Sea Kayaking 06.06. – 08.06.

On our last trip we went kayaking on our own since Len decided our competences are good enough for us going without him. We learned all the required skills during the Randøya trip the week before, so there was no need for a guide/lecturer.

Before the trip we decided to do two day trips, because the weather prognoses showed it’s going to rain on the Wednesday, so we split ourselves into two groups to organise one day each. Simon, Hannah, Berit and I were responsible for the first day and we determined to go west from Bertesbukta, the beach just close to Roligheden. Wind from the south-east meant for us reasonable conditions. And indeed, we moved faster than we assumed, so we lengthened our break we had on a little island. It was cool to have no rush and just go whenever we felt like. The only thing people had to struggle with sometimes was the wind blowing from the side and therefore turning the stern of the kayaks towards the side as well. Also on the way back the paddling happened to be way harder as the wind was blowing from the front. During the afternoon we met Len at Bertesbukta again and loaded the kayaks on the trailer, since they had to go back to the university.

On Thursday, we had to take the canoes, because some worker from the university lent the kayaks to a friend. After some delay we also started from Bertesbukta, but this time our tour went to the east as the wind was blowing from the west. The canoes were a bit more stable as the kayaks but also swayed in the waves. With the wind from behind the paddling was very pleasant but as soon as we had to paddle against the wind it was striving. Therefore, when we came to a critically windy point, we decided to turn around and make our way back. Also the weather wasn’t as sunny as Tuesday. Clouds and wind made the temperature feel cooler, which is why our break didn’t last as long. Anyway, me and Simon took a rod with us and we even caught some fish.

It was cool to have this sort of trip where you feel no rush and be able to enjoy being outdoors completely. We all knew this was our last “trip” although it just ended in being shorter day trips. It was sometimes a strange feeling and I realised that this would be it. Even though the weather could have been as nice as when the other group had their kayak trip but nevertheless it was a proper ending.