Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 25km | Time 5.5hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

It was windstill when I went to bed at 2300 and when the alarm went at 0400 nothing has changed. The sky was overcast which was at odds with the main forecast I use, which said it would be sunny. The secondary forecast said it would be overcast and the winds would start to blow again much earlier than the main forecast which said midday.

After breakfast I managed to get all the stuff and the kayak down to the waters’ edge by 0600 and I set off soon after, just after the only fishing boat to operate out of Gamvik. Once outside the harbour I turned north and cut inside the skerry which I had seen take such a pounding from the waves over the last days, and still was.

To my surprise there was another skerry blocking my way and it too was taking a pounding. Between the two was a gap of about 100 metres where there were no breaking waves but the waves which were coming through were large and quite steep at about 2 metres. It must have still been the ebbing tide through the gap which steepened the swell coming out of the north.

Once through the gap I could see that there were skerries all the way up the coast to the now visible Slettnes Fyr lighthouse and massive waves were breaking on them. I kept a good km out to the east of these skerries and the coast. As I headed north the waves increased in size and some must have been at least 4 metres. Luckily the crests were far apart and they were reasonably gentle but moving at a tremendous speed.

As I drew level with the lighthouse the distant headland of Kinnarodden appeared. It had been my goal to go round this today by I was not so sure now I was paddling through these huge waves. I could imagine what the strong tidal flow would be doing to them up there.

Just to the north of Slettnes Fyr lighthouse are two skerries and many underwater rocks. These extend for a good few kilometers offshore. This area is renowned as an unpredictable and dangerous headland, possibly the most dangerous in Northern Norway and it is marked on the sea chart as an area with dangerous waves. It is necessary to make a long detour into the sea to avoid the worst of it. It is seemingly possible to sneak along the shore in a small boat or kayak but given the swell pounding the shore here I thought it best to keep out and make the long detour.

As I drew passed to the north of the lighthouse the waves seemed to increase in size again. There were some 5 metre monsters which came out of the heaving sea to the north. Between waves it was like being in a valley. I have only seen waves of this size once before and that was when I poked my nose out of Dusky Fiord into the Southern Ocean and rounded Five Finger Point, before common sense got the better of me and I turned back into the Dusky Fiord.

These waves went crashing onto the skerries and reared up over the hidden under water shallows some half km to the south of me, which I reckoned was the minimum distance. However as I went further west and started to pass the skerries the waves I was riding got somewhat steeper. It was now about 0830 and I think it could have been the tide had now turned and the skerries and shallows were diverting the flooding current to the north and onto the waves I was on. I keep a nervous eye ahead in case this current started to brake these monster waves and make them topple. Luckily I could not see too much white, but there was enough to make my mouth dry.

At the same time the wind increased from a force two up to a three. This was a north easterly wind and was going in the same direction of the waves, and me, and it caused the crests of some of the larger waves to get a bit ruffled.

Slowly but surely, I pulled myself along and started to cross the 5 km wide Sandfjord towards the high rocky headland on the west side, called Bispen. As I pulled away from the skerries and shallows, and the currents they created, the effect on the waves became less and less until they were just the big fast moving mounds of water again.

Sandfjord was quite a narrow fjord with steep cliffs on each side. Its’ end was some 7-8 km to the south and it was likely to be a large sandy beach judging by the terrain and name. However there would be very large surf to get through before one could land here and this would no doubt test my rolling skills. Indeed there was probably nowhere to land until the days’ revised destination of Mehamn. I had by this stage given up the idea of rounding Kinnarodden in this sea because if I got the tide here wrong the waves would be dangerous, especially if the wind increased as forecast.

Bispen headland was spectacular. There were steep cliffs which clearly showed the steep incline and folding of the geological strata. At the base of these cliffs was a huge rock formation which looked like a giant chess piece; – and Bispen is translated as Bishop.

There were many puffins here as there had been all day but I could not see where they could have been breeding. There was a grassy covered island, called Kamoya, ahead of the next headland and I assumed it was here, but when I reached it I found that the island was a black backed gulls nesting ground with many gulls standing erect on the grass.

As soon as I was through the gap between the headland and Kamoya island the sea started to calm down and the swell become much more predictable. I paddled now with the force three wind and the swell behind me and quickly cruised along the bare, grey rock strewn peninsula towards some shallow, grassy islands with skerries, and Mehamn. I went behind the skerries into quieter water and this was the first time I had been able to take my hands of the paddle all day. There were more gulls and fulmars nesting on the island and many hundreds of eider ducks bobbing about in the lee. I took some photos here which in no way show the state of the sea some 3 hours earlier.

After using the lee to have a pee I continued round a small headland and into a bay which was the harbour of Mehamn. It has no breakwater and is quite safe in all weathers except for a north westerly. Soon I was crossing the harbour and heading up to Vidars’ youth hostel and robuer. He came out onto the jetty to greet me with the delegates from a course he was hosting.

I dragged the boat up, got out of my dry suit and was served lunch. It was good to be back in Mehamn. I finished the ski here, started the cycle here and now am here with a kayak. The weather was definitely improving and the wind was only a force two and the sun was out. It made me feel a bit guilty staying, but the forecast said the wind would increase.

After lunch I took what I needed from the kayak and discovered that a half litre bottle of blackcurrant syrup had emptied itself in the small day hatch. This took an hour and many cold fingers to clean up. I then got the blog out of the way, had a shower and snooze.

Vidar had done some kayaking and was keen to accompany me round Kinnarodden. This could be an advantage because he knew the sea here like the back of his hand but it could be double trouble also. He suggested going at midnight because of the tide, before he left to do one of his many jobs which this time was to be the air traffic controller at the small airport. When he returns we will discuss it further.

It had been an exciting day and had certainly blown away the cobwebs I accumulated at Gamvik. It is just a shame I could not have taken more pictures when it was at its most impressive. This pretty much concludes the vaguely defined Osthavet (East Sea) coast of the Barents Sea between Vardo and Mehamn. The next stage round the northern peninsulas is the Nordishavet (North Ice Sea).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 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.