Peter’s Paddling Blog

I spend the weekend organizing the Danish Canoe Federation’s Surf Symposium 2008.

I only got minimal time on the water myself but enjoyed watching +40 girls and boys – many westcoast surf newbies – getting blasted in the surf.

Tour de Gudenaa this year was a different beast as Morten and I decided to race in the K2 class. Not that we had any K2 race experience and in fact we had less than 10 previous K2 training sessions together.

The club’s marathon Vajda Ultrasonic K2 was reserved for a stronger team so we picked a sprint edition Ultrasonic meaning a slightly heavier boat without pump. We did consider using a K2 trainer but decided against it – the Ultrasonic is way cooler!

Before the start in Skanderborg(Photo Jørgen Brøgger)

Our start Saturday morning went bad as we found ourselves in the middle of the pack with the resulting chaotic wave systems. We struggled in vain to get any kind of rhythm going. Then after about 2 or 3 km we found flat water and started overtaking K2s. Don’t get me wrong – the strongest K2s were way out of our league and we never saw them again.

When we reached the 10km long lake Mossø we had a moderate wind in our back which build up quite a sea. We sorely missed the pump not to mention a better balance. A couple of times I feared we would go down as wave would pop my sprayskirt but we were lucky.

After having managed the lake the boat was heavily waterlogged but with no suitable place to get ashore we had to keep going. Finally we reach a small jetty and managed to get rid of the +40L of water.

During these hectic minutes we were overtaken by a couple of K2s. We got back into the kayak and in 10 minutes had caught up with the group. For the next 5 km we were a nice group taken turns pulling and drafting.

Sunday morning (Photo Esben Kjeldsen)

Now get this – one K2 was paddled by two middle aged men while the other was a mixed K2 with a couple of older paddlers at about the age as my parents. The man was using a flat wooden paddle while the lady didn’t look all too strong. I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for them and along with the other all-male K2 we did most of the pulling.

Now after the portage and break at Ry we were still a group but I expected the mixed K2 to fall back anytime. However to my amazement the mixed K2 kept drafting us while the other K2 had to let go!
Morten and I kept doing most of the pulling and I felt bad whenever we were drafting the old couple.
And then… 300m from the finishing line they took the lead and pulled away from us! We couldn’t catch them.

Getting back home I looked up their names. Turns out we were up against Fried de Raedt and his wife from Belgium. Fried participated in the Olympics in 1964, 1968 and 1976.

The race Sunday went pretty fine. We got a good start and found a group for the first 10km. With no lakes and waves our lack of K2 balance wasn’t much of a problem.

In the end we placed 6th in the K2 senior class way behind the first 4 kayaks. Still we got the TdG 2008 Marathon shirt for completing the race and that dear reader is what really counts!

Next up: In two weeks I’m responsible for the Danish Canoe Federation’s surf kayaking symposium.

Update: You’ll find a nice collection of photos from race here.

Some weeks ago Jannie from my sea kayak club, Esben from my K1 club and I got together for shooting some rolling videos. We used the SS and a Silhouette for the fun.
During the editing phase a considerable amount of time was spent discussing what music to use. Elastica was the compromise. The world will have to wait for my ATR ~ kayak video.

On a related note I bought the Rockpool Underground Prototype from Freya last week.

More on that after Tour de Gudenå.

Thursday afternoon I left Grenå harbor for a new attempt to reach Sweden some +100km to the east. No I didn’t plan to paddle the entire stretch in one go but wanted to reach the island Anholt so wonderful located halfway between our two countries in the sea curiously named Kattegat.

I opted for a late start as the forecast announced the west by northwest wind was decreasing from a force 6 to a 5 during the afternoon and evening. I hoped to reach Anholt before sunset though the knowledge of the Anholt lighthouse was a reassuring thought.

The 50km trip was a lumpy experience in chaotic waves spiced up with regular rain showers. The Inuk performed flawless in it’s usual no-bullshit-keep-going fashion. I had lowered the seat before the trip to increase the stability and was rewarded once in a while by being able to take one hand of the paddle and grab a snack.

I landed in the surf after some 6 hours of concentrated paddling feeling quite good. Quickly build up the tent at the exposed beach to get away from the driving rain.

Checking the forecast friday morning I decided for a change of plans. The crossing to Sweden is west/northwest while the force 5 wind was coming from north/northwest. It would be quite a struggle and I set my eyes on the tiny island Hesselø 56km to the south and 25km north of Zealand. For a number of years I’ve been wanting to go to Hesselø and here was the perfect opportunity.

Leaving at noon the paddle to Hesselø was superb. Sunny weather, wind in my back, the mp3-player loaded with careful selected songs and little traffic to worry about. The wave pattern was much to messy for any decent surfing though and the speed was accordingly low. After some 5-6 hours I spotted the island and later on landed at a sheltered beach. Definitely one of my best paddles this year.

Hesselø is privately owned and visitors are not welcome. I halfway expected to be forced to stay at the beach(according to danish law, you’re permitted to make a stay for a day at any beach). However I never saw anyone nor did I make a big fuss of my arrival and build up my tent in a corner. I might very well have been alone on the island.

Saturday morning I set course for Zealand and paddled to get in position for the crossing back to Jutland. Easy day.

The wind Sunday was perfect with a light breeze from south east once again blowing in the right direction. With the wind changing it’s direction the current changed direction too and helped pushing me to the north. With only a moderate effort I was regular pulling 10km/h.

After about one hour paddle I passed the Sjællands Rev lighthouse. Apart from that it was really an eventless day. A stroll in the park Kattegat alright.

This concluded my 2008 Kattegat adventure. Next year I’ll make another attempt for Sweden. Let’s see – I might reach Norway instead.

I’ve uploaded some more photos to my sea kayak club’s gallery.

I’ve uploaded three of the GPS tracks to motionbased: Jutland to Anholt, Anholt to Hesselø and Zealand to Jutland. These might come in handy for paddlers considering the same crossings.

Next Up: Tour de Gudenå in two weeks.