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Tuesday 4th – Thursday 6th Mai
Bec, Charlotte, Sean, Scott, Ruaridh, Jonas, Justin, Schmidti & me
We met on Monday to prepare the kayaks, organise all the equipment, that might be needed and planned the tour we wanted to paddle.
Equipment:
- Kayaks
- Spraydecks & PFDs
- Rescue lines
- Paddles
- Extra paddles & spraydecks
- Tarps
- Tents
- Water
Tour:
We were free to organise and create our very own kayak-trip and were just shadowed by Len or rather Thomas, who was going to accompany our group.
The group consists of nine people and was in comparison to the self-organised trips before very big. There was not only a big difference in the ability level and kayak experience, but also quite different characters. Going to get this group organised and find a common plan was the first challenge. And it appeared to be rather hard than easy, as the communication was not good. I didn’t have the feeling that I can speak open and that my opinion got respected. Furthermore, there was not a lot of serious and group oriented talking, more a chat between a few people. I had hoped to benefit more from people with more experience, but they showed not a lot initiative to organise the group and undertake the planning.
The most experienced ones in the group preferred to decide the route rather spontaneously out of the situation due to the weather. They might have the knowledge and experience to do that, but I personally objected with that attitude. I totally agree with a flexible decision making behaviour. And due to the fact that the weather forecast is not reliable or that weather on sea changes very quickly, it’s definitely needed to keep an eye on the influencing factor wind and weather, while paddling. But in my opinion a fix plan A is urgent and helpful, especially in a big group. So, everyone can follow and understand the route. Alternatives and emergency routes should also be discussed in advance and not on the open sea, where people are spread out and a quick group
decision might be done in contrast to a discussion. Schmidti had a great idea, by making use of the beamer and throwing google maps on the whiteboard, where the route could easily be drawn and seen by everyone. And Jonas finally took the lead and summarize the groups input and tried to specify the tour, that helped a lot.
The weather forecast announced a very calm and sunny first day, good east wind and little rain for the second day and heavy east wind for the third day. Concerning the eastern wind, it made sense to choose a route going to the west and pick wind shadowed camping spots. On the basis of my last kayak experience in the open sea with big waves and the fact that the other group cancelled there tour earlier due to heavy wind, I had great respect for the wind force and wanted to keep the tour as safe as possible.
In the end, we all agreed to start in Paradisholmane (Sogne) and paddle towards the island Hellersoya, to decide spontaneously if we would like to stop there for lunch or paddle further to the island Helgoya, where we wanted to stay the first night. The next day included a western route to Riveneset, where we wanted to overnight the second night. Emergency plans were, day trips around Ny-Hellesund or north straight back to land. On the third day, we wanted to paddle further west, as we would have a lot of east wind, around the islands and to our final destination Trysnes.
We met at the sea at 10.30 am the next day and packed the kayaks. I had already packed my personal stuff in drybags and plastic bags to keep the things as dry as possible. Moreover, I have brought an IKEA-bag to coat the kayak locker and minimize the wet. Sensitive gear like sleeping bag and sleeping mat was stowed in the front locker, because it stays drier during a tour than the back locker, and snacks in the small locker close to the seat. On top of the kayak, I clamped my map and my water bottle, attached to a safety carabiner, that I wouldn’t lose it. While loading the kayak, it was also important to consider the balance. Heavy gear should rather be carried in the back, or close to the seat /in the middle of the kayak, lighter stuff in the front. Last check: the lids were closed properly. Let’s go. The packing and loading took 1h.
Paradisholmane to Helgoya: 5km, south wind, 3m/s
As the weather forecast had announced it, we enjoyed a sunny day with a pleasant breeze. Some people shared the lead and guided the group safe through the sea. We realised that our picked lunch spot at Hellersoya was too early and decided to paddle further to the island Helgoya.
It had a beautiful bay with shining turquoise water and offered an easy exit with its sandy beach. We had lunch, pitched up tents and decided to split the group due to different preferred activities. While five people went on an extended afternoon kayak tour with Thomas, the rest explored the island and went fishing. Jonas and me, went out of the bay with the kayaks and chanced our luck with the fishing lines. Compared with the fishing in the rowboats, the waiting time was very wavy in the kayaks. But it was great. I enjoyed the sun, the sound and movement of the sea – with the kayak you kind of feel part of the sea – , the excitement of fishing and the silence. 
Michael and Justin fished with the route from the coast and we cheered to each other whenever someone got a catch. Back on land we started the fire and grilled the fish. Especially the Makrel tasted very good. We added herbs and almonds to the fish and enjoyed a pretty good meal.
The group dynamics were developing not into positive, unfortunately. The different motivations and expectations of the group members appeared more and more, but the whole group missed to talk about that. No one felt responsible. The communication was poor and so was the atmosphere. I personally felt exhausted and tired of the last weeks travels that didn’t help at all in this uncomfortable group situation.
Helgoya to Riveneset:
7km, northeast wind, 12m/s
In contrast to the bad vibs, the night in the tipi was good. It had rained and stormed, but we stayed dry. We had wind this morning. Not as much as expected but still wind and waves. I felt nervous and not very selfasure in the kayak. But the islands gave us a good protection and so we didn’t feel too much of the wind and waves. To support our paddling and to holt the line, we used the skeg that day when the wind was blowing in our back. After 1,5h we already reached our island for the next night. We were kínd of surprised that it didn’t take us long to get there. But I was glad, as I felt exhausted and couldn’t enjoy the paddling.
Arriving at the island, presented the next challenge for the group as a whole. What to do next. The group was undecided and not well organised. There were too many oppertunities and too many individual opinions and too less motivation and serious interest about a decision making preozess and to get the group forward. Should we go on land or paddle further? People wanted to have lunch. Okay. Where go on land?
The bays were rather rocky. A first maybe unnecessary stop in one bay was stopped as it looked uncomfortable. Better choose the bay of the campsite as we can pitch tents up and split the group in kayak and other activities again. We had a person in the group that felt sick and I found it necessary to offer this person a place to relax. In addition to that I preferred as well to stay at the island or go fishing again as I didn’t had much fun kayaking in this group and didn’t want to hold the group back. As we had some very motivated members it seemed as a good option. They could leave their luggage at the island and paddle further after lunch. I had already mentioned the bad communication. After taken this decision, some people were rather pissed and left unnecessary comments instead of participating in an effective constructive group discussion and taking responsibility. We checked out the campsite, as it was not visible from the sea. Not as pretty as the last one, but good enough. We had lunch and pitched up tents.
The atmosphere of the group was not 
good. It split in the same groups as the day before. Surprisingly. The Aussies have just an endless power and motivation for everything and the two kayak experts anyway. So, there were the sick person left and the two other boys with who I had been on the last trips and which one suffered from the same ‘stress’. We all went in a relaxing state and moved on to different activities like fishing and hiking then.
I’d been in steadily company for more than 3 weeks now. It pulled at my resources. I realised that I could not enjoy this trip in comparison to the others and I was not sure if it was due to my personal limited physical and social strengths – I reached this state – to the fact that kayaking is not my favourite kind of sport, to the grey depressing weather or to the group constellation and failed group dynamic. I presume it was just the fact that all these aspects came together.
Riveneset to Trysnes: 5km, east wind, 12m/s
The night was windy and rainy but the tipi was nice and sheltered well. The morning brought rain and thunder but also some good group dynamics with it. Everyone packed their stuff pretty fast and helped good together. Some people offered to help and not only saw and ignored jobs. Nevertheless there was some passive aggressivity and refusing to invest in the group. For example, taking group gear. But the completely flop was the changed route without integrating group members. That was the part where I felt completely excluded and downgraded from a group member with a respected opinion to a pulled dog on a line.
To make it understandable: During the evening, when most people lied already in bed, there was a talking between Thomas, Ruaridh and Scott everyone could follow as they chatted just next to the tent. It was obvious, that they were disappointed of the trip and people’s engagement and motivations. But in stead of talking to the group they ordered Thomas to decide for the group and push their own opinion through and Thomas obviously did it the next day. I understood Thomas job as shadowed one. He could have interacted and arranged a route discussion in the morning if people were scared to do that by themselves. But I didn’t agree with the behaviour of supporting experts and forgetting about the rest of the group.
When Jonas, Schmidti and me were as last persons on the water in our kayaks (the bay just permitted one by one) the group had already went for a bit and hid behind a bay. I didn’t understand that but to move forward, when we arrived, we were told that planes had changed for today and that Ruaridh and Scot would know about it. That was everything. No explanations why, no route details, no communication. I was already scared because of the weather as it had thundered a couple of times in the morning. Also when people said that it’s very unlikely to get hit by a lightning, I felt not comfortable. Additionally, we had a lot of wind, that meant waves. And I had no clue weather we would face the wind, how fare we would go and how to arrange my strengths. I was pissed and I should have stand up for my opinion and ordered more details, but some people behaved so selfassured arrogant and noisy that was very intimidating.
We went off for the new route (paddled around Okse), out of the bay facing the wind. There we were, the group in the front I am somewhere in the back, struggling to get forward. Everyone was waiting for me in the next corner. That would had been not only a rescue-lack, it was also an uncomfortable situation for me and for the group to wait. An expert yelled a tip at me, whereby I am not sure if it was a tip or an order, to prick the paddle more in the front and get more power out of it. I really tried my best, but the outcome was poor. But I didn’t realise to excuse about my skills. The waves and wind got even more challenging in the next channel (channel effect -> wind pushes through). I fought against the forces of the weather but I was too slow. It was a real problem as the group could neither leave me alone nor stop and wait, as it would take their strengths down not to drift off. “You are getting on the line now.” An Expert made the next decision for me and attached a towline to my kayak. It was a good reaction for the group insofar, that they didn’t had to wait and suffer and that I wouldn’t drift off with the wind. But the person missed unfortunately the appropriate communication and behaviour. It didn’t feel like a helping hand or a friend’s decision, it felt dismissive and encroaching. For me as a beginner, I had no idea what was going on or what it would do. There were no explanations, no communication. The last legs of the tour were calmer in between the island. But to be honest I was glad to reach land, that day.
In conclusion, that tour was tough. Especially concerning the group dynamics. I learned a lot about a group, that doesn’t function and how important it is to communicate. Unfortunately, we failed as a group. We missed not only to talk about motivations and find the right compromise, I missed explanations and advices and soft skills like, offering help, caring about each other and showing interest. I learned a lot about myself, my limits and about commitment. Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile experience to pack a kayak and feel the difference to an unloaded one on the sea. It was interesting to make use of the skeg and experience the force of wind. Navigation was fun and to paddle from one island to another island to camp felt pretty free and very Norwegian.