Kayaking – Page 3 – Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

SE: Stenungsund – Brattön

Wednesday, August 22: Very cold in the night, rain towards dawn, and overcast and windy (south) for most of the rest of the day

Sea kayaking, 31.8 km

Brattön wilderness camping

My stuff was almost dry by the morning despite the overnight rain. There was a bit of a loud disco on last night and we were up about 45 minutes later than usual but no one else was up. Breakfast was quickly dealt with and everything was packed up, except for the tent, which we allowed to dry for as long as possible.

As we were getting into our boats I noticed that my spray skirt was inside out, had to get out of the boat, put it on the right way and back into the boat and then we were off. Read more…

SE: Kråkerön – Stenungsund

Tuesday, August 21: Sunny and windstill to begin with, wind turning southerly and a bit stronger in the course of the day

Kayaking: 26.3 km

Stenungsund Camping Ground

Both Kirsten & I were up at the crack of dawn and no one else was around. I had found the milk and so could have a white coffee to go with the crispbread and cheese. The tent had become very wet but the night had been very clear with not only a beautiful sunset but also an appearance of the Milky Way – must have been a first for the Northern Hemisphere.

Philipp’s alarm went off at 7:30 (no need to get up any earlier as we were packed and ready to go well before the others). In any case people seemed a little more eager to get on the water today as the weather promised to be very good and, apart from a few clouds in the morning, lived up to it promise. Read more…

SE: Hönö – Kråkerön

Monday, August 20: Heavy rain overnight, clearing, becoming sunny at first, clouding over with a return to sunshine in the late afternoon, all the while very windy (N → W → N)

Kayaking: 24.6 km

Kråkerön wilderness camping

Kirsten and I were up around 6:00, Kirsten for a short swim, me a few minutes later. For the first real kayaking breakfast it was coffee (black for me), crisp bread with butter & cheese from our individual caches. Bit by bit the younger people got up & had their stuff.

The tent was very wet, and Kirsten applied the sponge to somewhat drying it. The wind was doing its part as well. But things will be a bit damp for a while. Read more…

SE: Hannover – Hamburg – DK-Nyborg – Göteborg – Hönö

Saturday, August 18: Sunny & hot becoming cloudy

Motorway layby, Nyborg

The decision @ 8:00 was to take one of the First Fleet to Celle and buy a flotation device. Was ready to go just on 9:30, found the place, had a look through the rack and chose a model for around €169. Asked the chap at the counter what he thought of the jacket, tried it on and it was a very nice fit. Bought it and set off back home.

Then it was time for packing. Section by section was worked through as the fridge defrosted and everything that wasn’t frozen was consumed. Around 1:00 it was time for a shave and a shower, then the bags were collected and weighed (it was another 24 kg). The flat was put into absence mode. About the only things I forgot were adhesive tape and plastic bag binders. At the last minute I discovered that the concluding screw of the gimbal way not packed away so I packed it in somewhere but have yet to discover it. Read more…