JUL IGJEN!

Julen er som vanlig tid for padling. Julaften begynte med mykje vind som stilna etterkvart. Då var det berre å kome seg ut for å sjå på havet. Det var eit brøl som møtte meg på sørsida av Turøy og eg vart liggande å observere ein stund. Meterologisk institutt sa 5m bølgehøgd og det var rotete sjø! Dette var det beste bildet eg klarte å få tatt der.

1. juledag var det tid for variasjon då skuldrane ikkje er heilt gode enno. god utsikt til havet er viktig, og her mellom Skogsøy og Herdlevær. Om du ser godt etter ser du straumen som kjem ut og møter bølgene som kjem frå vest.

2. juledag kom uværet att og dette er frå vika på sørsida av det gamle bølgekraftverket på Toftøy. Litt til venstre for spruten midt i bildet er det eit skjær der ein padlar vart overraska av bølgen og omkom for nokre år sidan.

Kajakken vart liggande på land den dagen og...

Lenge siden siste oppdatering

Mista kameraet i vår og datamaskinen har heller ikkje vore frisk, men no er alt i orden - nytt kamera og fin maskin. Eg har padla meir enn nokon sinne denne hausten og vinteren er jo tida for store bølger...

NPF Videregåendekurs

Fine båter gjøres klare på Ormhilleren lørdag morgen

Synfaring før den eksponerte biten av ruten
Det ble vind og bølger

Seal launch!

Generalsekretæren var med

Enno meir vind ga vanskelige forhold for gruppen

9-11 november var det endeleg klart for siste del av NPF Videregåendekurs i Øygarden. Eg var utrusta med nytt vanntett kamera og min nye veilederstatus, så eg fekk vere observatør denne gongen. Vi låg i telt to netter og det var ikkje spesielt varmt med tanke på at det var mellom 0 og 4 grader i lufta, vind opp i 20 m/s, regn, hagl og sludd og sjølvsagt det at mykje av utstyret til einkvar tid var vått.
Første dagen planla deltakarane ein tur på omlag 6 nautiske mil i motvind med nokre passasjar i 4 stjerners forhold. Det gjekk utan store problem. Alle måtte prøve ei rulle i bølgene. Andre dagen vart det fleire oppgåver frå leiarane og det vart ilandstigning med svømming, tauing, redning og manøvrering i vind og bølger. Heile kurset fekk gruppa diskutert og praktisert rutevalg og navigasjon. Alle fekk godkjent kurset og det var jo spesielt fint at fire av dei er medlemmar i BSI Padling!

Njord Stormsamling 07

Stormsamlinga levde opp til namnet i år med mykje vind og høge bølger. Nokre av oss frå BSI kom torsdag kveld og fredagen vart den desidert beste dagen med store bølger frå nord og relativt lite vind. God surf! BSI rulte med fleire loopar og eg klarte endeleg ein baklengs surf og loop søndagen (men då var ingen klare med kameraet).

Eg liker spesielt godt dette bildet fordi det minner meg om eit i boka til Eric Soares

God surf på nordsida, berre om å gjere å ikkje kome for nært land

Vanskelege forhold for fotografering!

Stor bølge som vart knust av steinen, så det var ikkje så ille som det ser ut til!

Ulykkestur

7. oktober var eg med på elvetur til Øvre Strandaelva med BSI. Veldig lite vatn og uerfaren som eg er trudde eg det var fint, for elva såg så stille ut. Det var heilt til eg gjekk under og knakk ei åre og ei anna i gruppa fekk justert nasa rett etterpå...
Etter ei lita pause drog vi videre til Evanger og fekk surfa litt på ei fin bølge der. Vart sliten og fekk svømt eit stryk for første gong og sjølv om det var lite er det ikkje noko som frister til gjentagelse!

VEILEDER HAV!

21-23 september var vi samla til siste del av veilederkurset. Det starta med mykje vind og det fortsatte med meir! Vi var delt i to grupper og padla litt ulike ruter fra Kvenværet på Hitra ut til leiren som låg på ei øy ytterst mot Frøya. Vi skulle finne passende områder for å utfordre oss sjølv og vi rulla og redda i 3m bølger og padla gjennom trange passasjer med rotete sjø og steiner det braut over. Vi prøvde og å gå i land i relativt store bølger ved at ein padlar svømte med kajakken på slep medan ein annan kontrollerte han. Andre dagen blåste det så mykje at vi vart sittande på land og vi fekk diskutert mange aspekt ved padling og veiledning. Tredje dagen vart det litt navigasjon, eskimoredning, redding av medvitslaus padlar i skummande kvitt vatn og tauing, ilandføring og gjennoppliving av samme. Litt surfing vart det og men bølgene var ikkje så store lenger. Eit lærerikt kurs og fantastiske medpadlere! Ingen bilder foreløpig :-(

Surf ved Hitsøy

Torbjørn, eg og nokre fleir varma opp til siste del av veilederkurset med ein liten tur i store bølger utanfor Hitsøy. Tok nokre bilder av Torbjørn i surfen.

Handrulla!

Endeleg klarte eg handrulla. Eg har prøvd jevnleg siste året og no var det på tide etter at den vanlige foroverrulla er blitt heilt automatisert og eg treng nesten ikkje bruke kraft på åra.

Elvetur med BSI

Sliten etter mange mislykkede forsøk på å treffe bølgen.

Heldigvis var det andre som ikkje alltid klarte det heller!

Så ligg elve-noreg for mine padleårer. Med våre ferske elvekunnskapar berre måtte vi på elva igjen og dermed vart det ny tur til Voss og Øvre Strandaelva på lørdag. No var det mykje meir vatn og leikeplassane var med eitt MYKJE meir interressante og skumle! Fekk låne ein leikekajakk - Riot Astro 52 - og gjorde mange triks ganske ufrivillig til eg fekk bytta til ein svær stødig sak.
Rulletreninga på hav ga god uttelling, men litt svømming vart det allikevel. Fleire bilder.

ELVEPADLING

Men så kom eg heim att til Noreg og det var kaldt og merkeleg. Heldigvis haldde Sverre og Lidun ordna plass til meg på eit elvepadlekurs hos Voss ski og surf, eller bare Einar på Voss helga 11. og 12. august. Det gjekk fort opp for meg at dette var gøy! Det var og veldig interressant å sjå korleis vatnet flyt i elva og korleis kajakkane reagerer på det. Mykje var ulikt havpadling, men noko var likt. Det vart litt forvirring med kanting av kajakken som er heilt motsatt. Vi fekk prøve oss i nokre stryk og vi satt fast med både båt og kropp i små valsar. Det var skummelt å sjå kor kraftige dei var på tross av at dei var veldig små. Veldig bra kurs!

Padling på Ko Samet

No gidder eg ikkje å skrive på engelsk meir- nynorsk er språket (sorry Matthias).
Thailand er eit fint land å padle i. Varmt i luft og sjø, faktisk så varmt at padling er ein av dei få treningsformer som ikkje blir kvalmande.

Going to Asia

No paddling for a while, five weeks in Thailand and Cambodia is waiting...

ROMANY

I have three whole days in the open ocean in my new kayak by now, and I feel I have to say something. The slowness doesn't bother me anymore. It's no problem in a (normal) group, as the touring speed is quite lazy. For confused sea it is like cheating! I can sit calmly with the paddle in one hand and the camera in the other while the waves breaks into my chest. Ok, I still have to work, but some passages seems a lot more likely to be negotiated alive from now on. I got a new roll in the boat as well, the armpit roll on first attemt. A short ocean playboat like this makes the perfect pair together with my Greenlander Pro.

Can not find my camera

I have a huge problem. My waterproof camera is missing (somewere in the house) and I don't get to take any pictures of my trips. There has been lots of opportunities lately but no time to write and no inspiration as the photos are really my spine in this blogg.

Anyway, I joined the "NPF Videregående kurs" some weeks ago (kind of a 4*course) and had a wonderful weekend on the sea.

I also helped on the Njord Sea kayak Symposium, rockhopper-daytrip and NPF technique course.

I bought a new SKUK Romany from Nomekajakk and it really feels like a riverkayak! Short and turnable. FANTASTIC playboat, but painfully slow...

Rolling practice yesterday: did the armpit roll and I am now confident with the forward sweep roll. Starting to understand some of the rope tricks as well.

Thanks to Einar for the pictures!

WHEELS!

Although this is supposed to be about kayaks, I just have to bring in some wheels! Today I got 60 km on the c-40 - nice. I have been rebuilding some bikes lately and had to get a new mountainbike frame in titanium(!) to use all my spare parts, besides I am a bit tired of cars. Joachim of "Bergen sykkelservice" has convinced me to take up mountainbiking. The Kona dr. Dew has got a pair of Mavic speedcity wheels, a 48-34 compact crank and splasguards - perfect for its use. The Colnago got a new seat, Flite TT and new tyres.

Lots of paddling

The last month, I have paddled and traveled a lot with no time to write. First two beginners courses, then Veileder course and finally I went to Geilo with my twenty 7. graders (work!). Rolling night at BSI again this week...

Easter paddling

Friday we took a trip together with two guys from Øygarden havkajakk klubb. The goal was to paddle in four star conditions and do some rockhopping. First it looked like the rockhopping was out of the question as the waves were quite big. Later we found a nice reef on the northern tip of Dyrøy that could be managed. We altso saw two eagels.

Rockhopper course

Eivind, Torbjørn and I were instructors on the Njord Rockhoppercourse this weekend. Eight paddlers from my club and some others made this a great experience.
Saturday we started as planned, training strokes along shore and between rocks. Focus on Sweep-stroke and sideways draw-stroke. After some easy playing in the growing swell we had a little crossing and discovered that the wind had increased quite a lot. After lunch it had reached 14 m/s and playing in our planned spots was out of the question. Instead we played in a smaller surf, but not the space we needed and we couldn`t split the group beacause of the weather. It was a hard day and too much paddling so the people got quite tired after dinner.

Second day we got out to perfect rockhopping conditions. Slight wind and a bit more swell. Lot of playing and some rescue training.

Kayak vs. Rock

Thursday Eivind, Torbjørn and I went out to find some nice spots and to plan the first Njord Rockhoppercourse of the season. We found a great place west of Nore Sele in Øygarden. There were only a small swell, but we all got our hair wet...

Valley Aquanaut club PE

New Kayak shop in town: www.god-tur.no

The BSI paddling club has purchased two "Valley Aquanaut Club" in Polyetylene from the guys at God Tur AS. We took one of them out wednesday and Stefan and I got to test it a little. The boat handled much like the other brit boats we have tried. Speed and manouverability is very good. What came as a suprise was the low volume and low back deck. Easy to roll and do the "cowboy rescue". The hull is also much stiffer than many other PE boats. Conclusion: No doubt one of the best kayak deals around. Highlight: rope operated skeg - impossible to break, easy to fix!

Epics in rain

Title inspired by TITS 3, we were suprised by a strong offshore wind today, about the same strength as in the film. Slow progress back to the clubhouse, but good training.
Todays mission was to find places to land in an emergency. Lots of good places, but it helps to know where they are when you need them!

Rockhopper numero uno

Njord, the most hardcore kayak company on the face of the earth (yes, I write what I want here), has asked me to hold some Njord Rockhopper courses this season. A great and unexpected honor!

That means that I also will be in kayak Nirvana Bulandet april 28.-29.

Pool training

Finally, I made the "reverse sweep roll"! (underwater view). I have been struggling with it for two years and yesterday it suddenly came to me together with the "behind the head standard roll" HA!
If you need some rolling inspiration, take a look at the Greenland rolling list.

BCU four star training and assessment

BCU four star training and assessment
“Njord storm gathering” at Bulandet, Norway, 6.-7. Oct 2006

My photos from this course are quite popular, and I couldn't find much info on the net about it, so here is my review in english this time:

I worked a little for the kayak adventure company Njord in Western Norway the summer of 2006, and because of that I was offered a place on “BCU four star training and assessment” with Olly Sanders. As I had met Olly's friend Leo Hoare earlier this year (he had a lot of amusing stories about Olly) this seemed like a good way to spend a weekend. This ment that I saw little of my friends in the BSI paddling club, but also that I was the one who spent the most time on the water.

We were six exited kayakers who met our coach Friday morning. I knew three of them – Torbjørn, Therese and Xavier and there were two new faces, Erik and Juan. All of us had quite some kayaking experience. Olly lectured us about judging of situations and risk analysis. He introduced the word “bulls eye” to the kayak vocabulary. Bulls eye is where you don`t want to be. The further out in the circle the better. Olly informed us that the “assessment” part would be something he would do continuously. There would be no test of skills in the end of the two days, we would just be having fun and do our best, and he would be assessing on the go.

We got on the water after having looked at, and judged equipment for serious sea kayaking. Dry- or wetsuit plus extras, west, helmet, towline, cowtail, repair kit, flares and mobile phone vs. VHF. Everything had to be well thought of, down to the tiniest detail like “Why did you buy the NRS towline and not the Palm? How long is it, and why? Is that an appropriate length for towing in a following sea? How could you modify this item so that it suits your needs better?” and so on.

First lesson was turning in strong wind, with tips for improvements and some new tricks. At this point I were a little too eager and got my head wet but the roll training payed off and that is always a good feeling! Olly commented it all, always with humour and seriousness in a lovely mix. He had a remarkable ability to share his knowledge about nature in general and kayaking in particular.

Then more turning in more wind and waves as we used the relaxed grip. It was what Olly called a “salty day” and some tasted more than enough salt when we were allowed to surf in following waves, and some spontaneous rescue training was seen.

After a cold and wet lunch it was time to have a look at forbidden fruit. Olly found a really scary place, flat sea for a long time, then suddenly an explosion of foam, spray, dumping surf from all directions and rocks everywhere. ”THIS IS WHAT I CALL A BOOMER!” Olly shouted, ”Totally unpredictable! This is the bulls eye, this is where you don't want to be!” Everybody got the point.

The last exercise of the day was towing of seasick paddlers in dangerous waters. While towing, we had to pick the best route to safety. Back on shore it was time for theory about tide and meteorology.

Next day, we were so fortunate to be able to observe and feel the effect of a low pressure passing by, wind increasing and veering, troughs and fronts with heavy rain and wind.

Olly had a small homemade book full of useful information and funny drawings. Here we were introduced to “the kung fu death grip”, the opposite of a relaxed grip, something that isn't that easy to achieve in four star conditions... ”the windshield wipe” is the way to go, open your upper hand in front of your face on every stroke and tenosynovitis is avoided. Before lunch we practised linked strokes and tight turns, tilting and leaning, all the time with the relaxed grip in mind.

After lunch there were time for some self rescue, sculling and rolling training in placid waters before we went out in the exposed zone.

Then Olly came up with a series of cases and we had to deal with them on our own or direct some friends to help with the task. Injured paddler had to be supported during a fan tow, rescues of injured and/or panicked paddlers and so on.

I got the message ”I`m going to capsize and you must rescue me alone or with help from some of the others.” This would have been easy hadn't Olly found a spot where you could see the waves felt the bottom and I knew if a big one hit, we would be in trouble (and of course it would sooner or later). Then, suddenly, everything went wrong. The other group`s towing exercise was becoming more than an exercise when one of the paddlers weren't able to turn the kayak downwind, as the low pressure moved closer and the wind increased. One of my group capsized as I was calling for help for a towed rescue of Olly away from the shallow waters. He had to be rescued by my other helper and I was left alone rescuing Olly who played quite helpless. It didn't break just then and everything went well. On the way back, we got half an hour to play in a smaller boomer, something Torbjørn and I happily did while the Latinos Juan and Xavier went home for a shower (something that probably payed off later at the party, I wouldn't know as I was so tired I got to bed after just three beers!)

Before dinner it was time for individual feedback, tips for further improvements and most important, did we deserve the four stars? Not everyone did!

So, was this course different than the ones I have attended through The Norwegian canoe Union and Njord? A lot was similar, but it was a lot more theory about meteorology and tides. It was a more complete course that not only was about kayak technique, but also about the environment we in which we paddle. The fact that the coach was one of the best there is, was of course no drawback!

Rumor has it there will be a new chance on the Norwegian Sea Kayak Symposium this spring. Highly recommended!

Winter at last!

Winter and snow makes for eksotic paddling in Bergen. Nice conditions on the way out, bad visibility on the way back. Valley "Anas Acutas" ordered. Thanks for the picture Stefan!