New kayak

I have now bought a new kayak. It's a Valley Gemini SP that I will use mostly for surfing and rock hopping as it's a durable plastic kayak. I got the kayak from Kajakguiderna where I also bought the Nordkapp and Anas Acuta.

Length=4,52 m (14'10")
Width= 0,56 m (22")
Weight= 26,5 kg (58,5 lbs)

After testing it a few weeks back I decided to by this model. As it's not possible to get one in black I took a red one, that will fit nicely with the rest of my gear.

I was out today with my friends Christer and Johnny and we started at the beginning of Göta älv (Göta River) where there is a current and no ice. It has been a very beautiful day with about -6° Centigrade at the start and about 0° when we came back. Partly a lot of ice and som nice places to cruise around in the ice fields. And breaking ice in some places.

The review of the kayak so far:

Easy to maneuver but not as easy as my Anas Acuta, but better than the Nordkapp. You could lean a lot with this one without tipping over. Slower than the Anas Acuta and a lot slower than the Nordkapp, it's a much shorter kayak. Great cockpit and seat as on all Valleys kayaks.
We didn't have much sea on this trip but the small waves that I found was enough to have some short surf. That I would not have on my other two kayaks from Valley. This will be a superb kayak for surfing.
I did one roll in the cold water, was working ok. Very good knee braces that makes a back sweep roll easy but the Anas Acuta is of course a much better kayak for rolling. You just have to be more thorough when making the roll in a Gemini.

It's going to be a great kayak and I can't wait to take it out in rough weather!

My new Gemini with my Anas Acuta behind it.

On the way into the water for the first time

Freezing on deck

We found a nice reef for a "fika" break.

Johnny and Christer

Nice kayak

The sun was very nice this late February day.

Evening trips

I have done a few evening trips the last week between work.

August 17 with Friluftsfrämjandet in Lidköping. Nice tripp with some who are testing kayaking for the first time.

August 23 a solo trip in the bay of Vänersborg (Vänersborgsviken). Nice weather and I paddled a bit faster to have a good exercise. 

August 24 with Friluftsfrämjandet i Vänersborg (Sorry Lidköping, I couldn't make your trip in time). They set a new record with 55 kayaks!

August 25 was with a friend, Fredrik, to the small islands Kräcklingarna outside Mellerud on the Lake Vänern. It started with rain but by and by the weather got better. It was a lot of fun to maneuver through all the small passages in this seldom visited archipelago.  It is a bird sanctuary and you are not allowed to be there before July 31. No wind and we are past that date so we took the chance. 

It really tests your technical skills to go through the reefs and islands. Very good practice and a beautiful place.

Magnus at Friluftsfrämjandet in Lidköping

Some new kayakers are testing at paddling outside the islands. (FF Lidköping)

Me doing a solo trip

It was total 55 kayaks out this nice evening

On our way back to Vänersborg

Many nice passages at Kräcklingarna

Fredrik is doing sharp turns

Beautiful bird islands

Nice for playing with the kayak

Fredrik

Too narrow!

On our way back it was dead calm

Waiting ......

Now it's only a few days more until I'm going to Alaska. My vacation has started, I have done all the purchases that needed to be done and my bag is more or less completely packet. The weather is not the very best now into July, but we are in Sweden so it's to be expected.

Checking the weather for Anchorage, Alaska I find it's about the same as here or a bit better!

Temperatures about 21° C to 25° C. Not bad!

While I'm now waiting to start my trip I took a short evening trip in Vänersborg after a I had been piloting a ship. I just did 12 km in a fast tempo, mostly to get out and then to do some training. It felt nice to exercise and as always nice to go kayaking. The only thing the bay of Vänersborg is rather boring but I had a nice time anyway.

Writing this I now have only one more day at home before going to Alaska. :) :) :)

Setting out from "Friluftsfrämjandets" jetty.

The lighthouse "Grönviks udde" is not big.
Notice the thin gap in the middle creating the white (safe) sector.

Meeting the small passenger vessel "Strömkarlen"

Getting dark.

A lot of kayaks

I hurried down from piloting a ship to Karlstad to be able to join "Friluftsfrämjandet" in Vänersborg for the first time this year. (I was with them indoors roll training once). They had a new record of participants this year with 39 kayaks!

We started at Sanden i Vänersborg and paddled to Långa Maja for some "fika" and then back again. Not a long trip but very nice to talk to some of my kayaking friends. And the weather was ok, no rain and not too cold.

All in all a pleasant evening.

Crowded waters

Hunneberg in the background and a weak rainbow up to the left.

Joining for a group photo

And here are all of us (not me) taken from one of the breakwaters i Vänersborg

A queue for going ashore  

Finally May

At last we are into May and warmer weather. The last few days we had had temperatures at about 15-16°C in the afternoon. Lovely! The nights has been a bit cold still but at least not freezing temperatures.
Also the water temperatur in the Lake Vänern has now risen somewhat. Two weeks ago we had 4.6°C and yesterday we had as much as 13°C at a point. But mostly it was around 10°C. Rather pleasant after a long winter.

On the 1st of May I took a short afternoon trip in Vänersborg. I had been working the night and slept some during the day and needed to do some exercise. Paddling at a high speed I did a two-hour tour outside Vänersborg. Felt nice.

At the 4th of May I went to Snickartorpet that belongs to Friluftsfrämjandet in Lidköping. I started by myself and an hour later two friends met up and we made some dinner. Or rather Magnus made some dinner. Thanks mate!
After we had eaten we went back to Snickartorpet and greeted a lot of other kayakers that were going out on the first "Onsdagspaddling" (Wednesday paddling) for the season. For a lot of those folks it was the first trip of the season. We had a fantastic evening with an amazing sunset and perfect wind. Calm at first but with a nice SW-ly breeze at the end.
I did my first roll this year bareheaded and without long johns under my drysuit. My friend Martin also made a perfectly nice roll.

Entrance to the marina in Vänersborg

Dalbo bridge at Vänersborg. The pilot station is just inside the bridge.

Vänersborgsviken (Bay of Vänerborg) 

Vänersborgsviken

Magnus is making dinner while Nils is watching.

Magnus is lecturing about geocaching

It was nice to try to make some photos against the light

More siluettes

An old classic kayak, a baidarka from 1996.

Vänersborg

I have been working a lot last week and been to tired to go out the few days I've had the chance to go kayaking. But now finally after some hours sleep and with I beautiful weather I took the chance.

Not far from our pilot station at "Sanden" in VänersborgI started at the still empty marina. Then along the coast past "Skräcklan" and to "Nordkroken" beach. Turning back I took some coffee at "Långa Maja" first.
A wonderful afternoon and most of the time I didn't need anything on my head! A first this year. But as you can see on a couple of the photos there are still some ice.



In the background the old water tower of Vänersborg

A break at "Långa Maja"

Nice sun



This was as far as I got this way

The ice is still pretty thick. But getting soft

Back at Vänersborg marina, No boats at all in the water yet.

Practicing the kayak roll

On Wednesday evening I was with Friluftsfrämjandet (an outdoors organisation a bit like The Scouts) in Vänersborg to practice rolling with my kayak. It was a lot of fun! Of course I brought my own kayak, the Anas Acuta which is such a joy to roll with.

I did my normal roll, a butterfly roll and re-entry. The last is where I get in to the kayak under water and roll upp. I also tried to do a hand roll but didn't succeed. 

As I was working on the Ships Simulator in Göteborg this week I had to go upp to Vänersborg after work and then in the night back to Göteborg and have a few hours sleep in the hotel before working again. It was worth it!

For the first time I did the video in GoPro Studio program alone. Normally I start there but then finish the movie in Microsoft Movie Maker. GoPro Studio is a good program but I have som issues with it now as it keeps crashing for me. I think it's my computer rather then the program.

Hanging upside down doing a butterfly roll.

Repairs and evening trip

The seat of my Nordkapp had broken a month ago. It had broken clean trough up on the side just below the point where the screws are going through the seat. This has happened because some foam bricks had fallen out below the seat at then undue stress has gone to the seat side, probably when rolling or surfing.
I got a new seat and replaced the broken one (I can probably repair that and use as a spare). New small foam was glued into place.

Broken

Foam bricks in place

New seat in place. Only the padding to mount.

Then in the evening it was a trip with Friluftsfrämjandet in Vänersborg. It was a remarkable sunset over Lake Vänern. A very nice evening kayak trip with some nice kayaking friends, about 20 of us altogether.
I did as usual some rolls. The normal Back-sweep and Butterfly roll went very well but when I tried a Hand roll it didn't work so I had to grab the paddle and roll up with a Back-sweep roll.

..

Seaside in Vänersborg

A video clip made by a friend of mine (Fredrik). It shows me rolling a bit into the clip.