Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 42km | Time 9hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

It was grey, but dry when I popped my head out of the tent at 0500. There was a slight breeze from the north perhaps a good force 2. I went back into the tent for breakfast and started to prepare for departure. First I needed to pack everything into the various bags and get into my new drysuit. This took much longer than I thought and I was not ready to pack the kayak until about 0830.

I carried the kayak down to the smaller beach and then did two runs with the drybags. It took a while to get everything in but I had better place this time than in the shed when I tried it initially. With everything in I had final contemplation and then got in the kayak, pushed off and took my first stroke at 0930.

It was the first time I had been in the kayak. It felt comfortable, stable and reasonably fast. It was all I had hoped for. It kept a good line with the rudder up and turned reasonably well when I leaned it. It was big enough for most of my stuff; it was just I had too much stuff.

It was grey and misty on the hills as I crossed the first bay. There were masses of eider ducks, the male brilliant white and black and the female a drab speckled brown around all the islands in the bay. They were mostly on the sheltered south side where the water was calm and glassy.

The landscape on the mainland was bleak. Almost prehistoric. The hills were largely bare rock rounded by ice ages. They were quite dark rock. On the hills which went up to 200 or 300 metres were numerous patches of snow and many snow filled gullies. It was almost a barren rock wasteland and a very bleak landscape especially in today’s misty weather.

There were all the usual birds I have seen when paddling in Scotland. The familiarity was comforting. Apart from the very numerous Eider ducks, Black Guillemots or Tysties were the commonest, closely followed by shags and the inevitable gulls.

There were also a couple of flocks small waders, I think Red Knots. These flocks were about 30 strong and the entire flock twisted and turned in the air at speed before they eventually settled on some rocks near me. They then hopped up and down the rocks as they got washed by the swell obviously looking for small insects.

I passed Pasvik Bay, a large bleak bay with steep crags around it, where there was a lonely cabin on the rocky land behind the shore. This house was obviously a fishing and collecting base of perhaps Sea Lapp origin.

Just here I felt the left footrest and rudder peddle fall off as I wriggled back into my seat. I would replace it when I stopped as I hoped it had just come off the rails. I was wary about the rudder when I ordered it as it did not fold away and was always exposed. I thought the blade might break off so I ordered a skeg also as a back up.

I crossed Jarfjorden which was about 5 km across. It had some skerries at its mouth. I wondered if it was debris the glacier front had deposited or it was the lip of a basin the glacier had carved. Both are quite common features of fjords. On the west side of Jarfjorden was Holmengrafjorden. It went into its entrance and spotted some old cabins. There must be landing nearby so I headed for them.

There was a collection of some 10 cabins. Some had the old Sea Lapp gamme beside them. There were many empty racks to dry fish. Around a lot of the cabins there was fishing equipment piled up, some looked like it had not been used for a while. Indeed the cabins were somewhat tired with peeling paint, rusty hinges and bleached shutters. It was obviously an old Sea Lapp fishing base used for a short period each year as one of many, and now becoming partially abandoned.

An inspection of the rudder did not bring happy thoughts. It was completely broken. The footrest and peddle had snapped at the neck. Totally unrepairable. I fumed. I had expected problems with the rudder but not this and not after 15 km of easy paddling. It looked as if the plastic neck had sheared because it was just too brittle. There were some hairline cracks in it as in burnt Bakelite. I know the new owner of smart track rudders shifted manufacture from the US to China and there was obviously not the expertise with the plastic mix or curing process. My blood was boiling but luckily there was no phone reception.

I continued west with improving weather round this peninsula to Bokfjord fyr lighthouse. It had a house beside it but I am sure it was unmanned and automatic. My thoughts were consumed by the rudder and how to solve it quickly and easily. There was still no reception.

From this lighthouse I could see Kim Island. It was my goal for the day and only some 15 km away. I had to cross the mouth of another fjord to get to it. This was Bokfjord and at the south end of it lay Kirkenes town. Half way across the fjord was an island, Kjelmsoya, and in the vicinity I saw a couple of streamlined terns.

For the second half of the crossing the improving weather suddenly had me reaching for the sun glasses as blue sky opened up. I was paddling directly into the sun which warmed my face. It improved my rudder mood no end and I was soon approaching Kim.

I had wanted to land here as it was a black back gull nesting colony with many eggs which are still collected. However I could find nowhere to land easily in a fiberglass boat. The island was indeed covered in the large gulls all watching me with suspicion and no doubt preparing to launch an attack if I stepped ashore.

I searched round for an alternative spot and spotted a beach so 2 km to the south. There were some Sea Lapp cabins here also. As I paddled towards the beach I saw smoke and as I got nearer I saw a kayak. I landed and met Jon. He was also paddling Norway’s coast. He was going at a more relaxed tempo and had taken three days from Grense Jakobselv.

After a chat I put up my tent. Made a few phone calls about the rudder and the flares I was to pick up tomorrow in Bugoynes. There was no answer about the rudder and the flares had not arrived and nobody could help. I then inspected the rudder again. It was difficult paddling without the footrests so I decided to remove the entire cancer of the rudder and build up the end of the footwell with bits of foam lying on the beach. I then realized just how over designed, over complicated and overpriced the rudder system was. The rudder systems I have on my two Q-kayak boats from New Zealand and the Prijon boats I have tried is more robust, simpler and easier to repair in the field.

After supper I sat down on the beach with Jon and we made a huge fire. It was roasting hot and I did not notice the frost forming on the tent at all some 50 metres away. The sun headed towards the horizon at a very shallow angle indeed and it would only be a few days now when it would not set at all.

With the time taken to dismantle the rudder and insert the foam I had lost three hours and it was midnight before we left the warmth of the fire. Beside the fire in the setting sun it could almost have been Greece or the Caribbean with the flat calm sea. Away from the fire one was quickly reminded you were still in the Arctic. It was too late to do the blog so it was postponed to do in Bugoynes tomorrow.

It had been a very good day as a start. The boat was as I had hoped and the weather was kind and got better. The scenery and birdlife was out of this world especially the former which was surreal. The only thing which marred it was the rudder which would cost me a day or two to fix sometime and this irritated further as I had better things to do.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 10:21 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.