Surf!

Again at Svalnäs beach and this day it was more wind and higher seas. It was bloody perfect!

Photos of me by Magnus Hägg

Andreas Bergen & me

Photos of me by Andreas Berger

Svalnäs

Svalnäs is a shallow and very beautiful sandy beach on Lake Vänern. On windy summer days days I'm there with some friends for kayak surfing. We share the beach with some guys doing kite surfing.

This week I have been there two times so far as the weather has been perfect for surfing. On Monday we had the last part of a kayaking course and this time it was how to handle the kayaks in a bit bigger seas. I think all learned a lot and had a lot of fun as well. On Wednesday the seas were higher and we were some friends playing in the seas. Some younger guys were trying some surfing in an open canoe.

The video is from the second day.

Monday

My friend Magnus and co-course leader.

Joakim

My friend Andreas in his Black Pearl

Wednesday

Magnus

Kristina

Surfing with open canoe

My Anas Acuta on the beach (not an X!)

Home from Alaska

After almost four weeks in Alaska I'm home again. It took me 15 hours to go out kayaking in my own kayak, it had been lonely with me away :)
We were some friends that took the chance to do some surf training at Svalnäs while the winds and the weather were good. 12-13 m/s (24-26 knots) and a nice surf. A friend made a video from the occasion, my own GoPro didn't work, look at the link of the video. The battery was out and I didn't have any more charged after my trip.

The next day Paula, one of my daughters, was with me on a nice day paddle. We were just going out a few hours near my home north of Sunnanå.

I'm working on the photos and the videos from my trip to Alaska. About 2000 photos and seven hours of GoPro film will take time to go through. Here is one that is finished:

Paula

My Anas Acuta and Nordkapp

Me with my kayaks

Hindens rev

Hindens rev is a long and narrow peninsula and is a terminal moraine created at the last ice age. This five kilometer long peninsula is mostly sand and rounded boulders, small and larger.

We had plans to go to Svalnäs beach for surf practice but as the weather forecasts didn't match reality and we had to change our plans. Then we did some roll practice and a trip out to the tip of Hindens rev. It all started with me putting out a post on Facebook and a local kayaking group. I asked if anyone would like to join me and at the end we were eleven kayakers who turned up.
I was there first and did some rolls in the cold water. I feel that I have to practice a lot the coming weeks to be as good as I was this winter. It works well on one side but sometimes I miss the roll on the other side. Well, I guess I just have to work at it. I think I need to go back to the basic and train with balance brace.
Then when my friends arrived I got out of the dry-suit and with just a T-shirt under the PFD I joined them on a leisure trip out to the reef. Three quarters of the way out we stopped for lunch. I had a wook pan with me and made a Thai wook (with some of my own chili flakes) and some of the guys had a muurikka where they also made a wook with moose meat.
After lunch we continued out to the tip of Hindens reef where we got some light seas in the northerly wind. And time for coffee!

On the way back it sounded like a river flowing on the other side of the narrow peninsula. But it was only the wind on that side making the noise while on our side, the lee side, it was completely calm. Back at Svalnäs beach some of us did some more roll practice and a rescue of Frida (on the video).

Thanks to all my friends joining me on this nice Sunday.

Frida practicing low brace

Christina and Frida. No surf training today!

Jens in his nice SKUK Greenlander

Swedish game "One away!" En ska bort! Vem passar inte i gänget?

Kayaks at the tip of Hindens rev

Muurikka cooking

Thai wook

Magnus and Jens rounding the Hindens rev

1500 km

Some statistics

I have now:

• Paddled 31 weeks in a row
• Paddled 19 months in a row, every month on Lake Vänern
• Average a little more than 3 days a week
• 1500 km (932 miles) since March 1
• About 150 rolls during this time. (Most since i did my last training with Helen and Mark)

Friday surf session

Me and my friend Björn went to a nice beach, Svanäs, for surf training on Friday. And it was surf allright! Probably the most difficult seas I have ever paddled in. The wind was 16-18 m/s and up to 20 m/s in gusts. (Up to 39 knots, 44 mi/h).

Hard to paddle out through the surf to deeper water for turning in towards land again. The wind was pushing very hard at my blade so it was a struggle. I really missed my Greenland paddle there. And what did I miss more? My GoPro that is in for repairs and charged battery for my Olympus camera. Very, very frustrating. But luckily enough Björn had his camera with him so he took some photos.

It was hard in the surf to stay upright and I tipped over several times. But I managed to roll up every time except two times when the water was to shallow. One time racing down a wave at great speed my bow went down, and down and down. Finally the sea pushed me head-over-heels to land upside down. This was absolutely a first for me. And I managed to roll up again! 

After three hours I was knackered and went to Lidköping with a big grin on my face. Thanks Björn for your company and for the photos.

Saturday leisure trip 

After piloting in the night and three hours sleep I went to Spiken fishing village to meet up with some friends. It was Fredrik, Frida, Magnus, Jens, Björn and Lennart. It's unbelievable how the water could be so smooth after the surf and heavy seas the day before. A bit cloudy, some fog but also some sun peeking through the clouds.
A nice slow trip in the archipelago of Kålland down to Naven light house. There we had some lunch and friendly discussions before going back again. Nice training of paddle technique weaving between islands and reefs. And as always I did some rolls. Some thinks it's just a show off. Well partly that I admit but mostly because Helen Wilson advised to do a roll every week. So I do at least one every time out kayaking.

Getting ready! Photo:Björn

Struggling to get out again.     Photo:Björn

Do you see the top of my paddle? Very high seas.           Photo:Björn

Surf with my Anas Acuta

       Photo:Björn

Björn is working hard against the sea

And surfing in again

Magnus, Lennart, Björn, Frida and Jens

Fredrik in his Seabird Scott

Jens in his beautiful SKUK Greenlander

Frida in my Nordkapp