Basic Kayaking-Course 24-5 till 25-5

We spent a week on the water with Evan teaching us all about the basics of kayaking. The first two days we went to the kayak club in Kristiansand to get familiar with the basic paddle and stroke techniques. The Otra river proved to be perfect for practicing our basic skills. On the first day, before getting into the kayak Evan taught us how to hold our paddle blades and orientate them accordingly.After a short break Evan decided to take us out on the river for practicing forward-paddling, T-rescues and the basics of how to maneuver your kayak (i.e. sideways paddling, steering and breaking). Forward paddling is the main paddle stroke that is used in kayaking. In the beginning it seems to be fairly simple, yet I found it surprisingly difficult to master a high level of perfection since you have to get multiple techniques in line in order to keep your kayak straight. The first one being your sitting position, and the multiple contact points you have to have when you sit in your kayak. Once you got that right you have to start thinking about how to plant the blade of your paddle in the water. Evan taught us to hold our paddle vertically, and strike the blade from just past your feet near the front of the kayak. A second point of attention is the so called “catch-power-recover” movement, where you place your blade in the water and thus “catch” your stroke, give “power” to it by pushing it backwards, and then pull your blade backwards to “recover”. What Evan then explained was that when you pull against the power of the water, you can use your core and feet to guide the kayak. Core rotation thus is considered to be as important as a good stroke technique. Putting your feet on either side of the kayak will additionally help you to steer your kayak and exert power accordingly. After being introduced to the basic paddling techniques, Evan then moved on to demonstrating a “T-rescue” (include image).

A T-rescue is used in case of emergency when the kayak capsizes and the paddler falls into the water. The first step starts with the paddler (or: the swimmer). As soon as the paddler capsizes and gets out of the kayak, he/she has to alert the rescuer by tapping on the bottom of the kayak (as this is now turned upside down). The rescuer than paddles up to the swimmer (preferably followed by a second rescuer), so that the swimmer can swim in between the two rescue-kayaks and hold him/herself onto it. As soon as the swimmer is safe, the two rescuers then work together to drag the kayak on top of their boats, flip it and orientate it accordingly. The second rescuer pushes the kayak back into the water, and turns it bow-to-stern. The swimmer than swims back to the kayak, and kicks out by climbing up the stern of the kayak while the second rescuer stabilises the kayak. The next step for the swimmer then would be to drag him/herself along the back until seated back into the cockpit. Lastly, the swimmer puts back on its spray-ex again, gets hold of the paddles and paddles off.

Day 1

After three days of improving our basic kayaking skills on the Otra river, it was time for our group to head off to Paradisbukta for a two-day expedition. The first day Evan took us out onto the open sea, to teach us some more about how to maneuver a kayak in different conditions. As it is significantly more windy on open sea, forwards paddling proved to be more difficult and keeping a straight line became almost impossible. Turning and balancing your kayak thus were prioritised in this situation. Other than paddling, Evan would lets us navigate which was good practice as well. We used a “nautical” chart (i.e. a sea-map) to navigate, representing various details such as water depths, shoreline and other obstructions to navigation. The chart is highly useful for navigation on open waters, and provides more information than a normal map would (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/chart_map.html).

After a long day of being on the sea we got to shore on a true “paradise island” where we would stay and bivy for the night. We all went for a swim, explored the island and watched the sunset from the top of the hill (note: the sun did not set until 11:30 PM which was crazy!).

Day 2

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise (which was around 4:00 AM) and went back to sleep till 8:00 AM. Frankie, Sam, Jo and me went for a morning dip in our idyllic bay, which was extremely refreshing after sleeping outside. As soon as the group packed up, we got back into our kayaks and set off for another day of sea-navigation and exploring the neighbouring (smaller) islands. We paddled along several island and bays, and stopped for lunch on one of the island close to Paradisbukta. I noticed how increasingly at ease I was with my paddling skills compared to the day before. Practice make perfect they say, and in this case it was true. The more you practice and the more you are challenged (i.e. open waters), the more progress you make. In addition to that, I really enjoyed these two days on the sea. Being in a kayak, exploring the island, and staring into the distance feels extremely peaceful and allows you to let go of your thoughts for a moment. I have definitely come to love kayaking, and being in Norway obviously adds to that experience. It is the perfect country for all kind of water activities, but kayaking definitely has been my favourite one so far.

Learning outcomes

Once again (as I was not familiar with kayaking either, just like canoeing) this trip and the three days with Evan on the Otra river have taught me so much. I now feel confident enough to go and explore in a kayak on my own/with a group. All the different strokes and techniques for maneuvering the kayak have been extremely useful. I really hope I will continue kayaking when I leave Norway, or at least take the opportunity when I come back one day!