kayakr.net

It is hard to launch the kayak

kayakr — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:27:52 +0000

It is quite cold in Sweden at the moment (about -10 C / 14 F) and it is getting harder to find good spots to launch and land the kayak. The sea hardly freeze at the Swedish west coast. Hopefully it will become warmer but the forecast is predicting even colder weather next week.

The Archipelago north of Gothenburg is covered with thick ice. Good for ice skaters!

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Paddling in Gothenburg Archipelago

kayakr — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:56:18 +0000

I have had a nice weekend of paddling in Gothenburg Archipelago with two good friends. It is getting colder at night so we spent the night at Valo Lighthouse. During this period of the season it is hardly any boats sailing or cruising and the silence in the archipelago is remarkable. The sun is still warm during daytime, if you get protection from the wind, and we stayed outdoors in the sun reading books for a couple of hours.

Fredrik and Patric are having some sun ritual

Morning walk around the island of Valö with the light house of Tistlarna in the distance.

Valö lighthouse

Gothenburg Canoe Association (GKF) has the privilage to tenant the Valo lighthouse. There is no electricity and we also need get fresh water from a well. A primitive but really nice way of living (for a few days).

The berries from rowan has a beautiful color.

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Windy paddling to Valö

kayakr — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:03:21 +0000

I haven´t been to Valö for almost two months so it felt really nice heading south. The wind was coming from west on our way to Valö and didn’t give us any problems but on the sunday the direction had changed and the wind had increased to 13-14 m/s (25 knots). We tried to paddle against the wind but after just one hour we changed tactic. Instead of aiming ashore we went out to the major islands to get wind protection. It turned out to be a great idea when we later got an invitation to some friends at Styrsö. We joined them for some crayfish and later on in the evening the wind decreased again.

Valö light house in the morning

Patric in his new kayak “Corsa” design and built by our friend Ulf Johansson.

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How to get friends into paddling

kayakr — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:17:42 +0000

It is always nice to have friends with you when paddling. The best way to get them stuck into this activity is to have good condtions the first time they paddle. After that they will enjoy bad weather as well. My friend Sandra has tried paddling a couple of times before and this weekend we went out for an overnight trip outside Gothenburg. It was great weather and we had a really nice trip. I believe that Sandra will be a devoted kayaker.

Sandra on her way to Rävholmen

Kayak symposium at Orust

kayakr — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:27:24 +0000

In the end of August the Kayak symposium, Stockenträffen, is held annually. The promotors for the symposium is Orust Kajak. This is the biggest kayak event in Sweden with about 200 – 250 kayakers every year. There is different courses, trips, work-shops and lectures to participate in.

Some of all the kayaks at the Stockentraffen.

Björn Thomasson an excellent kayaker, designer (Black Pearl) and instructor is supervising rolling practice

The water around the Island of Orust is excellent for levels of seakayaking. You can always paddle in protected water but it can be really rough whitewater even in moderate winds on the outside of Hermanö.

Ulf Johansson is also an excellent kayak designer and he has built a new kayak, a real beauty.

Last year was Freya Hoffmeister and Dubside some of the instructors. This year was Nigel Foster and his wife Krisitin here. They have been here several times before and their paddling courses are always appreciated.

Nigel Foster is giving instructions to a group of kayakers

More blogs about Stockenträffen

Kajak.nu (in swedish)

Ulf Johansson (in swedish)

Ecoguiden (in swedish)

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Seakayaking to Tornö

kayakr — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:44:34 +0000

Tornö is located outside the third biggest island in Sweden, Orust. Orust is a great place for all levels of seakayaking. I wanted to visit the local kayak shop, Orust Kajak, and when the weather forcast predicted really nice hot weather it was not a hard decision. Some friends joined and we had a really good weekend. The water was really warm and hardly no wind so we had perfect conditions for just playing around.

Marie had her new kayak from Point 65 and it was a pleasant experience.

Patric and Karin in the labyrinth inside Hermanö

Åsa is getting through a small passage.

With this really hot and calm weather it was possible to camp on the normally exposed seaside of Tornö.

Patric is testing the balance in the Whisky 16 from Point 65.

Marie in her new Kayak

Marie, why dont you smack him?

Whisky 16 is easy to roll.

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Cool kayaking with Hurricane Riders

kayakr — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:28:08 +0000

Hurricane riders are a group of long boat paddlers based in Deep Cove, BC, Canada. They do some really cool kayaking in the Skookumchuck Narrows in BC. Current speeds can exceed 16 knots (30 km/h). We do not have those tidal currents in Sweden. In Norway is an even stronger tidal current located, Saltstraumen, with water speeds reaching 20 knots (about 37 km/h). I haven’n seen any video clip from Saltstraumen. So for some inspiriation here is a great clip from the HCR.

Hurricane Riders in Skookumchuck

Visa Skookumchuck Narrows på en större karta

Kayaking in Stockholm Archipelago

kayakr — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:35:11 +0000

I came home last night after a 7 day kayak trip to Stockholm archipelago together with two good friends, Patric and Carl Johan. Stockholm Archipelago is a great destination for seakayaking. We have had a really good trip with good weather conditions (tailwind and mostly sunny), a huge archipelago to discover, great paddling, lots of sea eagles and just great fun. This was my first trip to Stockholm archipelago and I must admit that it was a great experience. We went through the archipelago from the south to the north. We could easily spend another week discovering more fantastic spots. I’m organising a destination report and will publish it in the next coming days. Meanwhile here is a few pictures.

Carl Johan outside the island of Öja and the light house “Landsort”

The view from Stora Björn “Ursa Major”

Carl Johan getting close to the rocks

Patric outside the island of Svartlöga

Sunset from the tent at Stora Alskär

There are already some more pics and text at my other site in swedish, petersvensson.com

Stockholm Archipelago

kayakr — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:25:13 +0000

Night camp in Stockholm Archipelago, third day, 32 km today. Good conditions with tailwind. Now we are having a beautiful evening.

North East of Ornö on a small island.

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Kayaking in Denmark and Norway

kayakr — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:33:07 +0000

I have updated kayakr.net with one kayaking destination in Denmark and one in Norway. Denmark offers good kayaking and you can choose from really good surfing to calm and relaxed paddling in protected water. Norway is so beautiful and offers kayaking in fjords and archipelagos along an amazing coastline with dramatic mountains. Tomorrow I’m going for a longer trip in Stockholm Archipelago and I will update kayakar.net with new kayaking destinations when I get back home. Keep on paddling!

Kayaking in Bergen, Norway

Kayaking in Klitmoller, Denmark.