all-rounder. It can carry my bulk plus all of my gear for an overnight trip without any problems.
Since I am having to do at least one working day at the weekends, my aim was to get back from the office early on Saturday afternoon and then get out for an overnight paddling trip. The short return paddle, after camping on an island just beyond Hesnes, allowed me to get back to the office for 10:00 on Sunday.
The weather was fantastic. I have no idea why the beaches were deserted:
Since I am having to do at least one working day at the weekends, my aim was to get back from the office early on Saturday afternoon and then get out for an overnight paddling trip. The short return paddle, after camping on an island just beyond Hesnes, allowed me to get back to the office for 10:00 on Sunday.The weather was fantastic. I have no idea why the beaches were deserted:
Saturday, 4 July 2009
The Third Way
My plan was to paddle to the beach just beyond Fevik and have a bit of a swim followed by breakfast. I could then drift back to Grimstad and go to the office straight after lunch.
In the end, I drifted in the other direction to explore lots of little channels and islands near Nedenes and didn't get back until late afternoon. I paid for the trip with a bit of redness of the skin from the sun and wind - my plan for a short trip meant that I hadn't bothered with sun block or a hat.
The swimming part of the plan worked. The beach was a little bit busier than last time I visited; six other people came down for an early swim. The water was reasonably warm and almost completely free of jellyfish.
I passed the beach again on the way back, stopping on the rocks for some lunch. The heat and the sunshine had brought out so many families that there was barely any sand to be seen between the towels and beach toys.
My exploration around Nedenes showed me a third way of getting through to Arendal; it's a slower route but very sheltered and might be useful in bad weather.
In the end, I drifted in the other direction to explore lots of little channels and islands near Nedenes and didn't get back until late afternoon. I paid for the trip with a bit of redness of the skin from the sun and wind - my plan for a short trip meant that I hadn't bothered with sun block or a hat.
The swimming part of the plan worked. The beach was a little bit busier than last time I visited; six other people came down for an early swim. The water was reasonably warm and almost completely free of jellyfish.
I passed the beach again on the way back, stopping on the rocks for some lunch. The heat and the sunshine had brought out so many families that there was barely any sand to be seen between the towels and beach toys.
My exploration around Nedenes showed me a third way of getting through to Arendal; it's a slower route but very sheltered and might be useful in bad weather.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
The furthest island
It was a nice evening and the sea was calm. There is an island all by itself about 4.5km offshore that needed a visit....
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Evening paddle
Espen and I set out from Holvika to see whether the Hesnes canal was free of ice:
We got through the remaining ice before it got dark but our return was after nightfall:
Just finding the canal again was a challenge:
We got through the remaining ice before it got dark but our return was after nightfall:
Just finding the canal again was a challenge:
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Islands, channels and a frozen canal
My second paddle in Norway involved a bit more distance and a lot more sunshine than the first. Espen and I launched from the same spot in Holvika:
We turned right and paddled into the sun towards Lillesand:
Espen was dressed for the conditions:
We went as far as the "Blind channel" of Bufjorden. Apparently, this channel is so easy to navigate that it can be done blind:
We turned into the Reddal canal that leads to the inland lakes of Landvikvannet and Reddalsvannet:
The canal was frozen after only a few hundred metres, so it will have to wait for next time:
Even the melting snow was freezing again into icicles:
The paddle back took us through lots of small channels between the islands:
Many of the islands have small holiday homes on them. Some have lighthouses and the (now disused) dwellings for the lighthouse keepers:
Night was starting to fall as we finished our paddle:
We turned right and paddled into the sun towards Lillesand:
Espen was dressed for the conditions:
We went as far as the "Blind channel" of Bufjorden. Apparently, this channel is so easy to navigate that it can be done blind:
We turned into the Reddal canal that leads to the inland lakes of Landvikvannet and Reddalsvannet:
The canal was frozen after only a few hundred metres, so it will have to wait for next time:
Even the melting snow was freezing again into icicles:
The paddle back took us through lots of small channels between the islands:
Many of the islands have small holiday homes on them. Some have lighthouses and the (now disused) dwellings for the lighthouse keepers:
Night was starting to fall as we finished our paddle:
Thursday, 19 February 2009
First paddle in Norway
It was cold. It was dark. I was using a borrowed boat and blades. I was paddling with someone that I had never met before. I didn't care; it felt great to be back in a boat for my first paddle of the year. The last two months may have been my longest time without getting in a boat in the last twenty years!
Embarrassingly, I managed to snap the borrowed paddles after about fifteen minutes. The shaft sheared through on the first hard paddle stroke and left me paddling C1-style for the rest of the evening. As a result, we only covered about 9km or so but it was a very pleasant little trip.
The coastline near Grimstad is a maze of channels between islands of a wide range of sizes:
We set off from Holvika; you can see the two jetties to the south of Groos on the bottom left of the map. I was paddling with Espen from Black Hawk (http://www.black-hawk.no/) :
There was still a bit of daylight left as we paddled off but it soon got dark:
I plan to join Grimstad PadleKlubb (http://www.grimstad-padleklubb.no/) on Sunday. My thanks go to Espen for the company and the loan of the kit.
Embarrassingly, I managed to snap the borrowed paddles after about fifteen minutes. The shaft sheared through on the first hard paddle stroke and left me paddling C1-style for the rest of the evening. As a result, we only covered about 9km or so but it was a very pleasant little trip.
The coastline near Grimstad is a maze of channels between islands of a wide range of sizes:
We set off from Holvika; you can see the two jetties to the south of Groos on the bottom left of the map. I was paddling with Espen from Black Hawk (http://www.black-hawk.no/) :
There was still a bit of daylight left as we paddled off but it soon got dark:
I plan to join Grimstad PadleKlubb (http://www.grimstad-padleklubb.no/) on Sunday. My thanks go to Espen for the company and the loan of the kit.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Surfing across the Solway
Our return paddle from Southerness to Silloth was direct but entertaining:
Before we could paddle, Jim had to find the energy to overcome feeling ill and pack his kit into his boat:
There was a long trek over the sands:
We were lucky enough to find a creek that allowed us to float the boats for some of the way:
The first part of the paddle was OK but we started to go over the sandbanks after a few km:
There were some gaps between the sandbanks but these seemed to just make the seas more confused:
Photos weren't really an option in the confused seas. There was a big tide coming in over relatively shallow waters - we might have been better off waiting until there was a bit more water over the sand banks - and it kicked up some fairly substantial waves.
The combination of tide, wind and waves gave us quite an impetus. The GPS hit a maximum speed of just over 20kph as I surfed one of the more helpful waves.
We were relieved to make it to the beach to the south-west of the harbour at Silloth:
The waves breaking were on the concrete along the Silloth sea front where we launched for the outward trip. This would not have made a good spot to land:
We were pleased to see that a tug working on the new windfarm also managed to make the conditions look quite challenging:
I would like to go back and visit this area again. Another time we would make sure that there was a bit more daylight and would take a more direct route:
I am now confident that my boat will handle adequately when loaded for a week; I still had food for about four days when we unpacked to drive home.
A final note of thanks is owed to Mark Rainsley of UKRGB for his notes about the tides in the Solway Firth and to Douglas Wilcox for his inspiring account of paddling around Hestan Island, which we will reach next time. Weather and illness made us achieve far less on this trip than we had hoped but it was still a rewarding paddle and a good introduction to this area.
Before we could paddle, Jim had to find the energy to overcome feeling ill and pack his kit into his boat:
There was a long trek over the sands:
We were lucky enough to find a creek that allowed us to float the boats for some of the way:
The first part of the paddle was OK but we started to go over the sandbanks after a few km:
There were some gaps between the sandbanks but these seemed to just make the seas more confused:
Photos weren't really an option in the confused seas. There was a big tide coming in over relatively shallow waters - we might have been better off waiting until there was a bit more water over the sand banks - and it kicked up some fairly substantial waves.The combination of tide, wind and waves gave us quite an impetus. The GPS hit a maximum speed of just over 20kph as I surfed one of the more helpful waves.
We were relieved to make it to the beach to the south-west of the harbour at Silloth:
The waves breaking were on the concrete along the Silloth sea front where we launched for the outward trip. This would not have made a good spot to land:
We were pleased to see that a tug working on the new windfarm also managed to make the conditions look quite challenging:
I would like to go back and visit this area again. Another time we would make sure that there was a bit more daylight and would take a more direct route:
I am now confident that my boat will handle adequately when loaded for a week; I still had food for about four days when we unpacked to drive home.A final note of thanks is owed to Mark Rainsley of UKRGB for his notes about the tides in the Solway Firth and to Douglas Wilcox for his inspiring account of paddling around Hestan Island, which we will reach next time. Weather and illness made us achieve far less on this trip than we had hoped but it was still a rewarding paddle and a good introduction to this area.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Chips and Chop
We had a little paddle from Silloth in the NW of England to Southerness in the SW of Scotland, fueled by some excellent local food:
We packed our boats with an unfeasible amount of gear. A couple sitting in their car couldn't believe that it all fitted. We couldn't believe the weight of our boats when we tried to carry them to the slipway.
We launched in front of the lifeboat station, after a little chat with the volunteers in the RNLI shop. In retrospect, the newer slipway (or the West Beach) would probably have been a better option. Our launch from the old slipway amused the tourists but left some gelcoat behind on the rough concrete:
We set off into sunshine, with fine views all around:
There was something of a headwind and a bit of chop but nothing to worry about:
It took us a couple of hours to reach the sands on the other side of the firth:
Our landing point was just down the beach from the lighthouse and the village:
The camping spot that we found wasn't the most appealing but it served its purpose. We were right by the golf course but the night passed without any disturbance other than the noise of the waves at high tide.
There was plenty of driftwood for a fire, although we still used the trangia for cooking our meal. There was space for us to play with a new tarp as well as pitch our tents:
We packed our boats with an unfeasible amount of gear. A couple sitting in their car couldn't believe that it all fitted. We couldn't believe the weight of our boats when we tried to carry them to the slipway.
We launched in front of the lifeboat station, after a little chat with the volunteers in the RNLI shop. In retrospect, the newer slipway (or the West Beach) would probably have been a better option. Our launch from the old slipway amused the tourists but left some gelcoat behind on the rough concrete:
We set off into sunshine, with fine views all around:
There was something of a headwind and a bit of chop but nothing to worry about:
It took us a couple of hours to reach the sands on the other side of the firth:
Our landing point was just down the beach from the lighthouse and the village:
The camping spot that we found wasn't the most appealing but it served its purpose. We were right by the golf course but the night passed without any disturbance other than the noise of the waves at high tide.There was plenty of driftwood for a fire, although we still used the trangia for cooking our meal. There was space for us to play with a new tarp as well as pitch our tents:
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