22/5/18-25/5/18

Introduction

Once again, our class had been split into 2 groups of 12 for this week’s trip. The week began with Evan (from TrollAktiv) explaining about sea kayaks and the different parts as well as teaching various skills in the river then progressing to paddling around Odderøya and finished with us paddling to an island near Fløyen and spending the night then paddling back on the Friday.

Summary

The week began on Tuesday with us meeting Evan and Len at the Rowing club in town where we would put off from for the day. Evan began by explaining the different parts of the kayak and what they were for such as the rudder, and edges of the kayak and how to adjust the foot pedals and where they should be for your height. We then got our spray decks which keep the water out of your cockpit, most of us had not used these before so it was quite cool to test them out. Evan reinforced the importance of having at least 6 points of contact with the boat to maintain as much stability as possible as well as allowing for no wasted energy when paddling. By having 6 points of contact it resulted in more of the energy you created being transferred into the strokes. He then explained the technique for paddling before we went in. The first thing he taught us down at the water was how to get in to our ‘cockpit’. This involved laying your paddle behind your seat and leaning on the paddle over your boat with one arm as to maintain balance. Once we were all out on the river we slowly made our way up stream away from the fjord. Every now and again Evan stopped us and told us to ‘raft up’ and he would explain a new technique. He taught us how to sweep stroke as a way to turn as well as other forms of turning such as pushing your paddle forward on one side. Most of us had done a small amount of kayaking before but it was still helpful to reinforce this knowledge. Will was quite experienced in kayaking so he also helped us out a lot if Evan was helping others. This day we were all still just getting used to the boats and how to handle them for example I really struggled to stay in a straight line whilst paddling because my balance was off quite often. This was something I was able to fix over the coming days. When we came back to the Rowing club before getting out we practised a 2 man rescue which involved flipping over in your kayak and then the 2 rescuers pulling your kayak over their boats and then flipping it back over for you. This was a good challenge for most of us because as mentioned many of us hadn’t used spray decks before so we were quite hesitant to flip over with it still on and pull ourselves out under water. Everyone managed it even though a few were quite scared so this was a positive outcome for the group. Also, the water was great! The weather was beautiful so it was quite refreshing to hop in. Len also showed up amazingly right in time for all of us to be rolling so I’m sure he got a good laugh out of that.

Wednesday, we had more of a focus on endurance and open water. Although we didn’t go that far, we went around Odderøya and had lunch on Dybingen. We were all so curious about Dybingen because we had seen it so many times from the crag on Odderøya and were all curious about it. Evan also told us a lot of information about navigating in the sea and shipping routes and how to handle yourself. He also taught us about the tides in Norway which are very limited which makes it easier to plan kayak trips. Once we had paddled back to the Rowing club I jumped in again because I was actually sweating it was that warm. I never expected that in Norway!

Thursday, we packed our gear for one night’s camp then drove to Paradis Bukta to meet Len and Evan. We loaded our kayaks and set off. We took in turns as pairs navigating to a certain spot as to practise because it is much different to on land as everything looks a bit different as you are on sea level. We paddled around the fjord and found a small cove for lunch and a couple of us jumped in off a rock which was sick! The weather was around 23 degrees and sunny so the water felt great. From here we slowly made our way to the island where we would stay the night. The group were in good spirits as we were enjoying the awesome weather and everyone was enjoying the trip so the group dynamics were well balanced on this trip. As everyone already got along so well it was easy. We stayed on Kapelløya which had a beautiful little beach and open grassy area. Scott and went for a swim and some of the group practised eskimo rolling in the kayaks. We all explored various part of the island and enjoyed the sunset. The grassy area and weather conditions allowed us to sleep very comfortably. In the morning, I woke to my food bag being torn apart and no food left, it was either a seagull or dog. It was a mistake to have even left it out overnight by itself. After breakfast (Maike, Jed and John had given me some food) we left Kapelløya and made our way back towards Paradis Bukta. Once again, we took it in turns navigating to different spots and made it back to Paradis Bukta at approximately 15.30 to meet Len and load the kayaks back on to the trailer.

Learning outcomes

I eft my food out during the night which ended up being stolen by a seagull or dog in the morning. So, I definitely won’t do that again. I had put it just in a plastic bag so next time I’ll have it next to me or in my ruck sack. Myself and the rest of the group became much more competent in sea kayaks and the skills involved. I felt much more confident with my balance especially with turning and using the edges of the boat to slide it around. I also realised that the kayaks can carry so much gear and food. I packed really light which was a good thing but I know if I need to I can take a lot more water and food if it is required. Also, moreover, the weather always impacts the emotions of a group significantly. I already was aware of this but this trip reinforced it further. If it had been rainy and cold it would have been much different. Evan also showed me how to tell your distance on the water by using a piece of string and fitting it to the coastline and then holding it out straight and measuring it against the 1 kilometre grid squares.