The Voordelta with off-shore wind

On the calender of NKB-seakayak-committee a surf clinic was announced for this Sunday. It's always a bit tricky to promise surf-activities - especially with a calender that's made a year in advance. And though it looks as if I am quit close with Aeolus (=the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology) lately (since months I enjoy strong wind every time I paddle at sea), today Aeolus was angry with me. The weatherforecast for coastal waters said for today: 5-6 Bft SE, increasing to 7-8 Bft SE, later veering West and decreasing to 5-6 Bft. No shortage of wind, but there are very few locations in our region where easterly winds create surf conditions on the beaches... And I've learnt last week to be careful to I invite people with seakayaks for a surf-session. Anyway: 5-8 Bft. is definitely to much!

So, no surf today - which of course was a bit of a disappointment for the 10 people that subscribed for the clinic. I had to look for an alternative. In general you can argue if it's wise to paddle at sea with a gale warning for 7-8 Bft. The great thing about the Voordelta however is that it offers some relatively sheltered areas. And I had also the extra support of Axel and Govert, 2 experienced NKB-seakayakcoaches, for guiding this trip.
On the water the wind turned out to be less fierce as predicted ("only"5-6 Bft in the end in an occasional squall perhaps tipping 7 Bft.), but the wind stayed quit easterly all the time - which means it was an off shore wind. Although it was tempting to paddle with a following wind - we only did this for about 20 minutes (of the 4 hours we were out on the water). With the coastguard warning for 7-8 Bft. SE on the radio every hour, I didn't dare to paddle too far away from the shoreline. It could have got a real tough struggle to reach land again...

Pictures of the day in the Picasa-album.