Sunday, October 05, 2008

"Against the wind" - a Gale in the Voordelta


8Bft. 39-46 Mph 34-40 Knots Gale Moderately high waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to break into spindrift. The foam is blown in well-marked streaks along the direction of the wind.


What to do with a programmed seakayaktrip when the forecast for the day is SSW-SW 7-8 Bft, squalls up to 100 kmh (10 Bft.)? Look out for a sheltered area with good escapes and you can have fun. Today we found this area in the Voordelta. I was happy that Govert joined me leading a group of 9 enthousiast paddlers in heavy conditions.
Actually the original intention was to find a surfspot at a North sea-beach to excersize landings in breaking surf before the beach. But the combination of swell and wind was a number to heavy today - don't want to risk broken seakayaks (or worse!). Instead of this we did an excersize paddling "against the wind" . Against 7-8 Bft is a tough job - which determines quickly if you are paddling with your arms or with your torso... It's a rewarding job also: paddling back means a fast ride surfing waves..

2 different interpretations of a West-Greenland theme: my Anas Acuta next to Tom's SKOF.

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