Sometime during the night I became aware that the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped away.  Early sunlight heating the tents prompted us to be up and about early, emerging into a bright morning.  Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones to be up and about early and we exited the tents straight into clouds of ferocious midges.  Usually they don't bite much in bright sunlight (see paragraph 2.6.2 in this paper), but the local population on this piece of Loch Torridon shoreline clearly hadn't read the paper!  We scrambled for our midge repellent and I straight away put on my suit of "midge armour" which made things much more bearable........





Though the midges were doing their level best it was still a lovely morning, and in a superb location. Packing was a little quicker than we'd have liked in order to escape the midge attack, which remarkably continued even as the day heated up. 





As soon as we were on the water and away from the shore we left the midges behind and were able to fully appreciate the morning....and what a morning!  Our position at the outermost part of Loch Torridon had sweeping views - to the west the Trotternish peninsula on Skye lay under an ever-changing cloudscape; while on the horizon we caught a glimpse of the long chain of the outer Hebrides.






It was the majestic cloudscapes (and not the midge attack!) which made the morning so memorable.  Towering cumulus would build over the land and then slowly subside in an ever-changing pattern, dissipating where it drifted over water and never really threatening rain.





We paddled eastward, into Loch Torridon and into patterns of bright sunlight and cloud-shadow.





Each time the sun emerged from the cloud pattern, the water beneath our boats was flooded with morning light, the colour and detail snapped into sharp focus by the intensity of the light.






As the morning grew warmer the cloudscape developed a heavier, more solid appearance, but still didn't really threaten rain.  The Skye shore was in shade, while here on the Torridon shore.....





...we basked in warm sun.  After an hour or so of paddling we decided on a second breakfast and landed on a beach of sandstone boulders.  Thankfully the midges seemed to have given up and we enjoyed a pleasant coffee break propped against boulders warmed by the sun.

September rattles on into the final week, with the usual work craziness threatening to slop over into October, so here's some more pictures from Colorado! The drive from Breckenridge to Buena Vista was through more drop-dead gorgeous mountain scenery, and we went through some pretty cool weather too - I suspect Colorado is one of those places where they say "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes".

Colorado must also be a great place to be a biker of either ilk - human powered or motor-driven.

We got to Buena Vista in the early afternoon, as planned. It actually took us a little while to find the festival we were there for, as our first inquiries at the town information center got us directions to McPhelemy Park in the middle of town; there was a pond there where there were vendors set up offering kayak and paddleboard tryouts, promising but not quite what we were after. There was a food truck there selling sandwiches and wraps, and we were ready for lunch at this point, so we took advantage of that, then one of the folks at the park told us where the competitions we were hoping to catch were being held and we set off again.

Somehow it wasn't hard to tell when we'd gotten to the right place!

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is America’s most used wilderness area. Each year an estimated 250,000 visitors paddle its pristine lakes and over 1,200 miles of canoe routes and camp at one of over 2,000 designated campsites. This many people using the million acres puts a strain on the land. While in other wilderness areas if you need to take a crap you dig a hole and bury your poop (as outlined in the book How to Shit in the Woods), it isn’t like that in the BWCAW. In the BWCAW, you take your shit by sitting your arse down on a thunder box (latrine) and letting it rip.

Here are simple instructions for pooping in the B-DUB:

1. Locate thunder box at campsite.
2. Wipe the morning dew off the seat.
3. Pull pants down.
4. Sit on thunder box.
5. Poop.
6. Wipe arse.
7. Stand up.
8. Pull pants up.
9. Clean hands.

That’s it. It’s basically just like crapping at home.

Here is the section of the U.S. Forest Service’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip Planning Guide that talks about the rules and regulations for waste.

Note: Human waste is poop, also known as shit, crap, shite, BM, cow pies, defecation, discharge, dung, excrement, excretion, fecal matter, feces, feculence, deuce, manure, meadow muffin, night soil, number two or stool. It is to be deposited in the latrines, also known as a thunder box.

Why do I bring this up?

Because during my last trip to the BWCAW in multiple campsites someone had walked into the woods crapped behind a tree and left TP on the ground. WHEN THERE ARE THUNDER BOXES AT EVERY CAMPSITE. Someone even tried to dig a hole and crap in it a mere 20 feet away from the thunder box. Something dug up the hole and poop was all over the ground. Seriously, people. Are your butts too dainty to sit on a thunder box and poop? Is your poop too good to join the rest of the poop in the hole in the ground? It’s almost as if these shit-in-the-woods-in-the-BWCAW people don’t understand what a thunder box is. It’s a latrine in the woods that is designed to consolidate all the human waste so that the waste has little impact on the BWCAW. It isn’t like the mayor of BWCAW-border-city Ely stole the thunder box from the campsite that you were staying in. Sit on the thunder box and shit. It’s easy. It’s an amazingly first world problem when some tourist won’t sit on a thunder box and crap. I can just imagine them saying, “It’s so dirty. I can’t sit on that. Gross.” So, they go into the wood near the campsite and poop and leave their TP unburied for some kid to step in as he explores the woods near the campsite. The BWCAW sees too much pressure for the dainty to poop outside of the thunder box.

GET. OVER. IT.

Shit in the box.

The post How to Take a $H!T in the BWCAW appeared first on PaddlingLight.com. You can leave a comment by clicking here: How to Take a $H!T in the BWCAW.

Vi drog vidare i Norge, Tomma på Helgelandskusten är grymt fin. Vi hade inte varit där sen 2004 & 2005 men paddlade förbi 2009. Nu tog vi färjan ut från Nesna, körde på snirkliga vägen runt ön upp till Elvsanden där vi smet ner med Winzent och ställde oss med supervy både mot horisonten, Lovund...

Inlägget Tommas västsida – fin paddling och gott stugbilshäng dök först upp på kajak.nu.

I’m going to be attending the Plastics Summit tomorrow. (I say that like there’s only one. There are quite a few, actually.) This one’s in Tukwila and it looks to be a good mix of the problems and the possible solutions. It’s always hard to say whether these events are going to resonate in some way, whether they are going to fuel the motivation that’s needed to make a difference or not. I’ll know more on Tuesday.

Scrolling through the many notice-type emails in my in-box, I snagged my attention on this one. I like shellfish. I love shellfish. Whether it’s oysters raw and cold or two pounds of steamed mussels and a bowl of chowdah, I will happily take on all comers. But now, here in the bizarro years of the 21st century, there is an aftertaste that comes with shellfish, and what was once good and healthy is in the process of changing. And there’s nothing natural about it. The fact that clams, oysters and the rest are turning up with plastic inside of them, that we now have plastic in our own guts as well, is an obvious result of our own disregard for our home.

They say that only a deranged animal fouls its own bed. It takes the likes of a rabid dog, blind from pain and disease, to lie panting and groaning in a pool of its own running wastes. The level to which you must sink in order to disregard the basic stricture against shitting where you eat and where you sleep is a low level indeed.

Just an observation.

Here's an alternate high resolution pic of a famous painting by Seth Eastman (1808–1875) mentioned before on the blog here...

A nice day around the Calf of Man, a small island off the southern tip of Isle of Man. Wind, tide, waves and cliffs make for a variation of fun paddling conditions; a great playground. I am here for the Isle of Man sea kayak symjposium by Adventurous Experiences.

I went for a morning SUP paddle in the Gorge. Nice conditions. Lots of snail(?) eggs on the eelgrass. Plenty of Canada geese around. Lots of airplanes in the harbour. GPS battery did not work so track is manually created!

click to enlarge

12 km, YTD 596 km.

While in Cambodia clothing company Mana Loa visited a Buddhist monastery near Siem Reap. They donated food and toiletries to the monastery and were taught chants. In the temple, the monks allowed them to make a carbon copy of a painting of Buddha. They used the copy they made as artwork on their Mana Loa Cambodian Buddha T-shirt. I received a sample to review.

So, why review a fashion t-shirt instead of a high-tech wunder-shirt on a website about paddling? I asked myself the same thing when the opportunity arose. On low-mileage canoe and kayak camping trips, I like to bring along a shirt to wear in camp. Typically, it’s a synthetic t-shirt that can do double duty as a paddling shirt. I liked the design on this t-shirt and when I saw that the shirt was a tri-blend of 50% polyester, 25% combed ring-spun cotton and 25% rayon I thought it was close enough. I had also been thinking about Robert Wright’s new book, Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment and am interested in Buddhism, especially lately, so the t-shirt seemed to fit my frame of mind.

Yes, that is a book about haiku.

The Cambodian Buddha t-shirt is soft to the touch with 40 singles thread weight and it is comfortable to wear. Mana Loa calls it a contemporary fit, which to me means slightly tight and trendy — something like a big-city hipster would wear (when he wasn’t wearing flannel). Or as Alfred Tong, author of the the Gentleman’s Guide to Cocktails, wrote when describing what fashion terminology really means, “Real-world meaning: It’s a bit tight, isn’t it?” While I prefer the old-school, classic t-shirt fit from the 90s, this fit wasn’t as tight as some of the t-shirts I’ve bought that have a contemporary fit. It was comfortable to wear and not too tight. Nice. The fabric, even after being smashed into a dry bag, stays wrinkle free. The shirt weighs 5 ounces and rolls up to a size less than half of a Nalgene bottle. It took up little room in the 8 liter dry bag that I stuffed it and all my other spare clothing into.

After five days of wearing it around camp on a Boundary Waters canoe trip, it still smelled good enough to wear into Trail Center for lunch after the trip was over.

To sum up: Comfy.  Cool looking.  Light.  Good fit.  I like it enough to consider buying more of their t-shirts.

As a bonus for each piece of clothing sold, Mana Loa donates a days worth of food and essentials to a child in need from a developing country. That’s a cool commitment.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Cambodian Buddha T-Shirt for free from Mana Loa in consideration for a gear review.

 

The post Mana Loa Cambodian Buddha T-Shirt Review appeared first on PaddlingLight.com. You can leave a comment by clicking here: Mana Loa Cambodian Buddha T-Shirt Review.

Perla, Pansermaddan, konas Frej, Isfjord micro, datteras Frej og Langmaddan på hagetokt.

Knut Skjeggestad i Gausdal, Norge, har under två vintrar varit väldigt produktiv. Resultatet är sex kajaker till hela familjen – alla ur min katalog.

Här är två bildberättelser, den ena om kajakerna och hur de upplevs, den andra om byggprocessen, med en hel del egna lösningar:

Den lille thomassonske flåte i Gausdal. Del 1

Den lille thomassonske flåte i Gausdal. Del 2

Le Canoë kayak club de Vannes – CKCV – organise une grande manifestation publique pour fêter les 30 ans du club. Différentes activités – ateliers, présentations et jeux – sont prévues autour de ces thèmes : Présentation du club Pink Dragon Ladies – activité sport santé Connaissance du Golfe du Morbihan et du milieu marin […]

I år ble Børøyaracet og Padledagen lagt til midten av september, og vi var litt spente på hvordan det skulle gå. Tidligere har vi hatt det i juni. Vi skulle ha vanlig opplegg, med konkurranse (og turklasse) rundt Børøya, vaffel- og loddsalg, prøv padling, grilling og sosialt - nytt av året var rekordforsøk med firer-kajakk. Spennende.

Trofaste Adam og Stein-Evert stilte selvfølgelig opp i år også, og hjelper her til med rigging. To flotte flagg fikk vi fra Padleforbundet et tidligere år, de kommer godt med for å synliggjøre at noe foregår her.

Vi solgte kaffe, vafler, medlemskap og sånt så klart, kjekt om vi klarer å få inn litt ekstra penger i kassen også. Flyers og visittkort var trykket opp, og ble så klart delt ut gratis.

Oi oi, her er turklassen allerede i gang! I år gjorde vi det enkelt, de som ikke vil padle på tid padler samlet med guide. Her er det jo faktisk en liten heiagjeng på land! (Eller så var de der tilfeldig for å se på skulpturen, men kult uansett.)

Ti minutter etter startet konkurranseklassen, som her runder sjøhusene ved Kysthotellet. Dette går veldig fort for noen kan det se ut for.

Joda, turklassen ble innhentet allerede ved Skretting, av de to karene fra Bodø. Men så padlet de vel bare halvparten så fort også, knapt det.

Nei, jeg har ikke bomma på padlerne... Bildet er av seien i overflata.

Her derimot, av padlerne, som nå er cirka halvveis. Tross velt på en av dem er det liten tvil om at en av dem ville komme til å vinne - hvem var ennå vanskelig å si. Her lå det an til et spennende oppløp.

De fleste er nå på vei til å passere brua.

Runar lå på en tredjeplass hele veien.

Her kan det se ut til at det begynner å skille litt? Holder det inn?

Runar fortsatt på tredje, og Morten like bak der igjen. Som gjennom hele løpet.

Førstemann i mål.

Andreplassen sikra.

Tredjeplassen gikk til Harstad.

Morten sørget for Vestlofotens ære på en fjerdeplass.

Videre kom de på rekke og rad, Karl Christian og Øystein fra ASKR-crewet.

Adam padlet fortere enn vinneren i fjor gjorde da, men det holdt likevel ikke til pallplassering. Men godt fornøyd med å sette pers rundt øya, gratulerer med det.

Karlsen senior også i mål, men ble altså slått av junior med et par plasser.

Vinner i dameklassen var lokal, imponerende særlig tatt i betraktning at hun var relativt uerfaren med den lånte farkosten.

Hæ? En robåt? Ja! Vi fikk en forespørsel om det var lov å stille med en sculler, så da innførte vi åpen klasse. Rodde altså raskere enn en rekke kajakker padlet.

Sandra fra ASKR-crewet kapret andreplassen.

Tredjeplassen også til ei som var heller ukjent med surfski før konkurransen. Slett ikke verst.

Øystein hadde med seg heiagjeng, de må også med her, for det er jo særlig tøft.

Han her hadde best dreis på målpasseringa. Vi liker jubel.

Fredrik og Chipo hadde full kontroll på tidtakinga. Men det spørs om ikke vi må finne noen andre til neste år, sånn at de får delta sjøl snart. Vi får se.

Følgebåt med heiagjeng, tusen takk for hjelpen. Det var fenomenalt, da opprinnelig følgebåt meldte avbud så vi hadde et øyeblikks krise tidligere i uka.

Den andre følgebåten må også med.

Nestleder og kasserer i klubben berget styrets ære denne gang, med å delta. Sistnevnte gis også plusspoeng for god dreis på måljubel.

Turklassen må også dokumenteres i mål, selv om de ikke padlet på tid sånn som de andre. De fullførte jo rundt hele øya, og har antagelig hatt den fineste turen siden de hadde tid til å nyte den.

Morten kom på 3. plass i NM i grønlandsrulling i år, og tilbød seg å vise noen av kunstene fram for publikum. Det var kjempestas, og publikum lot seg villig imponere. Han har virkelig fått god dreis på dette, veldig artig å se på.

Siden han ennå var i full padlemundur hørte jeg like godt med han om ikke han kunne ta ferskingene som ville prøve padling med utpå, og jammen slo han til på det også. Tusen takk for hjelpen Morten, det var kjempekjekt! Samtidig hadde Fredrik teknikkurs på land.

Da ble nemlig jeg ledig sånn at jeg kunne være med i følgebåten som ble med fireren rundt Børøya. Her har de nokså nylig satt seg i farkosten, som er nokså rank for å si det rett ut. Ikke var alle så erfarne i sånn kajakk heller, så vi var litt spente på hvordan dette skulle gå.

Det gikk ikke verre enn at de etter en liten testrunde padlet til startpunktet ved brua. Klar ferdig gå, og der var de i gang. Superskøy, nå skal vi se hvor fort det kan gå. Men hei... Hva mener hurtigruta med å legge fra kai akkurat nå?

Skipperen i følgebåten kalte dem opp, og ba dem vise så mye hensyn som de hadde anledning til.

Ifølge en som bivånet det hele fra land, så tok de en stor sving i hvert fall. Det kom litt bølger som traff padlerne, men det gikk fint og de kom seg rundt odden før de verste inntraff. Alt vel. Sjekk for øvrig hvor god dreis de begynner å få på takten nå.

Skulle trodd de hadde padlet mye sammen før hele gjengen? Forsøket endte på ganske blank 33 minutter. Det er ca. 7,5 kilometer rundt, så det er slett ikke verst. Men det kan nok gjøres enda raskere, for det var motstraum på hele oppløpet og to av dem hadde jo allerede padlet det de maktet rund øya én gang. Forsøk på forbedring neste år?

Etterpå dro vi til Kysthotellet på Børøya der de langveisfarende hadde camp. Her ble det grilling, premiering og loddtrekning. Kjempegod mat, fine premier.

Etter hvert ble det bålkos i mørket. Jeg skulle egentlig overnatte her selv, men forkjølelsen jeg hadde slitt med til dagen før hadde tatt seg opp igjen utover dagen, så jeg dro hjem for å sove i hus med håp om å bli frisk.

Vi i arrangementskomiteen er godt fornøyde, vi hadde det kjempefint i år også. Vi setter STOR pris på de som kommer for å være med. Men nå håper vi at naboklubbene virkelig kjenner sin besøkelsestid neste år - ja, det gjelder for såvidt egne medlemmer også. Vi kunne vært noen flere, synes vi - for dette er jo så artig! Vi vil jo virkelig ikke at du skal gå glipp av det. Neste gang er du med, vel?

Sometimes you need a good adult paddle to feed the need. Fortunately, RIC/KA was having a level 2 paddle on a day where I could get paddle clearance. Level 2 was about all I was feeling I could handle anyway given how rusty and out of shape I am.
It turned out to be a huge paddle with more than 10 paddlers. Tim 1 did a lot of coaching and making sure we stayed out of trouble. It wasn’t always easy for me since I kept looking for ways to get into just a little bit of trouble. Memory of past deeds is a strong lure. Fortunately, the conditions were mostly benign and the group provided the peer pressure to crumb my worst instincts.
It was a very nice paddle south from Bay Campus. We worked our way along the bluffs into Bonnet cove. The paddling was relaxed and provided a nice opportunity to pay attention to stroke mechanics and getting in tune with how the Pumpkin handles.
After lunch, the swells picked up a little and there was more opportunity for playing. We had some excitement by the rocks near the bluffs as a big set of swells set up some perfect surf conditions.
Once past the rock and in the open bay, the following seas was perfect for the Pumpkin. The ride back was basically one long surf run. I basically just kept leaning forward and paddling just enough to maintain speed. The hull cause each swell and just glided along.
Back at the beach people did some rescue practice. I mostly just floated around wanting to extend my time on the water as much as possible. I was tempted to try a few rolls, but didn’t want to tarnish an otherwise glorious day with a blown roll.
There is plenty of time this winter to get my roll back...

After our big Acadia trip, H needed some solo time to prep for school and see her Mom. That meant that Bug and I had to entertain ourselves.... What better way to do that than go kayaking!!!!
It is not Bug's favorite thing to do, but when I promised her that she could paddle her own kayak and go swimming off of it, she was game.
She was even more excited when she got a purple kayak. The rental place has a number of Ocean Kayak Banzis that are designed specifically for young paddlers. They are under 10’ long and narrower than standard rec kayaks so that short arms can get the paddles in the water.
Bug did really well. She was very proud of herself for remembering how to do sweep turns and being able to paddle fast.
We split time between paddling around and swimming off the kayaks. Bug did most of the swimming since one of us had to stay with the kayaks...
Is there a better way to spend a late summer afternoon than playing around on kayaks with your daughter?

Our big summer vacation this year was to Acadia National Park.
It is where H and I got engaged and where H and her family had some of their best vacations. It is also one of the prettiest places on the east coast with a ton of things to do.
It was a trailer trip; we were bringing all three kayaks, all three bikes, every bit of associated gear, all of our camping kit, and a weeks worth of food. It was one of the easiest packing jobs I have ever done. Packing things in the trailer has one simple rule, put the heavy stuff in front of the axel. To accommodate the pumpkin we did have to move the bikes to the roof of the car. We just have not found J-hooks that fit Aries hull, so it takes up more space than it should.







We stayed at Mt. Desert Campground at the top of Somme’s Sound. It is a great spot if you get a good site. We got a giant site right across from the boat docks. It didn’t have and ocean view, but that was fine. It looked like a lot of the ocean view sites were smaller and saw a lot of traffic.
The docks are one best features of the campground. We kept the barge and the pumpkin tied up for quick access to paddling. They are also a great place for the kids to hang out and catch crabs.
For activities we did a lot of things in the National Park. We picked blue berries, hung out a Thunder Hole, hiked Flying Mountain, climbed some rocks, and did a ranger led activity to discover how Sand Beach formed. Bug earned her Junior Ranger badge.
The best program, in my opinion, was the star watching program on Sand Beach. We had a nice clear night and the rangers used laser pointers to show us the different features of the night sky. They also had great stories to go along with each feature.
We spent time on the water as well.I got a few chances to paddle and we did a family paddle. On our last day we took a schooner cruise. Being on a giant schooner was pretty cool. The only wild life we spotted was a big dog that Bug spent the entire trip befriending.
We came back tired, but ready for the work and the start of school.

H and I got engaged on Flying Mountain on Somme’s Sound. We paddled up the sound to the beach at the foot of the mountain and hiked to the summit where I proposed.
We planned to recreate the experience with Bug while on vacation. We planned to paddle from the top of the sound to the beach and show her the spot.
Unfortunately H had a Herculean task getting Bug and I to stop crabbing and generally laying about before lunch. By the time we got in the kayaks, it was after 3pm and sunset was around 6pm. That gave us just enough time to make the trip, if we hurried....
As we were leaving, a couple landed and said they had spotted dolphins. We figured if we didn’t accomplish the goal we would get to see some cool wild life....
Once out of the protected harbor at the campground we were in a constant head wind. It was not bad, but it was definitely slowing us down. H decided then and there that we were not going to make the journey all the way down to Flying Mountain. I had a more optimism about our chances, but was just happy to be on the water.
It was not long before we spotted some seals out in the sound. They just kept popping up. Bug was fascinated by them. It was pretty cool.
As we made our way down the sound, the seals stopped following us and Bug started admiring the lobster buoys.
We didn’t make it to Flying Mountain, but we had a relaxing time.
For a while, I stopped paddling and let Bug be the motor. She did a good job. We weren’t speedy, but we did make forward progress. I enjoyed the break and look forward to taking more of them in the future.
Later in the week, we drove over to Flying Mountain and hiked to the summit so Bug could see where we got engaged. Bug also had a great time playing on the beach.

Another vintage paddle from the Minnesota Historical Society...

Vi har varit och paddlat i/vid Helgelandskusten ett par gånger; 2014, 2009, 2006, 2005 och 2004. Det är ju som bekant ett grymt fint område för utflyktspaddling. Fast vi har varit där ett tiotal veckor har vi inte varit på fastlandet så mycket, mest drällt omkring på havet och på öarna. Nu blev det lite...

Inlägget Marmorslottet dök först upp på kajak.nu.

During last weekend’s Coastal Cleanup, I came across what I think was once a velvet slipper, but had since been through some hard times. It had embroidered characters on one side, along with a logo of some kind, gold thread, reddish-purple fabric.

Does anybody out there have an idea as to what this says or where it might come from? Is it even right side-up? All comments welcome.

Having reminded myself in my last post that I had some catching up to do on our last few days in Colorado (which were quite glorious), here's the first catch-up post. In my last Colorado post, we'd begun our drive from Lafayette to Buena Vista, and I'd gleefully dragged TQ off on a scenic train ride, which was not part of our original plans but I kinda love old steam trains, and I'd been looking at this one with a lot of interest as a possible day trip from Lafayette but written it off as a little too far, so when I realized we were driving right past it (and I was driving) I just couldn't resist. 
After that we headed on for the day's final destination of Breckenridge, which had looked to me like the perfect place to spend the night on the way to the CKS Paddlefest - and indeed it was. Click here for a Flickr album from Breckenridge - such a pretty town deserves full-sized photos! 

Efter Barsta/Rotsidana, Utefest & Mjältön drog vi vidare lite nordvästerut. Givetvis med obligatoriskt stopp på Fjällräven/Naturkompaniet Outlet i Örnsköldsvik. Blev bara tokshopping ultralight med lite strumpor från Bola. Hamnade på en liten camping med sjötomt och solnedgång i Omsjö, fint som tusan. Go kväll vid the strandkant med granna färger. Dan efter en lugn morgon...

Inlägget Omsjö, Ångermanälven & Fatmomakke dök först upp på kajak.nu.

En strålende dag! Jeg hadde forutsett det litt, så jeg hadde med meg alt jeg trengte for padling da jeg dro på jobb om morran. Så kjøpte jeg sushi og spiste middag på Kråkneset, med utsikt utover havet. Derfra bar det rett til Høydalen, der jeg satte ut - litt til høyre for dette bildet. Jeg har ute snøret for å sjekke mulighetene for fisk.

Turen startet med en slags action, for jeg hadde speilrefleksen i cockpiten og det glemte jeg da jeg gikk oppi. Så da jeg oppdaget det ble det en uvøren manøver, og plask, så lå jeg i vannet.

Det første jeg tenkte var "dæven, kameraet, den bagen er jo egentlig ikke 100% tett", så jeg fikk røsket den opp av havet.
Neste punkt var selvfølgelig desperat hodevrikking rundt for å se om det var noen i nærheten som kunne ha sett fadesen... Jeg vet ikke, men håper de tok bilde i så fall.

En ulempe med å padle fra Høydalen når man skal til Våje, er at man da må krysse Prestfjorden. Myre fiskerihavn er av den travle sorten, selv nå når det er en rolig periode. Jeg innvilget denne forkjørsrett selv om den kom til venstre. Det var i grunnen lurt nok, ellers ville jeg nok fått den i fleisen viste det seg.

Men det er flere fordeler enn ulemper ved å padle denne veien. Det er rett og slett den kuleste biten.

Himmel og hav!

Her er en av de tingene jeg liker så godt her, røffe fjell.

Himmel og hav!

Det var som vanlig litt rotete forbi Søsteinen, men med bare tungsjø så gikk det nå helt fint. Verre når man får vindbølger i tillegg, men det slapp jeg. Jeg fortsatte videre rundt Nova, og så padlet jeg innafor Småsundskjæran. Det så greit ut der, men litt ekkelt når man kommer utenfra og innover og bølgene reiser seg. Bryter det innafor, eller ikke? Det gjorde ikke det.

Målet i sikte! Lykta på Våje var jeg tenkt meg til i dag.

Den forrige lykta var kulere, der hadde det nok gått an å henge opp hengekøya. Denne passer ikke like bra til det.

Jeg svingte helt innom ei av støene på Våje, for jeg måtte en snartur i fjæra, og rote i skottene. Jeg brukte favorittstøa for det var uansett faktisk fullt i den som er nærmest hytta. Ja, det var ikke mindre enn to båter her i dag. Det kan jeg ikke huske har skjedd før. De var ikke så pratsomme akkurat, men de hadde også vært på ettermiddagstur i det fine været.

Bilde av hytta - dermed er dagens post registrert.

Sola er på vei ned - har jeg feilberegnet totalt? Det aner meg at turen er litt lengre enn jeg husket i farta. Jeg sjekket jo ikke kartet.

Himmel og hav!

Jeg droppet å spasere bort til lykta, for å være sikker på at jeg nådde tilbake før mørket. (Hytta en rød prikk i bildet.)

Sola var i ferd med å gå ned, så jeg padlet sånn høvelig raskt i retur, og gledet meg til en flott solnedgang og etterfarger.

Jeg tok "innersvingen" også på retur, synes det er triveligst å padle her.

De forrevne fjellene ble jo ikke mindre flotte med det gyldne kveldslyset, akkurat.

Flott kveldslys slo til. Skyene laget fabelaktige formasjoner på himmelen.

Det var rett og slett fantastisk fint. Det tok en halv evighet å krysse Prestfjorden, fordi det var så flott - og det flotte var bak meg. Jeg måtte jo hele tiden stoppe for en ny titt.

Himmel og hav!

Etter hvert kom det tøffende en fiskebåt. Jeg var nysgjerrig på hva det var for en, men det var akkurat for mørkt til at det var mulig å se. Men jeg lo godt av den da den passerte, for det viste seg at den hadde musikk på full guffe. En ekte rånefiskebåt, faktisk.

Det ble litt fint innover mot Myre også etter hvert.

Men ingen tvil om at det var bak meg hovedshowet foregikk. Dette var virkelig en flott dag på sjøen, selv om den ble noe lengre enn jeg innbilte meg på forhånd. Himmel og hav, for en tur, rett og slett.

This weekend Theresa and I traveled to Deception Pass to do something which was a grand departure from our usual routine, but something that has intrigued me since I first saw the technique demonstrated on some documentary involving the upper canopy of a forest. We booked a class with AdventureTerra to ‘Canopy Climb’; that is […]

The post Soulful Joy At The Top Of Canopy At Deception Pass appeared first on Essex Media & Explorations.

There have been a few days of orcas here in south Puget Sound lately. These are transients just passing through, not members of the local J, K and L pods that we see on a more regular basis.

Actually, “regular” isn’t really even the right word anymore. According to the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, the population of our resident pods has fallen to 78, a number that doesn’t seem enough for any kind of long-term sustainability. As of December of last year, J Pod had 24 individuals, K Pod had 19 and L Pod had 35.

Pollution, lack of adequate salmon returns, boat noise and other underwater sonic harassment: all of these are contributing to the downturn in numbers. But the process was started a long time ago. Here’s a little slice of how we got to this point, from the Center for Whale Research web site…

The size of all three Southern Resident pods was reduced in number from 1965-75 as a result of whale captures for marine park exhibition. At least 13 whales were killed during these captures, while 45 whales were delivered to marine parks around the world. Today, only Lolita (Tokitae) remains alive in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. Annual SRKW population updates occur on July 1 and December 31 each year.

This is a train wreck in slow motion, and if we are in any way honest and introspective, it forces us to look at our own levels of complicity in this unfolding story. Because, if and when this orca population is finally gone, it will be because of what we did to make it happen. There’s nothing “regular” about it.

Got to spend 3 glorious September days on a brief solo trip last week. Apart from getting some much needed silence & solitude, my overall goal was to test out some of the homemade gear made over the off season. Also wanted to check out the tripping capabilities of the 14 foot Chestnut / Peterborough.

In particular, the homemade wall tent made over the winter needed to be used in the field to see if it needed any tweaking. Totally copying Robin L's awesome setup, I brought along the frame made from closet rods, a wanigan, a home-made chair and other little projects. I also purchased a folding cot off Amazon and it would be the first time I slept off the ground on one. Given that the nights were to drop down to around 4 degree celsius, a bulky wool blanket was brought along to supplement the sleeping bag. For paddles I brought along the repaired Sassafras tripper and the painted Ash blade

Knew going in that with all the stuff, it was going to be a triple portage but a simple, familiar route was selected in the Haliburton Highlands. It involved a direct launch to the water from a public dock (Raven Lake Access Point) with only a single 350m portage to get into the next lake (Gun L). I'd secured the most isolated campsite on the lake which is tucked into its own private bay, but in the end, the whole lake was empty for the duration of the trip.


The little Chestnut performed admirably with such a load, but a 15 footer would've carried this equipment better.



The small site doesn't look like much from the water. It is basically a rocky spit sticking out into the lake, but being surrounded by water, there was a lovely view from most directions and a great fire pit built in the centre.





The wall tent was set up so that  the back side could be staked down into the thin topsoil and the front side tie outs secure with rocks.


The 7x7 tent is quite spacious already, but the storage under the cot was great giving the tent even more of mansion-like feel. The canvas tent pole case was unrolled and re-purposed as a ground sheet under the tarp. Also brought along a mosquito net that could be suspended from the tent frame  if needed. The bugs weren't bad at all, but the netting was still useful for that evil mosquito hour before sunset.



There was a slight chance of rain, so like Robin, I used an old tarp on top for additional waterproofing. Dimensions aren't perfect match but at least the old tarp still has a use and isn't collecting dust in storage.



After setting up camp, it was time for a firewood run. This little part of the lake doesn't see many visitors, so the shoreline is dotted with fantastic dry wood.


Plenty of fallen birch trees meant a nearly limitless supply of guilt-free bark to really get the flames blazing.



It was a beautiful first night. The next morning was cold and misty, but magical. The tent worked very well as the whole site was covered with thick dew and condensation but the breathable canvas meant a dry and cozy interior.





Back after an hour or so with sunlight illuminating the whole site, I started my first attempt at using the reflector oven made back in 2015. Tried my hand at making some biscuits with whole milk powder and coconut oil.



Well in the end, the oven did its job, but the thin material warped heavily and became quite flimsy. To be expected I guess since the material was never really meant to be used as an oven. The biscuits tasted fine but investing in a proper reflector will be needed for future trips. Also realized a good pair of gloves would be smart as finger tips were singed in the making of breakfast.


After that little gear experiment, had a nice little break in a shady spot under the pines to contemplate what to do next...



A decision was made to try some fishing. Back for the May trip with my son and his classmate, I had ordered a simple little collapsible fishing rod online. Seemed like a functional little rod for the boy since since outgrowing his Spiderman plastic toy. To transport the disassembled rod and mini tackle-box, I re-used an old cigar box with a sturdy clasp. Made a little handle with jute cordage and we were good to go.





After giving up, it was time to replenish the wood pile given the fire the night before and for breakfast.  This time I sourced an old downed maple in the hills behind the campsite. The upper limbs would need to be sawn and split. Right before the trip, I finished making a new folding bucksaw and a case based on the Ray Mears Folding bucksaw/axe case. Mine was made from some waxed tarp material and hand stitched. It's a neat way to keep these essential bush tools together. The axe fits into an exterior sleeve attached to a simple bag for the saw components. Some leather and knotted paracord secure the top flap




The new 21" bucksaw was made with cherry scraps. Researched some designs and decided I wanted one where the handles are slotted so the the blade could fold directly forming a guard. Using some 3/4" Chicago screws to mount the blade means that there is no fiddling with any hardware like my old saw.





By the afternoon , the heat missing all summer long started cooking up the site so half the wall tent was flipped up and converted into a baker tent style shelter. It provided some decent shade relief. The wool blanket was removed the cot and a perfect afternoon nap ensued.



The rest of the delightful day was spent relaxing by the shore with some coffee, some bourbon and my last H. Upmann Royal Robusto from 2011.




The evening seemed warmer than normal so a decision was made to keep the tent in baker mode. The roof was lowered a bit and the nylon tarp added back in case of rain. It was great to sleep with the open view and feel immersed in the surroundings.



The sunset was pretty sweet for my last night...


Apart from the reflector oven fail, I feel that the field test with the wall tent was a success. Obviously the weight concerns with the frame would limit portage heavy trips. It'll be more useful for poling trips with minimal carries. A significant amount of weight could be saved by using a ridge line between trees which might be considered in the future. Eventually, I'll be adding a stove jack into one of the panels and hope to use the tent again in the late fall with a recent acquisition of Kni-co woodburning stove. More about that in another post...

On our crossing of outer Loch Torridon we had a very visible aiming point - the sandy beach at Red Point which seemed to have caught any patches of sunlight throughout the day.  A pale patch amongst greys, greens and browns, it stands out well in views from the south.  The swell which had built up behind us as we crossed was broken up by a small island and an offshore reef, making for a relatively easy landing.





Red Point was the site of a fishing station, now abandoned.  The cottages are just gable ends and a couple of walls, the most complete building being a semi-derelict store on the shore.  It's missing substantial portions of wall and roof and was a bit "sheepy" - we would be glad of it soon enough! Slender trunks of pine trees seem out of place in the dunes nearby; they didn't grow here but were dug into the dunes to provide supports for net drying.

I knew from a previous visit that we could find decent pitches behind the dunes, we pitched our tents in comparative shelter from a strong breeze which at least guaranteed no midges would trouble us during the evening.





A blink of evening sunshine provided a flash of colour, but unfortunately it didn't last long........





...before the weather begann to close in.  The wind increased to a pretty strong blow and soon we felt the first spots of rain.





To the south, the shore we'd paddled from looked to be getting some heavier rain; we reflected that place we'd originally planned to camp would have been exposed to the worst of this weather.





To seaward, there was an unmistakeable and menacing bank of rain approaching.  We moved our cooking kit into the derelict shed to take advantage of whatever shelter it offered - there would be no camp fire on this evening!

The next couple of hours saw heavy rain and a strong wind battering the coast, and the shed where we huddled to eat dinner.  The weather was pretty hostile and the evening was one of the coldest August evenings I can recall outside of the mountains.  Soon after dinner we battened down our tents and retired to our sleeping bags.





The view from the tent door just before I closed it up was quite dramatic.  The mountains of Torridon were invisible and the middle part of the loch at Shieldaig was taking a real meteorological beating - the sky was a livid purple shade and the sheets of rain were clearly visible.  Lying in my sleeping bag listening to the rain and wind on the tent, I wondered what the morning might bring......

Time flies when you are having fun - or so the saying says.  We can't believe this was our 9th year hosting an on-water cleanup of the Noyo River and Harbor.  This year we had a stellar crew of 11 kayakers and 2 rowers.

The beach below the Noyo Bridge is a collecting spot for trash and marine debris and our last chance to pick up the trash before winter storms wash it into the ocean.

June working on filling another bag under the Noyo Bridge.

Jeeze, I have been doing so many fun things lately - kind of making up for the less-great-than-hoped-for summer, but unfortunately I'm in the usual September stress-out time at work, and with a couple of additional projects going on, so I haven't been keeping up with the blogging. Boo!

So there will be some catching up to do...no, even more catching up to do, I haven't even finished Colorado, and then there was Indiana, and now there's more...well, better to be doing too much fun stuff to keep up with than not, right?

Tonight, I wanted to just toss up a quick post about a spectacular food thing that my spectacular-food-loving friend M. finally got me to go to - Pie Night at the Dominique Ansel Kitchen!

I think she's been trying to get me to do this for a couple of years. The first year, they only did one night and it was like winning Lotto to get a ticket. The second year, the menu didn't quite speak to me - I love pie, but the idea of Pie Night is that you get an hour to eat all the pie you want, and M. thinks that the menu was heavily slanted towards the dessert pies with only one or two savory pies, and I do remember thinking that might be more dessert than I could handle (I have quite a sweet tooth but there are limits).

This year, it was four savory pies (oxtail, Old Bay crab pot pie, ham and fontina, and a mushroom cottage pie) and five dessert pies (classic apple, chocolate horchata, plum blackberry almond, peanut butter, and a honey clementine orange blossom cream pie). That was perfect! Mandy was able to nab us a pair of tickets, and oh my, it was WONDERFUL. The only pie I wasn't absolutely crazy about was the mushroom cottage pie, which I should have stayed away from because I'm generally not crazy about mushrooms, and with so many other varieties I should've skipped that one to save room for more of something else.

The pies were great, the mulled wine was delicious and free-flowing, and the service was just fantastic. M. has been having some mobility issues recently (hopefully temporary); the staff couldn't have been more accommodating, first making sure that we got a table right by the door, then bringing her plates of pie so she didn't have to wait in line. And they were so pleasant all the way through -- we were the second seating on Wednesday night, and it's a very popular event, so it's a fast-paced and probably stressful evening for the staff, but they were cheerful and friendly to everyone all the way through.

And did I mention that the pies were great? YUM.

Here are some photos - I forgot my camera but M. let me use her iphone.

Hope this becomes one of our annual things!

• Hay que practica a abrir y cerrar el tambucho en agua movida, es otra habilidad que debemos dominar.
• Cuando te compres un casco, mira si entra en el tambucho de día de tu kayak. Si eres muy cabezón puede ser complicado..... por otro lado, la medida de la boca de este compartimento no está estandarizada y varía según la marca. 
• No sirve de nada tener un tambucho accesible si pones las palas de repuesto fijada con las gomas encima, y no lo puedes abrir...

Pues nada, a navegar...

Finfint skärgårdsdräll ???? #kajak #hermanöhuvud #stockenträffen #fårdugaväder Ett inlägg delat av Pia Sjöstedt (@piafra) Aug 26, 2017 kl. 4:42 PDT Oskrynklig kväll #horisontdräll #misterhult #fårdugaväder #tahewindduo #hilleberg Ett inlägg delat av Erik Sjöstedt (@eriksjos) Aug 10, 2017 kl. 11:09 PDT Det blev även några bilder tagna i augusti och några av telefonbilderna hamnade tillochmed på...

Inlägget Instagrambilderna augusti 2017 dök först upp på kajak.nu.

Provpaddlat:

Nelo 520 Surfski, Kanke inte så snabb men skapligt stadig för en ovan surfskipaddlare som jag. Är dock initialt lite vinglig men har en kraftig slutstabilitet. Bekväm men märkligt bökig justering av fotstöden. Råkade ställa in vitbalansen helt tokigt på kameran, så det är därför det ser så skumt ut.

 

There are two big scheduled coastal cleanups every year, in April and September, and I try to use those days to revisit a couple of beaches that we first surveyed on the Roadless Coast expedition in 2012. Seeing the same places over time, counting and collecting the plastic and other debris that has arrived in the intervening time, all provides a perspective that you can’t get from a single visit.

I went back to a beach this weekend where we came across one of our most significant tsunami finds of that 2012 trip, a portion of a Japanese house that had been reduced to sticks and insulation, with various items that had once been in the room. (There is a substantial rock reef just offshore and our best guess was that the bathroom part of a house had come across the ocean relatively intact, then was shattered on the reef as it came ashore. We found other heavier household items farther out at low tide, seeming to confirm this explanation.)

In addition to the house, we found a beach that was filled with debris in general, fishing gear and plastic bottles everywhere we looked. Those first few days of that trip really opened my eyes to the extent of the issue and the incongruity of how we talk about the environment and what we are actually doing to it every day, through our unsustainable actions.

Different years have seen more or less debris as the deposition rates change with the seasons. This year was one of the better ones. Although there was still a fair bit of smaller stuff – bottle caps, plastic bottles, nylon rope – there were fewer pieces of debris overall than I have seen in the past five years. It’s hard to say what that might be attributed to with any precision, but I know that there have been some targeted cleaning efforts on this particular beach; perhaps the general lack of plastic is a result.

My total haul was one garbage bag filled mostly with plastic bottles and other smaller items along with a collection of fishing buoys and floats. Hauling it all back up the cliffside “trail” is a full-body exercise event but that which does not kill us makes us stronger. Allegedly.

One piece I found has some writing on it that I’d like to get translated. It was a velvety slipper-type piece of footwear, maybe from a ship or an airplane? Probably red at one point, maybe purple, with gold embroidery. If anyone can tell me what I’m reading, I would be greatly appreciative.

I don’t know what the participation level was for this year’s cleanup. The April date tends to be the larger of the two but I did see signs and other volunteers on beaches around the area and I hope that the shoreline today is cleaner than it was after all of the effort involved.

Lugar: Club Nautico “Elcano”, Cádiz, Spain.

La entrega de un nuevo kayak Nautilus siempre resulta un momento entrañable con dos caras: decir adiós a un kayak que he visto “nacer” y ha sido parte de mi vida durante su proceso de construcción,  y ver la cara de ilusión del nuevo propietario…..su sonrisa de satisfacción al acariciar la cubierta.

El modelo escogido fue el popular “Night Heron” de Guillemot. Construido en su totalidad con cedro canadiense.

Un momento que no tiene precio!.

Esta es la marquetería sobre cubierta diseño del cliente.

(fotografía cedida por el cliente durante su primera travesía).

Petrel

Jack 14

“Nadie sin kayak”. Esta podría ser una buena presentación para este kayak.

Un kayak para la gente que encuentre un plus en la tranquilidad y seguridad que este kayak transmite.

Con una eslora corta para lo habitual (4.20m) en un kayak de mar, sorprende que no es lo lento que podríamos imaginar; aparte de que la rigidez de la construcción en madera ayuda mucho a no desperdiciar energía en la palada. Su manga de 0.62m confiere al kayak una sensación de estabilidad muy alta.

Es un kayak muy manejable y ágil con un comportamiento en agua agitada más que bueno.

También es un kayak ideal para quien quieren pescar desde el kayak y no tener que preocuparse de la estabilidad al manipular aparejos. No es ningún problema dotar al kayak de cañeros empotrables.

Quien tenga problemas de almacenamiento y/o de carga por el largo del kayak, con este modelo puede tener una solución.

Sea Racer

Antes de nada tengo que reconocer que este modelo es una de mis debilidades. Aun así espero ser objetivo con los comentarios.

Un modelo de Bjorn Thomasson diseñado muy específicamente para la competición y el entrenamiento.

Con unas dimensiones muy próximas a las de un surfski (598 X 43) es un kayak de mar extremadamente rápido, y aunque por esos 43cm de manga pensemos que será también tremendamente inestable, no lo es tanto en absoluto. Las palabras del mismo diseñador fueron: “ esto confirma una de mis viejas creencias… la velocidad y la estabilidad no son necesariamente excluyentes”.

Los palistas amantes de la velocidad encontrarán en este kayak unas cualidades excepcionales. En pruebas comparativas realizadas  frente a algunos famosos surfskis del mercado, acabó superándolos en algunas condiciones de navegación. También tiene la ventaja, claro!, de poder navegar seco dentro del habitáculo.

Por las características de este kayak es necesario el uso de timón para su gobernación. El más indicado es el timón  bajo el casco.

Difícilmente este podría ser “nuestro kayak único” a  no ser que tengamos una rutina de paleo muy concreta. Inconvenientes: Para transportarlo en coche no es muy cómodo con sus (598cm) y si colocamos el timón bajo casco nos podemos olvidar de las entradas a la playa “en seco”.
Aunque no es el objetivo de este tipo de kayak, debido a su poco volumen permite bien maniobras y esquimos.

En resumen un kayak optimizado para la navegación oceánica y aguas tranquilas, muy muy rápido y suficientemente estable. Ahora, para el fin que fue diseñado…es brutal!!!.

Jehu

Nanoq

Hay a mucha gente a la que les gustan los kayaks de estilo Groenlandes. Si bien es cierto que a algunos de ellos, cuando los prueban, no les agrada la sensación de estar ajustados y encajados dentro del kayak como ocurre con su hermano el “Black pearl”. Lo que para algunos es lo ideal, a otros no les gusta. Para aquellos palistas que quieran navegar en un kayak de lineas Groenlandesas pero con suficiente espacio y holgura, este puede ser su kayak.

El Nanoq, diseño de Bjorn Thomasson, es una evolución y actualización del “Qanik”, que con tanto éxito comercializó la marca “seabird” en fibra de vidrio.
Como digo es un kayak de lineas Groenlandesas pero con más volumen. Un kayak que se comporta muy bien para surf y roqueo por su gran agilidad. Es un kayak suficientemente rápido para travesía aunque este no es su fuerte. Sus medidas son 5.46m X 0.52m.

Yukon

Kayak  de Guillemot.

Este interesante modelo de Nick Schade esta diseñando y optimizado para la velocidad. El palista que quiera disfrutar de un kayak muy rápido pero que tenga un plus de estabilidad suficiente que no encontraría en un kayak de competición pura y dura. Aunque en competiciones de kayak de mar tradicional destacaría claramente. El palista que quiera usar su kayak para entrenamiento, disfrutando de aprovechar la energía de cada palada, y sintiendo como se desliza sin apenas distorsionar la superficie del agua, en este kayak encontrará un buen aliado. Las mejores prestaciones de este kayak salen a relucir en una larga travesía donde consigue una alta velocidad de crucero.
Al ser un kayak con un casco pensado para velocidad, no se comportara demasiado bien en olas y mar muy agitado. Perfecto para mar moderada y aguas tranquilas. Como todo kayak de estas características debe ir equipado con timón.

Otra particularidad de este modelo es que al disponer de cubierta de popa baja permite también maniobras de esquimo y juegos.
Sus medidas son 5.40m X 0.55m. En linea de agua seria 5.40m X 0.50m.

 July and August of 2017 offered little in the way of settled weather in Scotland.  Frequent spells of windy conditions limited the opportunity for anything more than brief outings.  In the second week of August Allan and I spotted a couple of days in the forecast which looked like giving a good chance of doing a camping trip - though there was uncertainty about the wind strength.

In general it looked to be from the south for a day before swinging through west to north for the following two days.  Finding somewhere which would offer shelter from opposing wind directions on consecutive days was an interesting conundrum!  We decided on a trip from Loch Torridon, with options to head out to the island of Rona if the weather was particularly obliging, or staying within the loch if it proved less benign.

We drove over to the west coast and prepared to set out from Shieldaig (from the old Norse "Sildvik" - Herring Bay).  The sky looked quite threatening as we packed our boats, we hoped that the forecast of brighter conditions later was accurate.





 We started out heading north west towards the outer loch.  Loch Torridon is in three sections, the outer loch which is a wide expanse opening to the Minch, Loch Shieldaig forms part of the middle section and an upper loch which laps the feet of the great Torridon rampart, Liathach.





 Shortly after setting out the overcast, drizzly cloud began to break up and allow some warm sunshine to break through.  As so often in Scotland, the speed of the change from grey to dazzling colour was startling......











 The view up the loch to the distant Torridon hills was particularly fine, rows of shapely summits marching into the distance.  We landed in a rocky bay to take a leisurely second luncheon and enjoy the sun on our backs.






 It was clear that the sunny conditions wouldn't last too long though, and with an approaching cloudbank came a strong southerly wind.  This caused us to revise our plans - the strength of the wind within the shelter of the loch suggested that things would be a lot more gusty in open water. Our plan had been to paddle out of the loch and head south to camp in a bay which faced south - this was in anticipation of stronger northerly winds the following day.  It was clear that we'd have a slog to the intended bay and that it would be exposed to swell and weather.  We rafted up for a quick reassessment.....


Our revised plan was to paddle along the southern shore of the outer loch as far as Rubha na Fearna, (one of two headlands with the same name, less than two kilometres apart, the name means Point of the Alder trees), then to cross the loch with the wind at our backs to the north shore and camp there.  The campsite would be exposed to the southerly weather but I knew a place that we could find a sheltered spot - and we'd be in a good position when the wind did swing to the north.





We weren't the only folk to be wild camping on the shore of Loch Torridon that evening; a pair of fishermen had set up their tent on the turf of a sandstone shelf.  The site was very sheltered, but you wouldn't want to be prone to sleep-walking here!






In the late afternoon we reached the outermost point of Loch Torridon and turned our bows to the north.  A steady breeze at our backs made for good speed as we set out.  Away to the west lay the distant silhouette of Skye's Trotternish peninsula.  As we moved out into open water the swell and wind increased and all my imaes of the crossing were spoiled by water splashing onto the camera lens - it was good fun though and we made cracking speed towards our camp.

Efter Utefest & Mjältön körde vi en kort bit söderut, gick en promenad i Rotsidans naturreservat innan vi drog handbromsen på Winzent vid Barsta lilla camping & hamn. Perfekt läge precis vid vattnet. Hängde upp lite blöta paddelkläder på tork, badade och hade det gött. Började snart regna så det fick bli innehäng. Somnade sött...

Inlägget Barsta & Rotsidan samt lite Högbonden på håll ;) dök först upp på kajak.nu.

The deadline for the Tom Thomson Paddle Art Contest run earlier in the summer has now ended.  Algonquin Outfitters has posted a facebook album of the various submissions which will be auctioned off for charity on September 29th . Many of the works were done on the laminated poplar paddles provided with the $25 entrance fee. A few creative individuals custom carved their own design.

In particular, the skull paddle re-purposed from an old damaged blade shows some real creativity. The paddle even has damage noted over the right eye which was noted in the original report by the Dr. who conducted the autopsy on the scene.

I started these because I wanted to do an Ironman.  It was a genuine challenge and at the outset I didn't know whether I'd succeed.

Having completed Ironman Maastricht in 2016, 2017 year has been something of an anti-climax.

At the start of the year I decided that a second Ironman would suffer from the law of diminishing marginal returns - the first would always be the best.  So I focused on 70.3 half-Ironman events and tried to go faster.


I failed.  Last year the 70.3 events were just warm-ups for the big event, but I was still faster than this year when they've been the main focus.

There are several reasons for this.

* Firstly, a lack of training - I've done fewer hours than when preparing for a full Ironman.

* Secondly, a lack of motivation - I wanted very badly to finish that first Ironman, whereas just 'doing well' in a race I knew I could complete was not a strong enough goal for me.

* Finally, I've had a lingering virus (the GP thinks, but isn't sure).  It arrived in March and still lays me low after several particularly hard sessions in a row.

I've reached the conclusion that I need a new, different type of athletic challenge.  I'm not sure yet what it will be.

Our local playground

I'm looking at Adventure Triathlons, Swim Run, Adventure Racing and more.  In 2018 I'll move up a 'Triathlon Age Group' (my age on 31 Dec 2018) and will, in the eyes of British Triathlon, be aged 60.  Bloody hell - SIXTY!  How did that happen?  Consequently I need to do something special.

Previously, the best challenges have found me rather than the other way around.  I'm sure something will turn up.

A local ride

As I write I'm fairly sure it will not be another Ironman 70.3 event.

Right now I feel I've had enough of swimming in protected water, cycling on closed roads and running on tarmac and concrete between aluminium barriers.

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to Ironman 70.3 Pula in Croatia.

Although, if I'm honest I'm more excited about the road-trip we've built around it.

We're driving to Croatia in our van and plan to also spend time in the mountains and swimming among the islands of the Dalmatian Coast.

My love of the mountains and the sea are reasserting themselves.  I'm on the lookout for a fresh athletic challenge.

Foto: Bjørnar Hansen

Det skulle ta et år fra forrige gang jeg var på Gaukværøy, til jeg dro dit igjen. Det er lenge siden det har vært så lenge mellom besøkene mine der, men i en periode var jeg ganske så ofte. Jeg tenkte å ta turen da det var "Mat i fjæra"-kurs, men da meldte det heftig vind på dagen så jeg droppet det. Så da måtte det bli neste anledning. Så snart det meldte rolig vær, tok jeg turen.

Det var en aldeles strålende dag, rett og slett. Alt lå til rette for en skikkelig kosetur.

Jeg la ruta litt innom holmer og skjær, det er så ulidelig kjedelig å bare padle bortover flatt hav.

Det var ikke så mye action underveis, bortsett fra et par båter som fisket i området.

Ingen på stranden fra før, jeg fikk øya for meg sjøl. Det hadde jeg i grunnen forventet også, for jeg hadde avspasert en fredag. Det er mest i helgene det er andre her ute.

En 10 på skjæret-post til er samlet inn, først og fremst.

Det var fint lys mens jeg var her ute, så jeg tok meg tid til en liten knipserunde.

Den flotte dassen var herpa, og en ny var kommet på plass ved siden av. Hvorfor må den gamle bli stående på dette viset hver gang, tro? Merkelig system det der.

Det var en flott dag fremdeles, så jeg tok meg god tid her ute. Lyden av storhavet må nytes.

Det er sauer på øya i år også, etter at de tok opp igjen beitet her ute. Det er flott at det ikke får gro over her, synes jeg.

Men det er altså noe allmektig som de driter. Sånn her så det i grunnen ut overalt, jeg var glad for at jeg ikke hadde tatt med meg teltet med plan om overnatting men bare var på dagstur.

BÆ! Jeg mistenker at noen pleier å ha med godis til sauene når de er og ser til dem, for de kom nokså nært og så meg an, flere av dem. Nesten så de forventet noe.

På stranden var det både små og store fotspor, men jeg fikk ikke se familien som hadde vært her før meg.

Dette blir ikke finere med tiden, dessverre. Det var sikkert gøy å brenne bål, men... Det er uopprettelig, og ikke fint for de som kommer senere.

En flott dag. Jeg tror den lille prikken er en sel, husker at jeg så en utenfor stranda.

Det kom jevnlig båter forbi under hele turen, egentlig. Denne så ut til å ha vært lenger ut og fisket.

Her kommer en reketråler, på vei rett inn i området til de har tenkt å plassere et oppdrettsanlegg innenfor Gaukværøy.  Til og med Fiskeridirektoratet synes det er en god ide. Det foregår jo ikke så mye fiske her - bare hver gang jeg padler forbi, tydeligvis.

Denne soppen falt jeg litt for, selv om den neppe er spiselig. Ikke var den så stor heller at det hadde vært noen vits om den var det. Men det var noe med fargen og fasongen som appelerte til meg på ett eller annet vis. Kul.

Kajakken er litt kul da, den er det. Han Tykje.

For en gangs skyld både hadde jeg med utstyret for å ta splittbilder, batteri på Goproen OG husket på det. Det er vanskelig å treffe selv med domen, men jeg synes dette ene bildet ble litt kult.

Jeg hadde bestemt meg for å øve på rulling, og bestemte meg for å gjøre det her ute, så slapp noen å se at jeg lå og kavet. Jeg startet sånn her, og prøvde på reentry. Det gikk ikke aldeles bra, nei. Det gikk så dårlig at jeg begynte å øve på sculling, for jeg oppdaget at jeg overhodet ikke svinger bak mot bakdekket. Det gikk jo rimelig greit.

Så satte jeg meg i kajakken og prøvde å rulle igjen, når jeg hadde fått bevegelsen litt på plass igjen - trodde jeg. Niks. Det gikk bare drit. Til slutt hadde jeg gitt sånn opp, at litt fra eller til var ikke så nøye. Så jeg testet på kjipsiden også.

Smækk, oppe. På den dårlige siden gikk det plutselig - ikke hver gang, men flere ganger. Jeg har ikke mistet den helt, altså. Men må øve oftere. Nå er vannet ganske så varmt, jeg holdt på lenge uten å bli det minste kjølig.

Jeg bestemte meg for å runde øyene, og fisket litt underveis. Jeg har en kul orange woggler, som i grunnen ser ut som en gullfisk.

Ja! Napp?

Joda, men det var ikke store fisken. Den fikk slippe ut igjen, men det var nå artig å ha fått noe på.

Her synes jeg de ter så fint, tydelige spor etter gamle tider. Det er ikke mange trær/busker på øya, men her er det et par.

Hva skuer mine øyne? TO blåser? De kan da umulig være ok begge to?

Joda!!! Jippi, hurra og alt mulig!

Ja. Men dette her blir jo...  Sånn kan man vel ikke bare padle videre, det er ille nok å drasse på EI så stor blåse?

Ja, det er egentlig det, men det bryr jo ikke meg. Hele blåser skal være med hjem, ferdig med det. Veldig glad jeg ikke fant tre.

Fjæresau. Blir særlig eksklusiv fårikål av disse. Hurra, det er fårikåltid straks.

Ja! Blåsefangst! Fornøyd! Hurra!

Men hvor er blåsene blitt av? Mistet?

Neida, ikke helt. Men det funket ikke helt med festet, så de forsvant videre bakover. Med dem helt bakerst på kajakken var det noget ubehagelig da jeg fikk små bølger fra siden, det ble ekstremt uvant. Så jeg gikk i land for å fikse.

Nytt forsøk, jeg padler videre. Jeg bestemte meg raskt for å kutte runden rundt Litløy, det kom til å gå   tregt med blåsene på slep. Denne båten passerte bare forbi, de tok bilder men kom ikke bort og spurte hva i huleste jeg holdt på med. Jeg antar de tok meg for et bruk som sto i sjøen, jeg var jo godt kamuflert.

Et skylokk hadde lagt seg over Lofoten, det var litt tøft egentlig.

Her kommer reketråleren i retur, nå i solnedgang.

Det ble veldig mye fine farger og formasjoner på himmelen, og det begynte å ane meg at det kom til å bli kveld før jeg hadde beregnet.

En av båtene som passerte la seg lenger bortpå og fisket.

Litløy i kveldslys. Egentlig skulle jeg padlet rundt, men det ble for drøyt med blåsene. Sjekket GPSn, men jeg tapte bare ca 2 km/t fart på å ha dem med. Jeg trodde det var verre.

Gaukværøy i solnedgang. Jeg måtte stoppe noen ganger og se på denne utsikten, den er fantastisk herlig.

Foto: Mareno Leonhardsen

Jeg skjønte at det ville bli langt til Fjærvoll, så jeg kalte inn sjåfør som kom med henger og hentet blåsene der det var kortest til land - Svinøyvalen. For det var litt tungt. Jeg tror at det å padle med blåser på dette viset tilsvarer litt å gå på land og trekke dekk. Samme greia, bare tyngre.

Foto: Mareno Leonhardsen

Jeg vil påstå at jeg hadde rett i antagelsen om at jeg var et snodig skue der jeg padlet vel ei halv mil med disse her.

Foto: Mareno Leonhardsen

Der er de velberget på land, hurra. Nå er det bare at sjåføren får satt sildgarn, sånn at de blir tatt i bruk. Det sto nemlig verken navn eller båtnr på dem, så da er det umulig å gi dem tilbake til noen.

Jeg stoppet like gjerne her. Turen var nå blitt halvannen mil, og den siste drøyt halve hadde vært ganske tung. Like greit å stoppe mens leken er god, dessuten var sola nå gått ned.

Ellers - javisst skal det gå an å ta ut lufta på de der blåsene. Men det klarer jeg jo aldri å huske når jeg finner dem! Kanskje neste gang, vi får se.

När Utefest började ebba ut var det dags för utflykt till Mjältön med Melker Kayaks, Sören Kjellkvist, Elles Utemat och the Way Out. Vi var en en blandad skara, några hade aldrig suttit i en kajak, några hade provat ett par gånger, några liksom jag & Pia hade provat rätt många gånger medan andra var...

Inlägget Mjältön runt med toppvy – perfekt avslutning på Utefest dök först upp på kajak.nu.

Our shuttle boat was scheduled to pick us up around 1pm, so we had one last morning to do some exploring. It was still a bit breezy out, but we had the shelter of Tobacco Range protecting us from the easterly winds. First we paddled up the eastern side of Coco Plum Range, which is dotted with resorts. Paddling past these really made me miss my family, as it looked like the perfect place for a family holiday.

Malcolms Caye

These small resorts looked very inviting

Some had nice sandy beaches, with SUP and kayaks

In between Coco Plum Caye and Tobacco Range is Manowar Caye, aka Bird Caye, which is a nesting area for frigate birds, so we made the short hop across into the wind to check it out. You can start to smell it from a distance, due to all the bird crap. Its also pretty loud.



Manowar Caye

The males have large red pouch that inflates like a balloon during mating season. They make these crazy noises too. 

After leaving Manowar Caye, we paddled across to Tobacco Range. We had heard that manatees like to hang out around the southern end of the islands, so we headed there to check it out.

Looks like we are in the right place

We paddled around but had no luck. A catamaran came by, and they spotted one, so I paddled over and was just able to catch the top of one as he went down, although all I could see was a brown blob.

They had a much better vantage point from that height compared to us

After a while we gave up and it was time to head back to Malcolms Caye to wait for our pick up from Captain Balls.

All ready for pick up

While waiting, we were watching a group of men in boats digging up sand from the bottom and putting it into boats, and bringing it to resort nearby. After a while, a boat from the fisheries department showed up and they didn't look too happy. They ordered the men into their boat and left with them. I guess they weren't allowed to do that!

This didn't look like a fun job!

Our captain was right on time and dropped us off back on the main land at Island Expeditions. Our first order of business was to head to Riverside Café for a nice cooked meal and cold beer.

This couldn't have tasted any better after 8 days of dehydrated meals.

The next morning, we headed across the border into Guatemala to see the ruins of Tikal. More to follow on that later..

Pathfinder Travels ger sig, som vanligt, ut på höstturné i Skandinavien. Premiär var det i fredags på Utefesten. På Utefest kördes en kortversion, tror alla närvarande blev sugna på fullversionen. Totalt visas Banff vid 18 tillfällen. Några har redan varit med de flesta är framöver, Köpenhamn, Stockholm, Oslo, Göteborg, Lund, Malmö, Norrköping är andra orter....

Inlägget Banff Mountain Film Festival 2017 dök först upp på kajak.nu.

Vi stack upp till/på Utefest i år igen. Har tyckt det varit supertrevligt de två åren 2015 & 2016 som vi varit med tidigare. Stannade till på Elmia en sväng och vid Vättern för övernattning på vägen upp. Kom fram halvsent på torsdag kväll till Friluftsbyn, hann checka in på både Utefest och camping, få...

Inlägget Utefest 2017 – supertrevligt och lite fuktigt dök först upp på kajak.nu.

Grunnfjorden er fin, men flere begynte å bli litt slitne og sultne, så noen av oss satte kursen tilbake mot leiren, mens andre ble igjen for å fiske. Det skulle sikre kveldsmaten vår i dag, faktisk, mer om det straks. Først til hurtigruta som kom ut fra Trollfjorden mens vi var på retur.

Det er noe med det. Kult skip, kul fjord - kombinasjonen er enda kulere.

Hurtigruta forlater, men det er ikke så mange timene før det kommer ei ny.

Etter ei stund i leiren kommer fiskerne tilbake. Roger har fått en flott sjøørret.

Kjempeflott, rett og slett. Roger var klinkende klar på at denne skulle alle få nyte godt av, ikke snakk om at han skulle ta den med seg heim til stas. Seriøst? Tuller han?

Motorbåtgutta hadde dratt hjemover, men før det hadde de lagt av litt ved de fraktet til leiren. Kay og jeg gikk etter den - og underveis fant vi disse! De første røde tyttebærene jeg har sett (og smakt) i år - til og med røde hele veien rundt. De var gode!

Roger hadde sørget for fisk, klart vi skulle hjelpe ham med den. For jo, han mente seriøst at denne skulle vi få smake, alle sammen. Stein-Evert trådte til for filetering, Kirsti sørget for krydring og innpakking i folie. Nå kom jeg forresten på at jeg må fylle på saltbøssa, det har vi jo fått bevis på er lurt å ha med.

Så ble storfisken lagt på bålet, der en spent gjeng passet nøye på den.

Den var like god som vi så for oss. Dette er ren luksusmat, som ikke er alle forunt å få smake. Tusen takk Roger, definitivt en høydare på denne turen som vi kommer til å huske lenge.

Det ble riktig så trivelig rundt bålet. Ja, vi kunne faktisk sitte under åpen himmel istedenfor under tarpene etter hvert, så heldige var vi. Det ordnet seg med været på denne turen – som det i grunnen ofte gjør. Det er ikke sjelden at været ser verst ut på meldinga før man drar, egentlig.

Så kom endelig hurtigruta igjen. Den tredje på turen. Synes nesten det er litt ekstra stas i mørket. Frode storfyrte bål og fristet dem over VHFn med nakendansing, så (MS) Kong Harald (!) pekte lyskasteren på oss til stor stemning. De gjentok det på retur, artig.

Bålet var ikke riktig like morsomt for meg dagen derpå. Det var aske spredt over hele teltet, selv om jeg lå lengst unna bålet. Aske+vann=lut, litt kjipt på første turen jeg bruker teltet.

Det tok for øvrig godt over en uke før jeg fikk svar fra Exped på hva som er det beste å gjøre med det. Svaret var dessuten dårlig, jeg fikk bedre svar andre steder i mellomtiden. (Men kort oppsummert alle svar, er at det er nokså lite å gjøre med det.) En feit service-minus i boka til dem, det var dårlig.

Frode hadde ikke det største teltet, akkurat. Artig å se forskjellige typer telt. Jeg liker å ha litt bedre plass spesielt når jeg venter regn, men man skal jo ha plass i kajakken til alt man skal ha med, også. Alltid en balansegang det der. Scarp1-teltet mitt er nok ikke noe større, det bruker jeg bare i skikkelig godvær.

Som nevnt, man skal jo ha plass i kajakken til alt man skal ha med. Stein-Evert har plass til alle dingsene sine i Empoweren, det er i grunnen godt gjort med det arsenalet av elektronikk og annet. Han kan gjerne smile fornøyd av den utstillingen der.

Mitt telt helt til høyre her.

Det er virkelig en flott leirplass, dette. Eneste ulempen er at den er relativt ofte opptatt, sammenlignet med mange andre steder.

Eeeh... No comment. He he, den er til fri tolkning denne. Litt kunst, nesten.

Kontrastfylt! Herlig kontrastfylt.

Nå var det etter hvert tid for å komme seg hjemover. Vi tok turen videre rundt Brakøya først.

Det ble jo en strålende flott runde.

Vi holdt øynene åpne etter andre leirplasser. Det var vel ingen knallgode for mange telt, egentlig. Jeg klarte heller ikke å se hvor hen det er jeg har vært med og campet før. Det forblir foreløpig et mysterium. Men jeg tror i det minste at jeg har kommet på hvilken tur det var, så kanskje en gang...

Rolig kosepadling i fint lys.

Wenche padler imellom, etter å ha fått oppstrekk dagen før for å padle korteste vei isteden. Joda, kan det padles imellom så skal det jo helst det, av prinsipp. Men det er nå mest en skøy.

En flott tur går mot slutten, avslutningen er i grunnen også nokså fin.

Fine fjell, men ikke noe vits å følge land på andre siden av Raftsundet. Der så det kjedelig ut.

Vi padlet på Trollfjordsiden av Ulvøya også, sånn at vi kunne padle gjennom Svartsundet før vi krysset over Raftsundet. Svartsundet er der Hurtigruta pleide å gå før, til ei av dem gikk på grunn.

Trollfjord i bakgrunnen.

Svartsundet, jeg tok visst ikke bilder da vi passerte bebyggelsen, som er noe av sjarmen.

Det kom en båt sørover, så vi ventet litt før vi krysset over. Den gikk faktisk på innsiden av holmene, første gang jeg har sett en så pass stor båt gjøre det. Den kunne vel veien, da.
Her kan det være en utfordring å holde gruppen samlet om det er vind og straum, men det var så lite vind at folk fikk løse det sjøl uten noen formaninger på forhånd.

Det gikk som forventet. En klassiker er jo at man peker med baugen dit man skal, og så glemmer man å kompensere for avdriften. Spesielt typisk mot slutten av en tur. Så kan det jo også være at turen er så flott at man padler en omvei for at den skal vare lenger, he he. Noen var skikkelig flinke, og hadde antagelig rettere spor enn meg over her.

Straks over på andre siden av Raftsundet, det er Rognholmene som pynter så fint opp i flomlyset fra sola der bortenfor. Har vært i land der en gang, de er i grunnen finest på avstand.

Her er tracket fra turen, bortsett fra returen fra Grunnfjord til camp på lørdag, for da slutta GPSn å tracke, uten at jeg skjønner hvorfor. Det er en eller annen innstilling jeg ikke skjønner meg på. Men den ser i hvert fall ut til å takle nærhet til fjell bedre enn den forrige, hurra.

Så har vi kommet vel tilbake til Tennstrand, og turen er ferdig. Ja, bortsett fra skylling, tørking og rydding av utstyr da, turen er jo aldri helt over før en tid etterpå.

Folk virket fornøyde, så jeg håper det ble en bra tur for alle. Jeg er superimponert over at så mange ble med når værmeldingen var som den var, og det ble en fin gjeng som var kjekk å ha med på tur. Det er allerede snakk om en lignende tur til neste år, for eksempel med camp ved Grunnfjordvatnet istedenfor Brakøya. Det skal jeg ikke slå fast nå om det blir for vår del, det er jo ikke sikkert neste styre mener det samme for eksempel. Vi får se om det blir neste år eller et annet, men ideen synes vi i hvert fall er god.

Neste gang er kanskje du også med?

With 9/11 falling after this wonderful Triple Cup Weekend, racing and celebrating the water with friends from Sebago, Yonkers, Inwood, and the North Brooklyn Boat Club, my mind is reeling a little bit thinking about how if that day had gone differently, I never would have had the chance to meet so many people who are so important to me today.

 I'm so glad I did.

Love you NY and the local boating community. WTC and Tribute in Light seen from four different boats.

My own 9/11 story.

An older looking website of the Government of France showcases some of the accessories of the famed Chartres Canoe Model dated to around 1760. It is believed that the canoe (and accessories) were meant as a votive offering to the Cathedral de Chartres by Abenaki converts to Catholicism in Quebec. The patterns on the blades are some of the oldest surviving paddle decorations in Northeastern canoe culture.

Egentlig skulle weekenden have budt på 3 dages ophold på NKC's grund i Svinø, men ringe tilmelding og afbud pga vejret gjorde at jeg aflyste weekenden, og erstattede den med en rotur om lørdagen.

Til den mødte kun Susanne op. Hun havde taget fri på dagen og ville gerne ud og ro en lang tur. Vi blev enige om at køre til Svinø og ro en tur derfra.

Turen gik første til shelterne ved Avnø. På vej derned så vi mange sæler.

Efter frokosten roede vi over til Odden - det går fint uden at genere sælerne, der ligger på stenen længere ude i fjorden. Derefter roede i totalt vindstille og regnvejr ud til Draget 4 km fra Oddens spids.

Vi lavede en overbæring og roede i lidt gammel sø ud til spidsen, som vi rundede inden vi gik i land og spiste blåbær. Der var vildt mange bær, men de var desværre noget vandet i smagen. De savner nok også solen.

Fra spidsen af Odden satte vi kurs 45 gr - den skulle gerne føre os lige til Svinø. Normalt kan man se derover, men der var kun ca 2-3 km sigt i regndisen. Turen gik fint. Det blæste lidt op, så der var lidt afdrift. Det var dog til at styre med GPS'en. Der er en funktion hvor man kan ro mod et waypoint (her Svinø) og så viser en pil vejen og afdriften. Meget smart. I praksis ror jeg dog altid efter kompasset og tager højde for afdrift - her var det kun vind, så det var ret nemt.

Billederne fra turen kan ses her - beklager musikken. Det bliver bedre fremover.

27 km

If you have to drive through Seattle, there are worse times to do it than in the chill of a pre-dawn Sunday morning. The hardest part of any San Juan journey is usually the drive to the launch but I’m hoping today will be different.

The weather looks decent for the next few days, which is nice. I don’t do as much kayak guiding as I used to, but I’m looking forward to being gone and off the screen for the next four or five days.

Heading out

Sweetie stop!

In April, I organised a trip out to the Isle of May for  SSKEG. 10 of us set off from Anstruther for the 8k crossing before arriving at the island. We had arranged to meet up on the island with some of the Lothian club who had paddled over from North Berwick, so all in all, the island was a very busy place that day! Lots of birds on the cliffs, but not many Puffins.

Not even set on monochrome

All finished off with fish and chips from the "Wee Chippy", then icecream for pudding!



Later in April we were up at the CVC at Glenmore. Day 1, I had a great day out in "Sonic Too" on the Spey.  Day 2 was spent up at Sandend having a whale of a time playing in the surf - fantastic!

A snowy wake up Hard at work splashing! At the start of the tunnel In June, our juniors had a great time suggesting and organising a canal trip. The only thing the "oldies" did was drive and supervise.  The put in was at Falkirk, just next to the viaduct, a great opportunity to splash the cars driving below! Then along the canal, through the 630 meter tunnel before stopping for lunch. We eventually made it to Polmont where some very weary paddlers were glad to see the cars again. In the tunnel Lunchtime Sleepy paddler!

Vi er på tur i Raftsundet. Dagen før padlet vi til Brakøya og slo leir. I dag har vi hatt en lang morgen i påvente av bedre vær, og nå er vi klare for padling. Første målet er dette – Trollfjorden. Deretter tenker vi oss en tur innom Grunnfjorden også, det er jo en 10 på skjæret-post der. Har du ikke lest del 1 så finner du den HER.

Turen fortsetter. Vi satte kursen fra leirplassen på Brakøya, rett over til Trollholmen. Den var i grunnen litt kul.

Så fulgte vi land bortover mot innløpet til Trollfjorden. Vi tok oss god tid, dette var jo en kosetur.

Nytt siden sist var varselskilt om rasfare. Det gikk nemlig ras i fjorden ikke så lang tid etter at jeg var der forrige gang. Så nå er det skiltet fare for stein ovenfra på begge sidene i innløpet. I verste fall har beregningene vist at stein kan komme 40 meter ut fra fjellsiden.

Vi holdt oss på den nærmeste siden for sikkerhets skyld. Da får man sett hele veggen oppover også.

Det er en flott, liten fjord dette, liten tvil om det. Litt sånn majestetisk å komme inn her.

Men så er det en del båttrafikk. Jeg kom ut av tellinga hvor mange RIBer som var innom denne dagen, men det var en del. I tillegg til en seilbåt og diverse andre, og oss 11 padlere. Det er ikke helt samme sjarmen å komme inn her nå som det var første gangen jeg besøkte den, men fortsatt en fin opplevelse som er verdt turen synes jeg.

Siev sto det på seilbåten, men har ikke klart å finne ut hvor den hører til. Noen som kjenner til den?

Vi måtte jo ta et gruppebilde midt i fjorden så klart, det hører med.

Men det er ikke barebare å få både folk og hele fjellsiden med, akkurat...

Målet var innerst i fjorden, der skulle vi ta oss en liten pause. Det er fint å gå i land til venstre for husene der inne. Ytterst på hjørnet i det ene bygget på kaia er det forresten et toalett som man kan bruke, det hører til Trollfjordkraft. Tror faktisk det er de jeg har strøm fra, så det er vel da strengt tatt blant annet jeg som betaler for det doet. Telefondekninga er vel lik null her inne, men om man vil sjekke Facebook og legge ut bilde så kan man logge seg inn på gjestenett via Wifi også.

Fantastisk flott her inne. Når man kommer inn kan man følge rørledninga opp og gå videre opp i fjellet, så kommer man til Trollfjordhytta. Den gjøres det nå fundamenteringer på, før utvidelse som visst skal gjøres neste år, leste jeg nettopp.

Innimellom kom sola fram og gjorde det ekstra flott mens vi padlet innover. Denne fossen skal vi besøke på tur utover igjen.

Med mye båttrafikk er det greit å være synlig, Stein-Evert her et godt eksempel som har satt lanterna på det høyeste punktet. Selv om det ser teit ut på bilder så er det egentlig lurt. Veldig bra.

Omsider et bilde jeg har berget med at kamera tar bilder i RAW-format også! Dette var stort sett bare svart og hvitt i jpg-utgaven, men jeg klarte å lete fram fjell og vegetasjon, hurra! Denne fossen var bred og flott.

Ikke så rart at denne fjorden er populær.

Etter at vi var kommet i land, ble vi plutselig flere. Lofoten-klubben doblet sitt antall deltakere ved å komme med 3 stk per motor. Eilif, Boyd og Odd dukket opp, og siden de hadde med wienerbrød til oss godkjente vi motorbruken. Brukket arm er jo dessuten ganske så gyldig unnskyldning for ikke å kunne padle. Veldig artig at de kom innom og ble med ei stund de også.

Her ser vi litt mer av området vi satt i. Etter hvert flødde det, og plassen rykker stadig nærmere havet. Vi var litt usikre på om det var her eller på andre siden av byggene at de campet (jeg tror kanskje sistnevnte), de som våknet med vannstand på 15 cm i teltet, og oppdaget at kajakkene var midt på fjorden. HER er link til artikkelen for de som ikke har lest den.

For øvrig tøft av dem å stå fram med en slik blunder. Springflo javel, men det tar man jo høyde for. Det ses tydelig på bildene at de har lagt inn liten margin. Men det er det nok mange som har opplevd, er man på tur og slår leir litt slitne på kvelden så er det fort gjort å glemme av å beregne sånt godt nok. En flott (og for oss andre, artig) påminnelse som kan berge noen fra å gjøre samme feil.

Klassisk Trollfjordbilde må med. Men nå er vi snart klare for å ta turen videre. Vi må jo innom Grunnfjorden også.

Nevnte jeg wienerbrød? I hvert fall, her er halve Lofoten-gjengen, per motor. Dermed fikk vi plutselig følgebåt på deler av turen, det er jo kjekt å ha.

Noen fordeler med regn må det også være. En av dem er at da blir det godt med vann i fossene i Trollfjorden! Her kan man få fylt opp kopper og flasker (det smakte friskt ja!), og ikke minst - man kan få dusjet seg og kajakken. Det er alltid stas! Ett av høydepunktene i Trollfjorden.

Per tok sjansen og padlet rett gjennom den største. Jeg lurer på om det bråket like mye når man har sydvest på som det gjorde på min hjelm. Det var dunder og brak, he he.

Roger tok også sjansen.

Så bar det videre med oss til Grunnfjorden. Flere synes at den faktisk er finere enn Trollfjorden (bare et litt mindre dramatisk navn), noe jeg til dels er enig i. Her får man i hvert fall i større grad fjorden for seg selv (så ikke si dette til motorbåtfolket), og den har så absolutt sin sjarm denne også.

Jeg og Wenche var veldig spente på om "kunsten" vi så her sist fremdeles var her, men vi ble skuffet der gitt.

Fjellene er kanskje ikke så mye stein, men frodige, grønne, bratte fjell er jo knallflott det også. Knudrete og værbitt.

Nok en post er dokumentert, to nye ble det denne helgen. Den er for øvrig ikke over, det kommer en episode til. Den som leser får se. Så langt var dagen i hvert fall flott, selv om det til tider var litt smågrått.

These are some big weather days. The west is on fire and the gulf coast is underwater. There is a certain irony in the case of Florida, a state where the Governor has banned the use of the term “climate change,” and is now about to be hit by the 150 mph validation of the concept. Hurricanes are lining up like giant aircraft on final descent, one behind the other across the Atlantic. (Just a thought: If these “100-year storms” keep happening every year, we really should think about a different name for them.)

I wanted to write a little about something that I’m working on, a little project that will hopefully be part of a larger beach cleanup program next summer in southeast Alaska. Many of the large plastic net floats that stack up on Cascadian beaches are from Asia. A large percentage of them are still usable, still without a significant amount of photodegrading going on. I’m working with Surfrider Japan to see if we can set up a return program, where the floats can be sent back to where they started from and be reused, rather than just sent to the landfill. I have dreams of using the money raised from this program to fund beach cleanups in remote areas here in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. I don’t know if it will work, but I hope it will.

I’ll probably talk more about this in upcoming entries… for now, I’m just watching the weather.

 

August 20th 2017 saw the 21st Aberfeldy Triathlon, but the 1st run by Durty Events, and the first on a brand new course.

Which doesn't go within six miles of Aberfeldy.  Is this the RyanAir approach to triathlon naming?

The over riding impression of this triathlon is of outstandingly beautiful countryside.

I say this as someone who lives amongst lochs and mountains in the Scottish Highlands, so it takes a lot to impress me.  This course did.  If you're from anywhere in England or Central-belt Scotland, this course will blow you away.  In a good way.



Although I didn't tackle the previous course, the new one is clearly much improved, centred around the village of Kenmore and the grounds of Taymouth Castle.  There's still a split transition, but they're  easy walking distance apart - less than a kilometre - compared to the previous six miles.  You still have to register on the Saturday but can't rack until early Sunday, so that brings some money into the local economy for meals and accommodation.

I didn't do particularly well.  6:19 is back where I started two years ago at Lanzarote and it was a hillier course, but I think my personal woes are for a different post.  This is more about the race itself.

The swim is in glorious Loch Tay.  It's great to swim in fresh water for a change, and a setting like this is hard to beat.

Forget the reservoirs and wee lakes down south - this is full on mountain country.  The starts and finish is at Taymouth Marina and the swim follows am anticlockwise, triangular course.

It's sponsored by my friends from Lomo, Mark and Bruce, with whom I need to have a word because I found it pretty hard to see the buoys.  There were no intermediate markers, just three big orange buoys marking the turns.

Like a drunken duck

While I swam a straight line to the first, my GPS track shows I was then all over the place.  I couldn't see the second buoy until I was half-way to it, instead aiming for the middle of the pack in front.  I was in the third age group wave, so there was always people in front.  I knew that sighting would get even harder at the second buoy as we had to swim directly into the sun.  I thought I was being smart by sighting on the sun itself (I thought I had lined it up) but turns out I wasn't.  Consequently, although I swam at a decent pace for me (1:45/100m) I actually covered 2400m, that's 500m more than necessary.  OK, some of this might reflect the be GPS accuracy, but still...  My learning point from this?  I was wearing smoked lens goggles to shield me from the sun, and I suspect the orange tint made the orange buoys harder to see - I'll try clear goggles next time.

The bike goes through achingly beautiful country.  I rode this in July and barely saw a soul, either in cars or on foot, so the need to close the road just isn't there.  That said, part of the route is also used by the Tape Caledonia, which I did a few years ago, and for that they do close the road.  There's a big difference between thousands of sportive riders and a few hundred triathletes.  All credit to Durty Events for putting in effective traffic management for the short moments when we had to tangle with traffic on right-turns.


A Tri-bike certainly helps.  It's essentially two climbs, two descents, and a flat-ish time-trial around a loch which will almost certainly have a headwind in one direction.  A word of warning about the final descent, which was also the initial climb.  Cyclists have been seriously injured and, I believe there has been at least one fatality on this hill.


The run now goes through the grounds of Taymouth Castle, which frankly puts Shrugborough Hall on Ironman Staffordshire 70.3 in the shade.  What a spot.  Mostly on tarmac, with a little gravel track, there's just one medium sized hill, although it grows in height and severity by the third and final lap.

I didn't have a good run.  Just as at Staffordshire, my guts started cramping the moment I got off the bike and didn't ease for the first hour.  I had to disappear into the bushes for a call-of-nature to try to relieve some pressure.  That's not easy, or fast, wearing a Trisuit.

Wonderful encouragement and support from the aid station crews helped get me through, as well as seeing Liz and our wee dog Maggie on each lap.

The finish to a local triathlon like this is never going to have the Razamataz of an Ironman branded event, and frankly I prefer that.

I prefer to stroll across the finish line reflecting on a good day, rather than run a gauntlet of dancing girls.

Aberfeldy Triathlon - highly recommended.

The official video is below