Doubtful

Tomorrow is the follow up of last weeks’ introduction to seakayaking from KV Wyrda. On the first day we did exercises on the IJmeer. I planned for the second day a short kayaktrip at sea in the Voordelta. But now the weatherforecasts says there is a good chance for winds up to 5 or 6 Bft and gales on Dutch coast. It’s a pitty, but that’s to heavy for the group.

And now I am in doubt what to do. Cancel the whole day? Looking for an alternative? The weather situation is changing from day to day lately and the forecasts often tend to be far more dramatic than the real situation…
We could go to a more sheltered area like the Grevelingen or the Haringvliet. That’s near to the coast, so when the situation turns out to be better then expected, there still is a chance to kayak at sea. But that’s a long ride and because of the tidal schedule we have to go out early.
The other possibility is do again the IJmeer/Markermeer. That’s nearer and because the bad weather comes from southwest, probably with more modest wind-conditions. But this option eliminates the chance to go out on salt water… On the other hand it’s only an half hour ride, no tidal schedules to deal with, so we could leave later. The group wasn’t to enthusiast about my idea of getting up early on Sunday…

And it’s going to be: the IJmeer. I have just looked once more at the different weather-sites: now they all predict 5-6 Bft SW for the south-west coast, beginning early in the morning. For the IJsselmeer-region it’s only 3-4 Bft SW. But for the whole Netherlands there is a chance for showers and thunderstorms. The western part of the IJmeer offers (1) the possibility to paddle rather sheltered and (2) many exits. So we are heading for Kaap Kot tomorrow!
(And stay one hour longer in bed!)