2016 was a good kayaking year

Then 2016 is at its end. This has been a good kayaking year for me. Here are some of the statistics and highlights of the year.

• 1500 km in my kayak (1541 km to be exact 😅)
• 33 months in row kayaking on Lake Vänern
• Second "Harry" year (all 12 months during the same year)
• I have been kayaking 45 out of 52 weeks this year
• About 60 nights outdoors in my hammock, tent or tarp.
• I have done a norsaq roll and have learned the "storm roll". Not perfect yet but it's working
• Four weeks in Alaska kayaking, hiking, and sightseeing. Fantastic!
• I have invested in a new paddle (Gearlabpaddles) and a new GPS (Garmin Oregon 600)
• My yearly trip "Dalslandspaddling" was a success with 16 kayakers.
• I have started a new tradition with an October trip in the smaller lakes in Dalsland
• My YouTube channel has improved a lot and one video has now 120.000 views!
• My surfing and big waves skills has improved a lot.
• I have been to Stockenträffen (Stocken Kayak Meet) for the second year.
• Koster islands has also become a tradition to go to every year.

And what about 2017?

• I plan to buy a new kayak. A PE one for surf and rock hopping.
• The longer trip this year will be to the Arctic circle at Helgeland, Norway
• Hopefully I will go a course to become a kayak leader in Friluftsfrämjandet.
• I have to re-certify my WFR certificate.
• Then I hope to paddle more weeks in 2017 and do more kilometers
• Work on my storm roll so that it's 100% even outdoors in a surf
• Have a lot of fun! With old and new kayaking friends.

The last trip 2016 was close to my home December 30, a windy day but not very cold.

Happy New Year all my kayaking friends

No ice and snow! A very warm December.

Do I take this color matching too far?

The SnapDragon poogies are great. No gloves required when I use those.
I will make a video about what to wear in the winter when kayaking in a few weeks.

40 shades of grey? And a bit of black & red.

New scratches

Saturday at December 10. A foggy but calm day on the Lake Vänern. The water level on the lake is rather low so there are a lot of new shoals and grunds coming up above the water and new places to run aground. A lot of new scratches on the underside and I have to do some repairs of the gelcoat this spring. Well, the kayaks are supposed to be used.
I did some training with my paddling technique around the small shoals and rocks.

My YouTube channel is getting popular. About 50,000 views now and one clip is over 13,000! That is the one from the calving glacier and ensuing tsunami.

The Tsunami video

New video "New Scratches"

Entering Sunnanå yacht harbor

Ghost like!

Looks almost like a water color painting. No filter!

Is this bad driving or poor navigation?

Fika! (Swedish coffee break)

Black & red

Product placement! Gearlab, Valley and GoPro.

Two Years (or 33 months)

I have now done my second "Harry Year", that is when you have been kayaking every month for a whole year (calendar year). I don't know where that expression comes from but it's something they call call that when you have achieved this. Probably a guy named Harry did it for the first time.
Actually I have been kayaking 33 months straight, all months on the Lake Vänern!
I have also been out kayaking every week since first of March (missed one week 😒when I was a teacher).

I was out today on a beautiful December day on the Lake Vänern. Windy, warm for December (+8°C) and a bit of sea.
Watch the video from today and also my second video from my trip in Alaska.