Tuesday
This would be the last trip of the course! The weather was extremely windy but nevertheless the sun was shining which made up for it being slightly chilli for the first time in weeks. We met at 9:15 at Kristiansands Roklubb next to the river ‘Otra’ which divides Kristiansand city from Lund which lies to the east of it. We would be using the same sea kayaks as we did on the island from the previous week which was useful as we had some kind of feel for the boats.
Evan – our instructor for the week began with a dissection of the boat, explaining everything about how it works. While I have kayaked at home a little, there were still new parts to the boat which I was unfamiliar with such as the compartment for the compass and rudder underneath which we were told we wouldn’t be using as its more useful to learn how to move around in the boat completely first.
Following the introduction to the boat we took a look at the paddle and discussed advantages/disadvantages to the angle of the blade. I learnt that the reason for not having the blade parallel when sea kayaking is that it allows the blade not within the water to slice in the air better. I also learnt that a sea kayaking paddle is longer compared to that of a river paddle as it allows one to paddle straight more easily for longer. I also learnt to keep one hand firm on the paddle and the other loose for easy rotation. While this seems obvious I have never had any formal kayak instruction so this was another useful learning point for me. Necessary items to be taken in the kayak were also discussed, important items included; a knife, first aid kit (or “ouch pouch” as Evan would say), boat repair kit, warm layers, food, water and a group shelter.
Once we had covered the basics on land we finally got onto the water. We learnt to lean on our paddle for stability and a smooth transition into the boat without falling into the water. The trick was to lie the paddle across the boat and land place one hand in the middle which would provide a very stable support!
The first skill was basic forward paddling. While this is extremely easy even for a beginner, a good forward stroke has many more factors than one would think. These include; trunk rotation, straight line paddling, looking at your destination and a good posture. A tip from Evan I will never forget for trunk rotation is to imagine having lazers for nipples – the lazers should never point straight, always moving side to side as you move your core. The second skill we covered was the sweep stroke – one long stroke, placed out from the boat all the way to the back, edging also helps here. Regarding edging, we learnt of its benefits and how it can be used to turn sea kayaks. Apparently the more you edge the better you can turn – something I hoped to become more confident with by the end of the week.
After a lovely paddle up river with the wind behind us and a short lunch break it was already time to return. This time the wind was against us though I enjoyed the challenge of slightly more challenging paddling. Once back at the input point it was to not many peoples delight that we had to practice rescues. On this day we would practice x-rescues with three people involved at once – this was to prepare us for the overnight trip where two people would be needed to aid a swimmer due to the boats being very heavy with kit. The x rescue involved bringing the capsized kayak over the middle of ones own boat, creating an ‘x’ like the name suggests. The second person helping will hold onto the one lifting the boat to avoid them being flipped themselves. They will later also help again the stability of the person helping the swimmer back into the boat.
After the rescues I continued my practice of the eskimo role. I had previously learnt to role in a swimming pool using a pool boat however am still struggling to execute a role in a sea kayak in an outdoor environment – another goal I hoped to accomplish by the end of the week.
Wednesday
On this day we took a small tour around my favourite place in Kristiansand – Odderøya, a small peninsuala connected to the city centre. We even hoped over to neighbouring islands that I’d always wanted to go to as id seen them from the top of the climbing craig on the island. Since we had already become quite comfortable in moving around in the kayaks the day would be extremely easy going. It was nice to take a longer journey and enjoy the views of Kristiansand from a different perspective.
We would also focussed on futhering our paddling skills on this day. This would include looking at low bracing – a useful technique used to prevent falling into the water should your boat begin to tip. The important factor was to remember to have the elbows at right angles over the shoulders and to smack the water directly down and then role the paddle up. I learnt the importance of committing to the tipping otherwise you can’t really fully appreciate how to use the brace.. this also involved me falling in but they do say if you’re not getting wetter your not getting better. We further focussed on doing tight turnings by firstly doing a sweep stroke followed by bracing and edging. I struggled with this a fair amount but realised I wasn’t pushing my paddle out from the boat far enough which then began to make a big difference.
After the small skills session we enjoyed a long lunch brake at one of the islands just off Odderøya. The island was beautiful, with a small jetty. Over the last two weeks I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering the coastline of southern Norway. The water is often crystal clear like glass with special tiny beaches and islands everywhere. It is no wonder that you find hundreds of tiny cabins hidden in amongst them, it truly is a beautiful tranquil place to be and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to explore! The sun was beating down and we all fell asleep in the sun.
We headed back to the row club via the city centre! It was a special experience to paddle through and past the concert hall and under the bridges, again great just to see things from another perspective. Once back, I attempted and failed to role again at the end, unfortunately I got so cold before successfully rolling that I practiced rolling on land instead. Evan had some good practice techniques and tips that I look forward to practicing when im home.
Thursday and Friday
The last trip and perhaps one of the best to end what has been the greatest six months of my life. Thursday was also my 22nd birthday and one I will never forget. We completed a two day expedition and camped on a small island. We would begin our journey by a small town called Paradis- Holmane and journey west to the island of Kapelløya.
The bus on the Thursday morning was so early that Tom, Linda and I decided we would cycle to the starting pint 16k’s away. The morning was a little chaotic with the break down of one of our bikes and having to acquire a new one. After a hideous amount of sweating up hills and flying down windy roads we finally made it, before some of the other might I add. I was surprised by a carrot cake, candles and a gift. We then stuffed our kayaks and headed straight out.
Evan talked through his approaches to leading and coaching groups which were applicable to all sorts of different group work. He then briefed us of the agenda on the day and allocated the first navigational leg to Janna and myself. Though I have a fair amount of navigation experience, I found trying to kayak and navigate at the same time extremely different to everything I’ve done previously. When on the flat water all the land is completely flat and its difficult to tell where one island stops and the next begins. I also found it hard to judge how far we had travelled or how fast we were travelling.
The day continued with Evan setting pairs of people navigational legs then everyone would check their maps to confirm where they were when we had stopped. Due to the gorgeous weather and fun company I often found myself distracted and a little lost on my map and realised it is much more easy to forget the course you have taken already on the water. Robbie took the last nav leg, bringing us to the eastern side Kapelløya where we all raced ashore onto a beautiful white sandy beach. Upon arrival there was a mysterious note lying under a gas canister instructing us to follow the path to the other side of the island. Once there, we would discover a birthday cake, bottle of wine with two candles. I was in utter disbelief. The incredible Jo, Maike, Sam and Jed had come to the island and surprised us.
We spent the rest of the evening eating cake, enjoying the sun, exploring some more and watching the sun go down from the highest rock. Perhaps one of my favourite memories is Sam recounting the days activities in a song while playing the ukulele as we all were gathered on the rock.
Friday
Keen to get home and early, this day was relatively short but quite a hard push. We left the island around 10 o’clock and kayaked almost continuously for 3 hours in the roughest conditions we had experienced yet. Once again Evan set teams of two navigational legs to navigate to and everyone would follow where we were going on our own maps. We journeyed out into some quite exposed areas where we experienced moderately strong winds and some healthy two feet or so waves. Having been kayaking for the last three days, I was tired and for the first time felt like I was one of the ones struggling the most. I managed to keep up with everyone though found myself at the back by the ends of each persons leg. As the day progressed I felt more and more ill almost to the point I thought I was going to have to throw up to the side. Once arrived on land I rehydrated and ate a lot and within half an hour or so immediately felt incredibly better. From this I realised how easy it is to become dehydrated when out on the water in hot and windy conditions – you simply don’t realise you are sweating as the wind is carrying it away.
Conclusions
The sea kayaking course was a fantastic way to end an amazing time abroad. I really enjoyed Evans leadership style of organised play as well as free play. He also put in a lot of effort to transfer his leadership skills onto us should we ever go into instructing ourselves. By the end of the week I felt a lot more confident in my general forward paddling skills and felt that I was using my core a lot more than my arms and being generally more efficient. My low bracing as well as rolling skills improved though they both have still a lot of work to be done on them. I was able to pack and keep all my equipment dry for the trip and felt extremely comfortable even in more rough conditions by the end. The camp on the island was one of the best overnight stays I’ve had while on the course and only wish the trip could have been longer!