Assignment 7 – Costal Course on Randøya island

20th – 24th Mai

From monday till friday, we lived and learned on the island Randøya. This week was planned as a common costal course for the International and the Norwegian Outdoor Education students. We were split and mixed in smaller groups to learn, develop and experience sea and costal based knowledge and activities.

It’s been a bussy week with a lot of input.

My group started Monday afternoon with the subject preparing nets. Our job was to check the nets for wholes, fix the ballast, that pulls the net down in the sea and prepare everything properly to cast. As we were the group, that was supposed to spend the first night out on another island for the overnight survival, we were responsible to cast the nets in the evening and bring them back in the morning.

The overnight survival was a role play of a worst case scenario: You are out on the sea with your group for a day trip. But you are caught off-guard by really bad weather, so that the group has to stop on an island and do an emergency overnight without tent, sleeping bag or sleeping mat.

My day pack included:
First aid kit
Water & snacks
Changing clothes & towel
Waterproofs

We got extras as:
Trangia & gas
Tarp & ropes
Potatoes, karotts & onion
Fishing lines

And so we went off with a rowboat, the nets and our day equipment for our first adventure.

The rowing was a horrible zigzag but got better when we started with commandos and a rhythm. After casting the nets we went straight to the island we were recommended to go. We pulled the boats on the rocks, that they were safe from the sea and started exploring our island and looking for spots to overnight. It was very exciting. We found two possible locations: Under the trees between bushes on soft earth ground or in a ruin bunker on hard beton ground. The group went for the second option. As almost everyone had already spottet tickes on their body just from roaming through the island, it did not sound like a pleasure to lay down in the ticks nest. And the bunker was not only a tick safe place, but offered also a good wind shelter with the surrounding stone walls and possibilities to set the tarpes as a protection for rain.

While half of the group set the tarps and prepared the camp, I went with the other half back out on the sea fishing. It was the first time fishing for me and Bec explained me how to use the fishing line. It was pretty easy and I couldn’t really believe that fish would bite… till I felt some counteraction at the line. “Get the line in.” I was so excited. Would there really be a fish?! Yeeees, there was one. My first fish. Getting it from the hook was the next task. It was more greasy and slippery than expacted. And of course it slithered through my hands and thrashed around in the boat before it went in the tub.

Against my expectations, I really enjoyed the fishing. I liked the tension when we pulled in the line and wondered what it would be. The sea was not very calm and we had to pay attention not to drift too far away or crash against the rocks. There was also a strong current that pulled our lines in the same direction, why we had to be careful not to lock the lines. We were surprisingly succesful and rowed back after a while with our catch. Martin, a Norwegian in our group, had the best knowledge about fishing and fish. He showed us how to kill, cut and clean the fish. I realised that killing is really not my thing. It might be a quick and good death for the fish to cut in its head, but it feels brutal. And it’s horrible when the fish still twitches around afterwards because the nerves are connected yet. In contrast the cleaning and cutting part was super interesting, also for the seagulls, they just waited to catch the innards.
The weather was fine (dry and rather warm) and the camp and group atmosphere quite good. There was time to get to know each other, tell storys and jokes and eat fish of course. Fish soup, roasted fish, grilled fish and some people tried raw fish (even the eyes).

My favourite was definitly the grilled one.

 

After enjoying a very nice sunset on our lovely island, everyone prepared their sleeping area. As it was not supposed to rain I decided to sleep next to the fire place, not under the tarp. I know that my body is not very good in creating heat but much better in freezing. So my greatest worry about the night was to get too cold. I used my life vest as an isolation against the ground and placed it under my body. It was also a try to make my sleep more comfortable but in fact I am not sure if it would had been better without it. I pulled my extra changing clothes over my normal clothes or wrapped them around my feet and lower body and covered my upper body with my towel. It felt not too bad in the beginning. The fire effected the purpose and warmed me for the first couple of hours. I wake every hour when the fire was close to burn out and blow on the coals again. But I gave up in the wee hours, as the fire didn’t want to start anymore and the good wood was gone. From now on, it was not only the hard ground, the question how to position and the prickling limbs from disturbed circulation that kept me awake, no, now it became cold. I realised the big difference between a small glowing fire and no fire. I rolled closer to my neighbour and snuggled up to catch some heat. Body warm is amazing. It worked pretty good helped to relax more.

We have luckily had no issues with the weather and stayed dry regarding the whole survival experience. The whole group made it more or less well through the night. Some wandered around during the night, some said they had slept perfectly. However, I was glad when it was time to get up and leave. Back in the rowboats, we looked out for the nets and got them in. The catch was rather sobering. One fish, one flunder and two crabs. No wonder, the net had a turner and wasn’t hanging straight, as it was supposed to be. But we had more luck with the other net. More fish. We rowed back to Randoya and collapsed for another 2 hours into bed.
What a night.

Cleaning nets and prepare fish

Tuesday was a nice calm day. We met Kjetil, the lecturer of the day, and looked at our catch during the night. Gettting the fish out of the nets was a task of patience. The greasy sea dweller were well entangled and it needed often more than two hands to unravel the cords. After clening the nets and prepare them properly for the following group we were shown how to cut and fillet the fish we catched. It was very interesting and worked pretty good.

Equipment:

  • sharp knifes
  • bucket for innards
  • bucket with fresh water for the fillets
  • bucket with salt water and seaweed to clean
  • tube with salt water & fish & seaweed (-> keeps the fish fresh and covers for seagullls)
  • cutting boards, keep them wet with the seaweed

1.step: Kill the fish by cutting a knife through the head. It might still move because of the nerves.

2. step: Get the fillets by cutting close behind the head up to the fluke. Cut along the thick bones at the side of the head and don’t miss out on the very tasty meat right behind the head. Then lay your knife in an angöe of 30° and cut along the bones to the fluke. You will notice the bones cutting along the fish. Try to get as much meat out of that one cut.
It’s possible to leave the skin on, to protect the meat when frying.

The group atmosphere was good again. The Norwegians were open, easy to talk with and inbetween a lot of fooling around, everyone got involved in the ‘preparing-lunch-projekt’. Michael, the chef, took immediately the initiative for cooking and went off with half of the group to develop a receipt for the seafood, while the rest fillet the other fish, cleaned the working place and prepared the eating area. The common lunch was a very enjoyable pleasure. There was a first course with fishsoup and a main course with oven vegetables and roasted fish. Very delicious and very special, as it was our own catched fish.

In the afternoon, we met Kjetil for a lecture about driving motor boats.
It was very exciting but I felt rather nervous than comfortable beeing responisble for the engine. The movements for power and stiring were quite unfamiliar and I was a bit scared to cause an accident in an unforseen situation, that would require a quick reaction. But nothing like that happened. We had a good time on the spin, kept the speed low and watched out for other
traffic participants.
Give way to: sailboats, kayaks, rowboats, working vessels and stay right when meeting another boat.

 

In the evening we got a nigth walk on the island to the bunkers and through the tunnel system. The island is an old military base, built by the Germans during the world war, and and used by the norwegian military as a secret station later.

The next day, I felt and suffered my lack of sleep from the island survival.
We got a lesson from Svein about rowing boats and went kayaking with Len in the afternoon.

Rowboats

  • arms are stretched, move upper body forward and backward to row
  • pull arms towards body in last part to add more power
  • For turns row on one side only or more powerful on one side, but keep the rhythm. Stop the turn with a quick powerful strok on the otherside
  • correct direction as early as possible
  • keep a rhythm with a ‘break’ : row-break-row-break-row-.. and row simultaneously
  • focus a point in your facing direction to stay in line, as you’re sitting with your back to the travel direction

With all these tipps, it worked very well. Keep the direction and focus on the rhythm at the same time was hard in the beginning. We also had the tendency to speed up in rhythm.

Kayak technique
While Len was shaddowing, we got the lecture about techniques from Bec and Michael. It was a good repetition, as we have already had some lessons.

  • Adjust paddle and kayak.
  • how to get off kayak in case of capsizing (get out without using hands)
  • balance paddle on head and grab it –> 90°, box –> hold paddle during paddling
  • Keep arms long and rotate shoulders
  • Power stroke
  • Swipe stroke for turns
  • Support stroke to avoid capsizing
  • Balance and wiggle to get the feeling in the kayak
  • Turns by leaning on one side, pushing the knee up
  • Going sideways: swipe (butter&bread) or steep away from kayak and pull it towards it
  • Games: Kayakpolo & Stand up in kayak in pairs and paddle (one leg in each kayak)

Kayak trip

It was Sean and my job to plan and carry out a kayak trip on Thurseday morning. The weather forecast had announced good wind force (8m/s) from southwest, that would mean a wavy sea and imply to plan a tour not facing too much southwest. We decided to paddle around the island Randoya, face at first a bit wind and play with the waves, cross over to another island and come back from the north side down the small fishergarden street with the wind in the back.

  • PFD & spraydeck for everyone
  • extra paddle & safety rope
  • changing clothes, in case of capsizing
  • water & snack
  • short introduction about weather and tour
  • quick technique reminder, warm up –>balancing
  • split in smaller groups as rescue bodys
  • Sean & I take turns in group leading in the first part and include the group in leading for the second part

I lead the first leg away from the bay towards open sea. The wind was not a problem as we were protectes from the other islands. But as soon as we made it out of the protected area, the wind blow and we surfed on really big waves. I was so amazed and surprised how big the waves were and was busy keeping my kayak straight while going up and down the waves. It was important to keep the group together and stay away from the cliffs, that the waves wouldn’t push us against it. Being close to your members provide a better communication base as even a loud voice can get lost in windy conditions. And for safety reason of course. The closer, the faster you can help and raft together. It’s also important not to go too far out into the open sea, as landside is your safety in case anything goes wrong. There were so many new impressions that it was quite hard to navigate, handle the waves and keep the group together. Our plan was to paddle in a small bay, but when we saw the even bigger and powerful waves going in there and hitting the rocks on the right and left side, Sean and me were not sure if it would be still a good idea. Len confirmed us to go, but recommended to stay in the middle, away from the cliffs and keep distance from each other, that we wouldn’t crash. It was so much fun. The waves came from behind and took you in the bay, it was like surfing. I had been nervous and a bit scared as well, but it is rather important to stay relaxed and flexibel and not stiff. So, that you can quickly react to the powerful waves. It’s very important to plan a trip detailed. We had a missunderstanding and different concepts of where to go. Our planning had been too superficial. Knowing where to go gives you confidence and is required to lead a group. As a leader you always have to think of all group members and read if there comfortable in these wind and weather conditions. It’s good to challenge them but not to push them into extrem situations. They might not handle it and it will turn out badly. When telling spots for other people to lead to, it’s recommended to use the terms north, east, .. or show them the point on the map. As a leader you have to watch out for other vessels and inform the group.

 

Shallow water biology

      
After lunch, we went to the beach and shallow water with Svein. On the way through the forest we spotted an anthill and Svein showed us what’s happening if you sweep with a branch over the hill. It irritats the ants, they attack the branch and pee acid on it. It tasts like vinegar. The big ants are even etable. I tried one, cranchy.
We got fisherman trousers to run into the water without getting wet and other equipment like loupe, dip nets and tubs. We were asked to look around and bring as many different species as we find. It was amazing, how good you see the underwater with the loupe and it made fun to collect items. Every single thing we picket felt like a unique treasure. mussels, crabs, fish, snails,.. and the lecturer explained everything. What’s eatable, delicious or inedible?

 

 

 

 

Snails: found mostly on rocks, thick house, edible
Limpets: snail, strong muscular foot, edible
Shrimps: grow up to 7 cm, transparent in a typical crab plating, edible
Mussel: blue-black to violet, around 6 – 8 cm big, in big colonies on the sea ground, edible, BUT always check out the area for toxic algas, as the mussels eat algas and could can become toxic as well than.
Hermit crab: lives in a snail shell, when it grows, it has to change houses, can grow up to 10 cm.

We cooked and tried the mussels and snails. Slimy but quite nice with the freh salty touch of the sea.

Deep water biology

On  friday morning, we went snorkeling with Svein. Part of our equipment were two thick wetsuit including a hoodie, diving goggles, snorkel, fins, weights, gloves, shoes and a water bag to collect items.
I expected it to be very cold, but in fact it was pretty okay. My lips felt frozen, but the rest was very comfortable and it was easy to stay and swim in the water and to plunge into a new world and get taken away from it. It was a very fascinating experience. The underwater world looked so colourful and it felt like ranging through a jungle while snorkeling between all the different algas and discovering a variety of animals and plants.

The week on the island Randoya was very memorable. We got insight in so many different cost and sea activities and could experience a new environment. Not only the great input of the lectures made it a succesful trip, also the fact that we lived and cooked together and shared the life on the island, especially with the Norwegians.