Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 29km | Time 6.5hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

There were again many showers on the tent after I woke early after a good long sleep. I waited for a pause and then packed up. It was completely windstill, which was a blessing for paddling but a nightmare for midges in this damp forested glade. I was eventually on the water for 0900.

Initially I paddled past the ferry terminal to get out of this ferry route and then set my sights on the distant island of Mosteroy and the Fjoloy lighthouse at its western tip. The crossing was relatively easy and much quieter than I anticipated with very little ship traffic. It remained calm but there was the occasional heavy shower. After two hours I reached the lighthouse and had an early lunch.

I had planned to continue all the way to the beaches to the west of Sandnes and camp and then ring Tom Amundsen for a beer and chat. It was still some 25-30 km so I set off quickly for the final crossing to Stavanger which was the 5-6 km wide Byfjord to Tungenes Fyr lighthouse. There was a lot more shipping here coming and going out of Stavanger harbour.

About half way across I thought I heard the phone. It was a missed call by the time I got to it. It was Tom Amundsen. He suggested I paddle another 10 km to Kvernevik and there I could stay in his brother’s empty house. That sounded great. I was looking forward to meeting Tom who was usually 10 to 20 days ahead of me down the coast and we had frequent contact on the phone.

I past Tungenes Fyr and was in a world of my own after passing some porpoises when I suddenly noticed the bow of a kayak beside me. I had to do a double take and right enough there was a kayak there. Initially I thought it was Tom but it was Richard. Naturally we got chatting.

Richard was a work colleague in the fire department and kayaking buddy of Toms who just by chance was returning from his cabin to the very bay where I was heading and Tom’s brother Oyvind lived. It is not unusual in Norway to have extraordinary coincidences especially in the social world where someone’s cousin could be married to the neighbour of someone you meet in a DNT cabin. Norway is a small world socially but this was an extraordinary coincidence. It was good to have someone to talk to.

Richard was in a beautiful wooden kayak he had made himself after the design of a famous Swedish kayak designer. He had spent about 250 hours building the boat and had made his own Greenland paddle. He was fast and I had to increase my tempo a lot to keep up with him- yet he was relaxed. Just then his phone went. It was Tom looking out for me and recognized Richards’s hat through his binoculars.

We rounded Vistnes headland and then paddled across the bay to Kvernevik. We chatted continually. As we approached the land he pointed out a few things like the memorial to the Alexander Kielland platform which was Norway’s large offshore tragedy some 25 years ago.

When we reached the rocks near Kvernevik bay I saw someone standing on the knoll slowly waving a Norwegian flag. Then I saw Tom by the water. We chatted briefly and then paddled the 200 metres into the Kvernevik bay. What a reception I got from the Amundsens.

The three men had all been reading the blog and welcomed me very warmly. There was lots of hand shaking and banter and then all hands grabbed my boat and we carried it fully loaded up to Oyvinds’ house some 200 metres away. Many hands made light work.

I felt quite humbled by their greeting. Mr Amundsen well into his 70’s had a warm personality and still had a playful glint in his eyes. He had 5 children and Tom, who had just finished the Norwegian coast was one, and Oyvind, who house we were at was another. My Amundsen had been one of the early North Sea saturation divers. To leave a dive bell at 200 metres depth in the dark and fumble over the sea bed to a pipeline and start welding a segment on it must have taken a lot of courage in those pioneering days 30 years ago. He must have inherited that from his great great uncle.

I had a shower while Oyvind shopped for me and then chatted briefly with Tom before he had to go. The weather forecast for tomorrow was bad and if I stayed it would give Tom and myself the chance to chat about our trips. Oyvind also had to return to his family in their cabin nearby but made sure I felt completely at home before he went. His very bright, polite son Lasse let me sleep in his bedroom.

It was one of the most comfortable evenings this year. I wrote some of the blog, made a meal from the food Oyvind kindly bought, washed some cloths and relaxed in front of the TV. The weather forecast did indeed look grim for tomorrow.

It was an OK paddling day across Boknafjord to Stavanger but a great and memorable arrival.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.