This week we attended a Coastal Course with the Norwegian Friluftsliv students. We were supposed to sail this week but were unable to get the sailing boats so a few of the plans changed. We were already separated into mixed groups with the Norwegians. We stayed in housing which was once used as Army Barracks for the week on the island Randoya.

Day 1 & Night on the Island:

Once we arrived and unpacked we started the programme. For us, group 1, our first activity was to use the fishing nets for the afternoon and we were the first group to spend the night alone on an Island. Kjetil one of the instructors showed of the fishing nets and how they worked, and Jorgen (student) had the responsibility of telling us how we were to put them in the sea. When we had prepared the nets we went out to sea on the rowing boats and found a good open space close to the Island where we could place the nets. Finding the right depth was pretty easy as there was enough distance between the islands. 

Once the nets were out it was time to leave us on the chosen Island for our ‘survival night’ so far the weather was ok, but we knew it would rain the whole night. The idea of the survival night was to imagine we were out on a day trip with only day contents (no sleeping bag or tents etc) and that we were forced onto an Island for the night due to the sea being too dangerous to continue. As soon as we arrived Mads took the role of the leader and suggested that we each take a role e.g. collecting fire wood, one building shelter, one preparing fish etc.

Adele and I began collecting fire wood and the rain quickly came, within half an hour we and everything else were completely soaked and cold. We spent 2 – 3 hours collecting as much wood as possible, this was good to keep us busy too. At around 8pm we returned to the shelter where we were protected from the rain. 

The others had got the fire started and were cooking the previously caught fish for everyone. We worked really well together to get everything done as quick as possible to get out of the weather so that we could sit and try to dry off. After eating some dinner most of us decided we would try to sleep, as the shelter was quite small, and for warmth we managed to fit most of us next to each other. We were very squashed but it helped to feel a bit warmer! I had 6 layers on my top half and 4 on the bottom and slept with an inlay and foil blanket from the first aid kit. Most of us slept on the lifejackets to avoid the wet floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the night i was honestly freezing and woke up almost every hour or so. Most of us got up in the morning between 5 and 6am as we were so cold and wanted to move around. Not the best night but great experience!

Day 2:

We left the Island on the rowing boats at 6.30 and went to collect our fish nets. This was important that we didn’t leave them too late to avoid any crabs getting in them. In my groups net we had 7 fish! We managed to get a few hours sleep once we were back at the house before starting the day.

This morning we had the lovely job of cleaning the fish nets of debri which had collected. As the wind was so bad there was a lot and this took us a long time.. Before lunch Kjetil demonstrated how to fillet the fish for the fish and i tried it for the first time! We used the fish for a fish soup lunch together which was great.

 

 

 

 

After lunch we were on the motor boat, we had chance to steer and control the boat ourselves which was fun as i’d never done this before, It was quite easy to do on the calm water but as we got further out at sea the waves were pretty big.

 

 

 

 

Day 3:

Today we got chance to do more rowing. For me this was good as it was the first time, i was rowing with Osvaldas and we really had a lot of trouble at the beginning. It was quite frustrating the get the hang of it but once we got a rhythm going we managed to get it. We took a few breaks on some Islands and the weather was beautiful today so a bit of sunbathing was a must..

 

 

After lunch it was time to kayak. I was quite scared to kayak for the first time on the sea, but before we went out we worked on basic techniques such as going forwards, backwards and making turns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I seemed to get it pretty quick and although it was hard to get the right balance i felt quite confident on the still water. Len showed us how we could use the paddles to avoid the boat tipping to one side and we practised this a bit. Once we got a bit further out we were again practising turns around a small island, this time i tipped too far to one side and capsized. I was quite scared because it was so hard to get out of the kayak and the water was freezing. Everyone else in the group was really good and Len instructed them to make a raft by all getting and holding each other together so that i could climb onto it. The main thing was to get the person out of the water as quick as possible due to the temperature. This was really good practise for us as we hadn’t done a capsize drill yet and although it took a bit longer than what it should i was out of the water and back in my kayak quick. We paddled straight away to avoid me getting cold. The sun was out so i was able to stay out for the rest of the trip without freezing. More fishing this evening. 

Day 4:

This morning we had more kayaking out on the sea. The aim of today was to take a short tour around the Islands for a few hours. I was a bit worried at first after capsizing yesterday but after a while i was comfortable again and i felt safe now that i knew how to get out. The sea was quite rough so we had to make sure to stay less than a distance of 100m between the front and back men. Nicolay was chosen as the leader of this trip and followed the map from Island to Island. When we got around the Islands into more open water it was really difficult to paddle and we had to make sure we didn’t stay in one spot, Nicolay actually capsized here. We were able to make a raft and get him out of the water much quicker than yesterday. We then went into a bay to practice this drill once more before heading back for lunch.

After lunch we did some shallow water biology with Svein. We were separated into smaller groups and given a brief on the common animals and algae that could be found in the area, and were then given 5 different species we should try to find. 

After checking them out in the biology books we were able to see what they looked like and where they could be found. This was really fun and i felt like a child again! While we were playing around in the sea Svein was preparing for us some snails which we could eat.. again i tried eating one and it wasn’t as bad as i expected!

 

Day 5:

The final day on this beautiful Island! For our final activity we have deep water biology. This involved snorkelling between several Islands looking for particular species again. I had never done this in the sea before so was really excited.

It was a lot of fun to snorkel around the Islands and see what we could find: mostly jelly fish and star fish.. I didn’t enjoy being in the deeper water so much as i didn’t feel so confident in the moving water but it was fun to just see what was around. This was the perfect way to finish this great week! 

 

Learning Outcomes:

Honestly, this week i have learnt so much! For me it was the first time i have done most of these activities and i really got the hang of both rowan and kayaking. Next week we have mrs sea kayaking so it was good for me to give it a try on the sea and even to capsize so that i am confident in how to get out and how to get someone else out as quick as possible. I did a lot of fishing for the first time and caught and filleted my very own fish too! Usually i am not so confident in the sea because i haven’t grown up near it but i feel that this week has helped a little towards feeling safe out at sea and i feel more prepared for sea kayaking next week!