When I started looking for sponsors for the circumnavigation of Sardinia and Sicily with Wendy Killoran, Skim Kayaks in Sweden were the very first I contacted for support. I know their kayaks well from Kajakhotellet here in Copenhagen, where I have paddled both models, and quite a few of my friends have Skim kayaks and praise them incessantly.
Wendy and I finally met with Göran Pehrson from Skim Kayaks at the Stockenträffen in Orust, Sweden, where we agreed on a sponsorship deal. So, I’ll be paddling a Skim Distance around both islands.
Göran must have seen it coming 🙂 because he had the kayak with him to Orust. Its a beautiful orange/white boat and I just can’t wait to get it on the water. We had no car with us to Orust, but Freya Hoffmeister agreed to take it to Copenhagen for me. Many thanks for that, Freya!
Skim Kayaks is (still) a small company, and I am immensely proud that Skim Kayaks have chosen to invest so much in me and in our journey. My sincere and deeply felt thanks to Skim Kayaks and to Göran Pehrson for the faith they have shown me.
After the Stockenträffen in Orust, Sweden, Wendy and I went to Göteborg with Sara and Johan from Escape Kayak Centre. Wendy has agreed to do her Newfoundland presentation at Escape on Tuesday evening, so we had two whole days there.
Dubside who had been touring southern Sweden with Escape in the weeks up to the Stockenträffen, was still there for a few rolling classes.
Wendy and I stayed at the centre, sleeping upstairs on the floor, but while accomodation might have been a bit primitive, the kayaks and gear at our disposal were absolutely top class. Escape has a small fleet of Rockpool kayaks, and some NDK and Valley kayaks too, and if you need a paddle, there are both Werner and Superior Kayaks carbon paddles.
Escape is located in Frölunda just south of Göteborg, in a small leisure harbour. In front of Frölunda is a 5-6 km wide archipelago of small rock islands and skerries until it opens up to the sea. There is an amazing variation of paddling opportunities. It is the perfect area for daytrips or weekend outings.
On Monday we borrowed a couple of Rockpool boats for a short outing between the skerries. Wendy picked an Alaw Bach and I an Alaw. It was a very windy day, and the forecast warned of rain, so we didn’t plan for anything extensive. On our way out we had a force 5 headwind, Wendy almost got hit by a little ferry and it started to rain. We had expected a bit of easy paddling back with a good following wind, but as the rain stopped so did the wind. It was, non the less, a very nice day and a good little paddle.
We did some shopping for Tuesday’s trip, and then we all went to a local restaurant, with Sara, Johan, Dubside and the two Escape regulars Peter and Kalle.
Tuesday we left earlier for a daytrip. Wendy took the NSK Greenlander Pro again, so I got to try the Rockpool Alaw Bach again. It is such a wonderful little boat, a fiberglass invitation to play and have fun:-)
The day was completely opposite the previous. Bright sunshine and little wind, so we had quite an easy paddle. We saw Eider ducks, Canada geese and herons. On our first break on a little beach we were greeted by a couple of sheep, and later we even paddled with sheep. How many can say they have done that? The man on the barge insisted that the sheep didn’t get sea sick 🙂
Our plan was to have lunch on the Greater Fox Island (Stora Rävholmen) where the skerries meet the sea, but we missed the bay we had been told was the best place for the stop. We did find a very nice place for our lunch anyway, carrying the kayaks up on the rocks.
Apparently, all the local paddles will head for Greater Fox Island on the first weekend of September for an informal weekend camping and paddling. Nobody organises it, people just show up.
On our way back we found such a nice little beach we just had to stop for a bite of chocolate 🙂
We came back just as Dubside was on his way out for his rolling class. We had a quick dinner and started getting everything ready for Wendy’s presentation. Escape didn’t have a projector, and as they couldn’t find one to rent cheaply, Johan just bought an expensive one 🙂
I had never seen Wendy’s presentation of her Newfoundland journey before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Wendy is clearly a very talented, skilled and experienced presenter. Her presentation was clear, well organised, interesting and varied, and the audience of some twenty local paddlers clearly enjoyed it immensely, and the questions and answers session afterwards took much longer than the presentation. That is always a good sign 🙂
Wednesday morning we got up, packed our stuff and got a ride to the station so we could get back to Copenhagen. Unfortunately, my cappuccino consumption during the days in Stocken and at Escape had been way too low, so I just had to get a double cappuccino to go at the station, and hadn’t it been for Wendy, who threw her massive duffelbag in the automatic doors of the train, the train would have left un schedule without me and our cappuccinos. We did get quite the reprimand from the probably otherwise nice uniformed ladies on the train, but we were on board and so were our cappuccinos.
I must remember to bring my cappuccino gear with me to Sardinia and Sicily 🙂
More photos from our stay at Escape Kayak Centre.
Mondays paddle on Google Earth.Tuesdays paddle on Google Earth.
Wendy and I are just back from the annual Stockenträffen in Sweden. We went there on Thursday afternoon with Freya Hoffmeister in her huge van. The weather forecast had promised force 5-6 winds and regular showers, but fortunately we only got the former.
We had arranged for kayaks from Escape Kayak Centre in Gothenborg, but as they only arrived there late friday we borrowed some of Freya’s boats. She has way too many anyway 🙂 It really was very kind of her, and much appreciated. Wendy got to paddle Freya’s unique Rockpool Underground prototype, and I borrowed Freya’s famous black NDK (S)Explorer, which she had used around Iceland this summer.
The little town of Stocken sits in the middle of an extended archipelago of small and large rock islands. We did a short paddle of a couple of hours to Gullholmen and back, but we stayed in the more sheltered waters as the Rockpool Underground is really a rolling boat and way too tippy to take to open sea in strong winds.
Later friday afternoon when Sara and Johan from Escape Kayak Centre arrived with Dubside, we helped unload all the boats. Escape is one of the very few Rockpool dealers in this world, and they had several Alaws, a couple of Menai 18s and a single Alaw Bach on their trailer.
Saturday we didn’t go paddling. We chatted with people in the camping, and met several interesting persons, like Erik Sjöstedt from Sweden, who brought us some very nice T-shirts from his little online shop. We also took a nice long walk on the rocks around the camping, but almost got blown away by the quite strong winds.
The symposium dinner was on Saturday evening. After the dinner we enjoyed Freya’s presention on hers and Greg Stamers circumnavigation of Iceland last month. Freya sported a very nice “Lost in Iceland” shirt, quite in line with the rather eventful start of their journey. After the presentation Wendy and I had a very nice little talk with Göran Pehrson from Skim Kayaks.
Sunday we went paddling again. Wendy paddled a NDK Greenlander Pro we borrowed from Escape, and I paddled one of the Skim Distances Göran Pehrson had with him to the symposium. We kept to the more quiet waters between the many little islands as the winds were still rather strong, but we had a very nice day on the water. On a beach we found the weirdest little café in a solitary house on the coast of Härmanö. We were astonished, but later we discovered that all the local boaters knew it well and came there often by boat.
Sunday evening we left together with Sara, Johan and Dubside, heading for Escape Kayak Centre just south of Göteborg, where we would stay the next few days.
More photos from Stockenträffen ’07 on Flickr.
Friday’s paddle on Google EarthSunday’s paddle on Google Earth
A short while ago I had the happy fortune of stumbling over an Anas Acuta at Kajakhotellet. The Anas Acuta is a rather rare bird around here, since they’re usually sold before they even arrive in the shop. From what I hear Valley has a problem keeping production up with demand.
In any case, this particular specimen was only ‘almost sold’, so I still had a chance to give it a try, and what a nice little piece of water foul it is too. Unfortunately, I only had about 30 minutes with it in placid waters with just a bit of wind.
Its a bit hard for somebody my size to squeeze in, especially since this one had the ocean cockpit. The boat really is too small for me, but with a bit of force and an awkward foot position I managed.
At first it felt a bit tippy, like it had a rather low initial stability. It was much the same sensation I had the Silhouette, so maybe its me rather than the boats. Sitting with my legs more stretched out in front of me I feel I have less lateral control, as I can’t use my knees as efficiently. It is probably that which gives me a sensation of less initial stability.
Once I started to move the kayak around the sensation changed completely. The Anas Acuta has an incredible secondary stability, it edges very far and it feels incredibly stable on edge. The manoeuvrability of the boat is nothing less than fantastic. It reacts immediately to the slightest edge and it turns on a dime when really edged.
I didn’t have the possibility to go and find some waves, so I only paddled on placid waters. There was a bit of wind, and it did seem like the boat weathercocked a bit, but nothing the skeg couldn’t compensate.
It would be great to try the Q-boat one day, as it should be a larger volume Anas Acuta, but I don’t know if one will come my way one day 🙂
I’m a happy little boy right now. Tomorrow I will get a Rockpool Menai 18 on loan for a month, and today I got my motorcycle back from the workshop.
The motorcycle, a Yamaha TDM 850 from 1993, has been sitting idle in the garage for over two years now. I bought it in Italy almost ten years ago, and used it down there for travelling. Two years ago I drove it up here, from Palermo to Assisi, Ravenna, Prague to Copenhagen, but haven’t used it since.
We have very high import taxes on foreign motorcycles, and Danish residents are not allowed to drive vehicles with foreign license plates without a special permit, so I couldn’t use it without having to pay a lot of taxes. The motorcycle project stalled there, until I took it to the workshop a few weeks ago to get it ready so I can find out how much it’ll be in import taxes.
It’ll be a few weeks yet before I get Danish license plates for it, but I did take it for a little ride. Couldn’t help it, really 🙂
Today I paddled home from the beach park. Almost as usual, somebody had taken my kayak for use in a beginners course at Kajakhotellet, so I had to settle for something else. First I laid my greedy eyes on a Skim Distance which I haven’t tried yet, but then someone pretending to be a buying customer showed up, and I had to give it back. I don’t know why we free riders must always suffer this discrimination in front of paying clients. It not fair.
The Skim Dex was in use too, and so was the Nigel Foster Legend, and the NDK Romany, and the NDK Explorer had the skeg in disorder, and being a free rider I didn’t fix it, so in the end I had to settle for a Nigel Foster Silhouette, which I have tried before. Life is hard sometimes.
It is a good kayak, though, but it doesn’t fit me very well. It has a very low foredeck which forces me to sit with my legs too stretched for my taste, and the two huge pieces of ham I call my thighs has to be stuffed under the thigh braces. The cramped position gave me an uneasy feeling, and though the boat has good primary stability and very good secondary stability, I didn’t quite feel good in it. I feel I have more lateral control when I sit in a position with my knees a bit raised.
Its a pity with Nigel Fosters designs. I have tried both the Legend and the Silhouette, and both are good boats, but neither fit me. In the Legend I feel like I’m sitting in a deep hole, because it has a rather high cockpit rim. I don’t like it when my ribs touches the cockpit sides when I edge or roll. The Silhouette is much lower around the cockpit, but the foredeck is too low for me and my legs.
Anyway, this was about my paddle home from the beach. The beach park is on the eastern side of the island of Amager, and I live at Islands Brygge on the western side, so I have to paddle some 5-6 km north along the Øresund coast, enter the harbour and paddle another 5-6 km south inside the harbour before I’m home. Well, almost home. I still have a 500m walk from the water.
The first part in the lagoon of the beach park and behind the island of Prøvestenen was quite nice and quiet. It was a bit cloudy, and bit windy, but nothing extreme. There weren’t too many people at the beach, since there was little sun.
I saw a funny wading bird with a long red beak, at the beach. I’ve never seen that kind before, so I’ll have to look it up. I also saw two ducks of a new type, maybe pintails because they has a little loose feather on the back of their heads. I’ll have to look them up too. Of course, they might just have been the few punk ducks that didn’t fit in the with the rest 🙂 Later I saw a flying Grey Heron. They’re very graceful in flight, though less so when they take a shit and almost hits you, as it happened the other day when I walked the dog.
Up at the wind farm at Lynetten, at the entrance to Magretheholm leisure harbour, there are usually a bit of waves. Today they were few and small, but the swells did give a bit of speed. Too bad I didn’t feel at ease in the boat. It did take a bit of the fun away.
When I do this trip, I usually stop halfway to drink and each some chocolate. So I did today, only to discover two tugboats steaming towards me with something that resembled a piece of an offshore oil platform. I had to leave my chocolate on the spraydeck and paddle like a maniac to the other side of the harbour, where the big cruise ships are moored, to get out of the way.
Actually, I think I had the right of way because they approached on my left, but it didn’t quite seem like the occasion to insist.
Instead I had the pleasure of eating my now slightly salty chocolate just in front of the statue of The Little Mermaid, so all the tourists got a bright red kayak in the background of their holiday shots.
The rest of the trip was utterly eventless, like I’ve done it many times now.
The trolley I use for the final 500m home is this: Eckla Sea Kayak Cart
Today’s paddle took me a bit around the strait of Øresund. I started at the shop, Kajakhotellet.dk, and first I just planned to do on of the usual tours in the vicinity, but the sea was so calm and the sun was shining from a clear sky, so I changed plans and paddled to Saltholm, an islands about 6km east of the beach park, at Barakkebro, the only allowed approach on Saltholm at this time of year. Most of the island is a nature reserve for birds and seals, and all access to that area is restricted in the breeding season.
The leisure harbour at Flakfortet
I then paddled north to Flakfortet, where I have never been before. I spent some time exploring the small island which is now a leisure harbour, and it was fairly crowded due the good weather.
Flakfortet is an artificial island made just before the first world war, as a part of the defences of Copenhagen. It is shaped like a horse shoe with an inner moat, so it can be circumnavigated both on the outside and on the inside. It was almost lost to looting and nature when the military left in the 60s, but survived when it was turned into a leisure harbour. Now there are a restaurant and a kiosk there, and it is a popular stop for leisure boaters.
The wind farm at Middelgrunden
From there I went back towards Copenhagen, to the wind farm at Middelgrunden. I zig-zagged down the line of wind turbines, listening to their different sounds. The sea was so calm you could see the reflection of the wind turbines in the water. It was actually quite fun to paddle in the middle of a modern power plant.
From the southernmost wind turbine I crossed back down to the entrance of the beach park and the shop, seeing nothing more exciting than an empty beer can floating in the water.
All in all, my little trip lasted three and a half hour and I paddled 24km. Below are the trip as rendered on Google Earth and the double circumnavigation of the huge island of Flakfortet 🙂
The trip shown on Google EarthThe double circumnavigation of Flakfortet
One of the disadvantages of keeping one’s kayak at a shop is that it can be mistaken for a rental kayak. I have a bright yellow Valley Nordkapp PE, and most of the rental stuff at Kajakhotellet are Valley PE boats: Avocets, Aquanauts and some Nordkapps. As I was helping in the shop before my trip, a group mistook my boat for a rental kayak, and I let them do it. People come to the beach and rent kayaks to have a good time, not to have someone make them feel miserable because they took the wrong boat when there was so little left on the racks. I even helped them in the water.
One of the advantages of paddling from a kayak shop is that when someone mistakes you private kayak for rental gear, you can borrow some really great stuff instead. They have Valley, NDK, Skim Kayaks, Nigel Foster Design, Wilderness and much more. I grabbed a Skim Dex (with a keyhole cockpit) from the racks and had a great time.
The Skim Dex
The Skim Dex is mostly a playboat. It is really responsive and very manoeuvrable, but it’s tracking is lousy unless you deploy the skeg. Then it tracks OK. If you forget the skeg, you’ll waste a lot of effort trying to go straight, especially if there’s a bit of waves. This is very different from my Nordkapp, which tracks reasonably well even without the skeg, but then, the Nordkapp is not quite as lively as the Dex.
The Skim boats have some really neat little details. The bulkhead behind the seat is slanted a bit so it is easier to empty the boat of water and it gives a little more room in the day hatch. It has two strong straps on the sides for paddle float rescues with handles for easy detachment of the paddle. Just behind the cockpit is has a recessed metal axel which can be used to locking the kayak to something, and with the rope clutch on the side it gives a central point of drag when towing, and a quick release mechanism for the rope.
Miraculously, I did not forget my sunscreen this time, so The Pink Paddler did not return, except for an odd shaped patch on my back. Apparently, my arms are too short.
I have very fair skin and must always be careful when exposing myself to the sun, but if I want to go kayaking I will expose myself to a lot of sun, so I try to get some sun, especially on my torso. The project is, so to say, to get rid of The Pale Paddler without inviting in The Pink Paddler 🙂
Every Thursday my local kayak shop has a come-along paddle, just for a few hours after work. It is free for all, but yesterday we were only five, two coaches, two aspirant coaches and a girl that helps in the shop.
We took one of the common trips, to the local lighthouse and back, which ended at 7 km. Quite eventless, really, no wind and no waves, but a nice social occasion. The only thing that happened was that a group had set up an ad-hoc race track just in front of the exit from the beach park, so we immediately ended up in the middle of a bunch of sailing boats, and we had to creep along the coast towards the airport to get out on open water.
I did get to try two kayaks I haven’t paddled before: the Nigel Foster Silhouette and the Skim Dex.
The Silhouette was a bit small for me. It has a very low foredeck and I could hardly squeeze my thighs under the thigh braces. It was a really tight fit for somebody my size. It left me sitting in a position with more stretched legs than I’m used to, and initially I felt I had less control over edging and turning than I wanted. After a while and a bit of paddling I got used to the boat and became more relaxed.
It is a fast kayak. With my “normal” paddling style it did at least a few extra kilometres per hour than I do in my Valley Nordkapp, which is normally considered a reasonably fast boat.
The Silhouette is very responsive, which I believe is what Nigel Foster intended. It edges well, very well once I got used to the cramped leg space, and it responds immediately to even a small edge. It tracks OK with the skeg deployed. I would have loved it if it had had a little more room for my legs and thighs, but the conclusion is that it is not a kayak for anybody of my size.
At the lighthouse I swapped kayak with one of the others, and I got over in a Skim Dex. Its the first time I try one of the Skim boats, and it immediately felt very nice, but that might have been because I had too little room for my legs in the Silhouette.
The Skim Dex is a brilliant kayak. It is the shorter of the Skim models, and it is very manoeuvrable. It has absolutely no rocker, but put on edge it turns on a dime. It too tracks well enough with the skeg down, but neither of these boats are for expeditions. They are for playing and day trips.
Yesterday I went back to Varberg in Sweden to try the Rockpool Menai 18. I had made an appointment with Sara from Escape Kajakcenter in Gothenborg, Sweden, that they would bring a Menai 18 and an Alaw Bach to Varberg for trying.
Rockpool Menai 18 on the beach at Varberg
The famous surfing beach at Varberg was just as waveless as the last time, but the kayaks were there and that’s all that mattered.
The Menai 18 is different than the Alaw and the Alaw Bach. They are more play boats while the Menai is an expedition boat. As such it is equipped differently, but it maintains much of the easy handling of the Alaw and the Alaw Bach and the overall lines are very similar.
The Menai is 18’2″ long (554cm),which is a foot more than the Alaw and Alaw Bach, but has the same overall width.
Its hull has the same hard chines at the centre, rounding off halfway towards the ends and ending in a sharp V-shape at bow and stern. The hull stays wider for longer towards the stern, giving the boat a distinctive line from the keel to the stern. It also has two groves along the bottom for better tracking. The Manai comes with a skeg as default.
The cockpit of the Rockpool Menai 18
The deck is somewhere in between the Alaw, which has a very high foredeck, and the Alaw Back which has a low deck both fore and aft. The Menai has a higher foredeck than the Alaw Bach but noticeably lower than the Alaw, and much of that space is due to a separate lunch box hatch (6 litres) just in front of the cockpit. In the front the Menai has two groves under the deck lines which makes it a lot easier to put in a split spare paddle, and it has a flat area in the middle for a compass.
Seat and footrest are just as in the other two Rockpool boats. When I tried the Alaw Bach, it had an almost perfect fit for me, but the Menai I tried was much loser around the hips, even though the sides had more padding than were in the Alaw Bach. Rockpool can deliver two sizes of seats. The Alaw Bach defaults to the small seat and the Menai to the large. The small seat is definitely better for me.
The Rockpool Menai 18
I also had some problems with the thigh braces. It was hot and I paddled in neopren shorts, and when I pushed my legs up for a tighter grip on the boat, the sharp edges of the thigh braces would cut into my leg in a rather painful way. The braces definitely needs some foam padding, and on later inspection I noticed that the Alaw Bach I liked so much, had the braces carefully padded.
The Menai 18 paddles extremely well, just like it’s sisters.
It is very responsive to edging, turning swiftly as you move, and it can be edged to extremes I haven’t dared in any other kayak. It’ll edge further than I can twist my ageing body. The Menai will respond even to a slight edge and it will turn on a dime if you edge it until the keel is out of the water, and it’ll do that just as the Alaw and the Alaw Bach.
It tracks better than the Alaw Bach, probably due to the longer waterline and the groves in the hull, and with the skeg deployed it tracks very well, while still responding well to edging.
I paddled the Menai for a couple of hours, but in placid waters with very little wind, and unloaded. I have little doubt it’ll be great in rough waters and windy conditions, but I haven’t tried. During my test paddle of the boat I only had two small grievances: the sharp edge of the thigh brace and the too wide seat, and both can be easily remedied.
I have made up my mind now. I’ll be getting a Rockpool Menai 18.
I went to Sweden last week to try the Rockpool Alaw and the Alaw Bach at the Escape Kajakcenter in Göteborg. At that point I didn’t know that the Menai 18 was in production, so I didn’t try it.
Now I have to go back, either to Varberg or Göteborg, to try that out, before deciding whether it’ll be the Alaw Bach or the Menai 18 for me.
This photo shows the Alaw Bach (two boats above) and the Menai 18 (below) together. Click on it for a larger view.
So I have managed to spend a whole day from 7am to 8pm just to get a few hours on the water in two Rockpool kayaks: the Alaw and the Alaw Bach.
They are only sold in a few places, one of which is Escape Kajakcenter in Göteborg, Sweden. They had a course that day in Varberg where there are often good waves, and they had kindly offered to bring some extra kayaks for me to play with.
The train trip was over three hours but in compensation I was picked up at the train station.
On the beach there wasn’t a single honest wave in sight, but there was a Rockpook Alaw waiting for me. It was an early model, according to Sara from Escape Kajakcenter one of the first five ever made.
The Alaw is recognisable on the characteristic tall fore deck which distinguishes it from most other sea kayaks. Both Rockpool kayaks have an ergonomic cockpit, designed so you can have your legs and feet in many different positions. The most important part of this is the foot plate which replaces the normal separate foot rests. Thanks to this plate you have support on your whole foot and you can sit with your feet and knees in many positions without losing contact with the kayak.
The Alaw has hard chines mid-hull, so it has a sharp edge on the side of the hull rather than a more round shape. It gives it a very good secondary stability, so it can be edged a lot with feeling insecure. The Alaw can be edged to something like 45° and still feel quite stable and controllable.
Edging the Alaw to the limit will bring the keel out of the water both fore and aft, and the kayak can turn almost on the spot.
The kayak is very sensitive to edging and can be manoeuvred easily with a little bit of skill.
The one I tried had no rudder or skeg. It would probably gain some directional stability if equipped with a skeg, but wasn’t bad either, mostly because it was so easy to adjust course by just a sleight edge. Rockpool does deliver kayaks with skegs on order.
The only thing negative I have to say about the Alaw, is that I feel the cockpit rim is too high. It is probably a question of taste and habit, but I prefer kayaks with a low cockpit rim so I can lean over the sides more easily. Especially when rolling it, I felt a bit uneasy because I felt restricted in my movements by the high cockpit rim.
The high cockpit rim must suit somebody. For example, the Nigel Foster Legend has the same feature. I didn’t like it much for the same reason, even though it is a really nice kayak in most other ways.
When the others went to lunch, I stole the Alaw Bach one of them had used. It has less volume than the Alaw, and doesn’t have the high fore deck, but otherwise they are much alike. There isn’t quite the same flexibility in changing leg position, since you can’t lift your knees as much due to the lower fore deck, but the foot plate still offers some possibilities of changing and varying you paddling position in the kayak.
In the beginning I felt really bad in the Alaw Bach. There was a stupid edge on the seat, and the cockpit was really tight around the hips. I had read that the Alaw Bach was for small and mid-size paddler, and I’m 188cm and 90 kg which is not so small or mid-size, so I was about forget about it. Maybe the Alaw Bach just wasn’t made for me.
Now, there is a touch of stubbornness in my character, and I hadn’t done three hours in train to another country and not try one last time, so back to the beach, out the boat, examine the seat. I discovered that each side of the seat was padded with three thick pieces of foam, and that the back support wasn’t tightened properly so it slid behind an edge on the plastic seat. Off with the padding, tighten the back support and back on the water.
It was a revelation. Suddenly the kayak was as if made to measure. It followed my slightest movement, turned left and right as easy as nothing obeying the smallest stroke, and it tracked quite well too. The missing skeg was easily compensated by the high sensibility to even light edging. I was very comfortable in the seat.
It is the best kayak I have ever paddled, and I have tried a few thanks to the confidence of my local kayak dealer.
Now I have a small problem. I have such an itch to buy an Alaw Bach, and if I want to decide colours and design I have to make up my mind within a few days. Escape Kajakcenter has pre-ordered several Rockpool kayaks and must send over colour specification within the 1st of June. I can just imagine it. It is such a marvellous kayak and it’ll look just as good.
On the other hand, I do have an OK kayak, actually quite a good kayak, and there’s so much else I could spend the money on, and many will probably think I’m being silly, but I am a little bit in love.
I guess the coming days will show if reason or feelings get the upper hand.
We started paddling mid August, and have since been kayaking two or three times a week, and we’ve logged almost 200 km each in less than three months.
Rental kayak costs are mounting and the economy starting pointing towards buying our own kayaks and gear.
Fortunately, we have had very good possibilities to try various brands and models of kayaks at the shop, and my preferences quickly centered on three different kayaks: Aquanaut from Valley Sea Kayaks; Nordkapp also from Valley; og Tempest 170 from Wilderness Systems.
In the end my choice fell on the Nordkapp. I’ve always enjoyed it when I could get hold of the rental Nordkapp, and I have at times been irritated that the coaches would always pick that for themselves, so I couldn’t use it.
It has often been a challenge since it is the least stable of my favourites but on the other hand it is more slender and faster, and very manoeuvrable. Lets hope the challenge will make me improve my skill faster 🙂
Now I have my kayak, I’m getting frustrated that it is so bloody cold and rainy so we can’t get on the water as often as I’d like.
Wendy and I finally met with Göran Pehrson from Skim Kayaks at the Stockenträffen in Orust, Sweden, where we agreed on a sponsorship deal. So, I’ll be paddling a Skim Distance around both islands.
Göran must have seen it coming 🙂 because he had the kayak with him to Orust. Its a beautiful orange/white boat and I just can’t wait to get it on the water. We had no car with us to Orust, but Freya Hoffmeister agreed to take it to Copenhagen for me. Many thanks for that, Freya!
Skim Kayaks is (still) a small company, and I am immensely proud that Skim Kayaks have chosen to invest so much in me and in our journey. My sincere and deeply felt thanks to Skim Kayaks and to Göran Pehrson for the faith they have shown me.
The Skim Distance at Stockenträffen 2007.
