kayaking in the wake of the Vikings

On the boat home..

2009-08-20T07:21:00.002-07:00

Had a good nights sleep at the harbour entrance, cruised past all the cranes and various docks for all sorts of cargo ships.

As we came into the small guest harbour next to the Tallink ferry terminal we saw it was also the entrance to the canal through old Riga, so we paddled another 2km through the heart of the old city and its parks.

People were friendly in the harbour and we soon found ourselves on the ferry drinking a cold beer on the sun deck.

Was an excellent trip.

James & Babs

Riga!

2009-08-19T11:16:00.001-07:00

Had a full on day, had the wind at 45degres behind us, so there was some serious waves to contend with, and some surf action!

After 25km and 4hours we went in with a big surf landing, so big we were suprised, I even managed to snap my rudder blade! Should have lifted it up but the surf zone came quicker than expected! But managed to make a quick fix that saw us to Riga!

Now sitting just inside the harbour watching the boat traffic.

Cya later James & Babs

1 day till Riga....

2009-08-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

It took a little coaxing to get us out of the tent this morning after making breakfast in the absiden out of the rain. But we managed to cruise along, at first at 3km/h but as the day went it became 5-6km/h, finishing after 28km.

Found a more sheltered spot but still a strong westerly this evening, should become a strong northerly by tomorrow morning! Yehah, we'll be just out Riga in no time :-)

Cheers James & Babs

18km and no beer!

2009-08-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Still waiting out the wind at the same nature reserve. Walked 17 km in hope of a shop on the map, but I guess at my disapointment of finding an empty ruined service station shouldnt have been too suprising, nor any cold beer! :-0

But it killed the better half of the day, the rest just sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in. Maybe we get some paddling in after lunch tomorrow?

Cheers James & Babs

Chilling out of the wind

2009-08-16T03:36:00.001-07:00

As predicted, strong SW winds that would make paddling south miserable. So we had a good sleep in, Babs is out taking photo's, & I'm just pottering around.

Seems we could be here till wednesday, but then there is strong northerly to blow us prob almost all the way to Riga :-)

It's nice to have some rest days before coming home to regular life.

Cheers James

Latvian paradise

2009-08-15T10:26:00.001-07:00

Today we crossed into Latvia from Estonia. We know there are southerly winds against us tomorrow & maybe till tuesday. So we are very happy to find a great camp site behind a beautiful beach.

A good chance to dry out all our gear & relax after 8 days of paddling 40 to 60 km per day. Its ony 3 days easy paddling to Riga :-)

J&B

Haunted lighthouse.

2009-08-14T06:54:00.001-07:00

This morning was two islands Maniland, with a naked Estonian swimmer who was suprised he suddenly wasnt alone.

The second island Sorgu had a beautiful but haunted looking lighthouse and buildings overgrown with plants, an ideal thriller / horror film location...

As we left Sorgu the weather started turning nasty but we figured with the SW wind we could at worse surf our way NE to Pärnu!

But we made it into a small obscure fishing harbour 18km on the far side and the locals gave us their working quarters to shelter in. So now we have eaten a late lunch & wait to see if the wind changes?

Cheers James & Babs

Its all about timing...

2009-08-13T12:16:00.001-07:00

Its all about timing and a little patience, and then some long hours in the kajak.

We had some tricky winds with side/head winds yesterday and a rough crossing for 3 hours for 10km , so we slept in the tent till the winds died. Tjen today we had heavy rain all morning but winds blowing us in the right direction, so after coxing ourselves out of the tent into the rain we made a long 60km day of it.

Hope to cross close to the latvian coast tomorrow as weather forecast is not good next week :-(

Cya James & Babs

Happy Haapsalu!

2009-08-11T06:51:00.001-07:00

Made an early start for Haapsalu at 6:00 and stopped for breakfast at a point halfway to avoid the mosquito's.

Made it by lunch, took a shower at the yacht club before wandering the old town with it castle dating back to 1200. Very nice place, old Estonian houses and a calm peaceful feel to it.

Now waiting for winds to die before 1-2 hours paddling then camping.

Cheers James & Babs

Head winds and mosquito's

2009-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

A bit of a tough day with a steady head wind until 30 minutes before camping, which gave the mosquitos every opportunity. Paddled from 7am till 9pm, but we did stop gor lunch on a nice sandy beach and for 2 hours at marina for a beer & pizza ;-) So it wasnt all so bad.

Cheers J & B

Välke Pakri (island west of Paldiski)

2009-08-09T09:54:00.001-07:00

Had a cruisy day despit feeling tired from yesterdays six hour straight paddle. Cruised in the good weather exploring some small harbours and a ship wreck along the way.

Meet Jakob at the port in Paldiski who helped us with water and buy some fresh bread, then we meet two Estonian paddlers on the pictured beach, and decided to stay after hearing the local history Swedes lived here till before the war.

Cya J&B

On the move

Estonia! Approx.55km.

2009-08-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

6:30 this morning we left Lilla Traskön and slight head wind all the way to Naissar island 39 km. But the head wind was nice as it never became to hot with not a cloud. It was sad to see how much algae bloom was all the way, scary, you coildnt take a swim!

Now we are on the mainland at deserted beach and Babs is collecting berries for desert :-)

Paldiski an ex soviet naval base tomorrow.

Chow J&B

A great day on the water

2009-08-07T11:38:00.001-07:00

Got off the ferry and found our way to the market where we could get into the kayaks easily. Mixture of sun rain and a little wind today brought us to the outer islands before the 45km crossing to Estonia. And its a red sky tonight, giving us paddlers delight (for tomorrow I hope).

Cheers J&B

Stage two begins.

2009-08-06T07:40:00.001-07:00

We are now finally sitting on the Mariella drinking a cold beer waiting to depart for where we last paddled to, Helsinki.

Been busy the last week with many small jobs and a great day at a waterpark with daughter Mikaela. Babs was busy with a quick trip to a great seakayak symposium in Denmark last week

Special thanks to Bjarne for driving us to the Ferry terminal in Stockholm. We werent sure how getting on with just the kayaks as the booking office became very confused! So I booked online with two bicycles and it went perfectly, thanks Viking Line :-)

A good days paddling tomorrow from Helsinki so watch for our first spot message on the live map.

Cya James & Babs

One week till we go.

2009-08-01T02:19:00.000-07:00

Today I have been fixing copies of our maps, checking the long term weather forecats and even getting our gear sorted ready to go.

Looks like we will drive for Stockholm this thursday after lunch and arrive in Helsinki Friday morning. Then its around 50 km to the outer islands before the 40 km crossing towards Tallin. All depends on the weather.

Lets hope we get a few good weeks of weather as opposed to the last month in Scandinavia and even last years leg to Helsinki.

Cheers

James

Stage 2 Helsinki till Riga

2009-07-12T01:18:00.000-07:00

In a little less than a month Babs and I will be on our way by ferry to Helsinki to pick up where we left off last year. This si the second stage of several over the next years to find our way to Istanbul just as the vikings had a few years ago.

Its quite a great feeling knowing we dont have the time pressure of past expeditions, and it also occured to me that by using the ferries we have a more ecological approach as opposed to flying to some far off land.

We have started preparations, going over maps and starting to look at space on the ferry. We havent fully decided on what kayaks we will use but its seems likely the new Composite Marlins if not one HTP model. But we will be trying to go a bit lighter so we can cover any larger distances easier.

In adition we are trying two new services, one is the ability to publish to our blogg from the iPhone and the other is using features from www.spotadventures.com which include inbedded mapping.

We plan to jump onto the ferry on the 7-8th of August. The distance is arround 450 km so we thing 12-16 days will be plenty for this leg.

Cheers

James & Babs

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2008-08-12T21:24:00.001-07:00

DAY 11
25km Into Helsinki.
With a steady tail wind it took just 3 hours to Helsinki. Then it took another 2 to find Bear &Water a local kayak shop for some help to the ferry.
But in the end after finding the shop we paddled back across Town, took up the kayaks in front of the ferry. Trollied them around, and managed to get one of the last cabins.. Home soon.

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2008-08-11T12:30:00.001-07:00

Day 11
Approx 35km
14m/s Southerly and rain left us in the tent till mid day, when the sun did made an appearance and got us out.
With the weather forecast for more southerly winds the next days, we saw little chance for the 40km crossing to Estonia, let alone time to Riga, due to the poor weather. Should be the most stable now!!!
So we did paddle till 9pm and are just 20km from Helsinki and a ferry home.
So it will have to be Helsinki to Riga next year.

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2008-08-10T09:05:00.001-07:00

DAY 9
40 km approx.
(picture:lunch after it stopped raining).
This morning was a wee bit depressing, we were probably paddling through one of the most scenic parts of Finland, IN THE RAIN!
After lunch the sun started to come out and having a 15km crossing late in the afternoon, we left it to the morning.
After that we can cross to Estonia, weather permitting?

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2008-08-09T11:55:00.001-07:00

DAY 9
60 km approx.
Yes! Tail winds today! 7am start & a open crossing of 15km and we landed at Hangð guest harbour for lunch + a shower.
We found some gas for the stove.
Left at 4pm with sun + wind on our backs, paddling till 8pm. We meet a local rubbish collector on the way (see picture).
Couscous & vegies for dinner.

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2008-08-08T10:26:00.001-07:00

DAY 8
Approx 30km
Babs had hoped for fine sunny, no wind weather after her NewZealand trip, nope, not this time it seems. Another day of strong southerlies & rain made for some tough paddling. We even ended up surfing in to the north as it became rough with 2m steep swells.Not pretty!
So our chances of making Riga are fading, but I hear Tallin is a nice place!

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2008-08-07T07:46:00.001-07:00

DAY 7
Approx 40km
Had a short paddle into Utð, major millitary fortifications, plus large radar station with nice local village built around it all.
Weather turned ugly before lunch, pushed on till 4pm, and just before were to land, I saw a building that looked potential comfort out of the horizontal rain!
Well its not luxury, but dry, put up our tent inside what seems to be an emergency bunk house for fisherman?
Forgot to say yesterday we saw a Grey Seal & Sea Otter nice! :-)

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2008-08-06T12:14:00.001-07:00

DAY 6
Utð 60-70km?
Up at 4am, breakfast packed and on our way to Kðkar for lunch. Arrived at the guest harbour dead on lunch at 1pm.
Tricky navigating today, hard to judge distance and orientate with so many low islands, challenging!
We did another 25 odd km through a labyrinth of islands.
Cool but better weather today. Decided to camp 8km before Utð. Hope to find some Primus gas cannisters there, or it will be cold dehydrated meals, yummy!

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2008-08-05T07:48:00.001-07:00

DAY 5
Even harder winds over 20m/s and constant rain kept us indoors again today. We even lifted the kayaks up further so they wouldnt blow away.
But forecast is more positive & tonight the winds are easing. The plan is for us to get up at 4am & head 40km east to Kðkar harbour, because we need more gas & Babs has eaten all our chocolate!
Hope to get a bit further later in the day.

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2008-08-04T07:53:00.001-07:00

.DAY 4
Strong head winds whipping up a sa of white caps have kept us at Saltkaring. Walked around the island, picked some berries.
Hope the weather is better tomorrow, I've nearly finished my book! :-o

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2008-08-03T11:11:00.001-07:00

Day 3
Woke up to horizontal rain from the direction we want to go. But our new comfortable surrounding helped us stay warm dry & sheltered at Saltingkar. Rain did stop at lunch but the winds picked up. Hope for better weather tomorrow, but forecast isnt so optimistic as myself. :S

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2008-08-02T10:46:00.001-07:00

DAY 2
We passed Mariehamn today & took the time to visited the old pilot house museum & cafe. We meet Christian who gave us a tip to goto Saltingkar & sleep in the old fisherman huts. And its great, not just beautiful but its raining. So a bit of comfort after 40km with a steady head wind. Thanks Christian! Also thanks to the ÅSS ladies at Rödhamn for the feed of panckes & laughter. :-)

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2008-08-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

DAY1 55km
2am last nite my infected ear was playing up, so I had resigned to not going. 5am my ear felt great and it did all the way to Åland.
0730 we left Grisslehamn with a steady side wind for the 30km open crossing to the first Finnish islads. Had a hot lunch and did another 25km, 10 hours in the kayak. Time to eat & sleep!

Looking forward to getting away.

2008-07-30T00:28:00.001-07:00

Our dry food has arrived, I finished 72+ waypoints over 725 km all the way to Riga marked in both GPS and maps so we can find our way with ease. Although some of thousands of Islands along the Finnish coast will make for interesting navigation.

The weather is still looking good for Fridays open crossing of 30 km to the first Islands before Åland. But the winds change that night to more head or side winds at 6-12 metres per second, so this will be a bit slower the following days. Some low pressure systems are due over the next week, so thats not such great news either.

One other small problem is my ear has an small infection, but I had it seen to yesterday and hope to have it under control.

Babs is in good shape, after paddling around the South Island of New Zealand I guess Ill be following her later on in the days when we start getting tired. I experienced this before after Norway's circumnavigation :-)

Cheers

James & Babs

Hope the good weather holds.

2008-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Its just a few days and we have amazing weather right now in Sweden, we just hope it holds for a while longer. See how it looks for Mariehamn in Åland at the moment!

Busy with sorting maps, routes and waypoints into our Garmin 60 cxs GPS, plus getting the two Barracuda´s ready. This included for example:

- Built in drinking system using a 3 litre Source Widepac bladder behind the seat with a tube through the deck reaching forward.

- Compasses mounted to the front hatch covers.

- Securing the rudder lines so as they cant come loose in the middle of the Åland sea.

So we are just waiting on the dry food to arrive from Naturkompaniet, this is a mix of Wildlife and Real. We have learnt to take the best of the two, these will be mainly for lunches, dinners will be fresher food such as tortelini with pesto, mashed potato with beef or Rice, vegetables and Tuna.

Cheers

James

7 days till we leave..

2008-07-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

Its a week before we will leave Dala-Floda, and I have now found a way we can blog on the water via my mobile phone when ever we have a GSM connection. So Babs and I hope to keep you updated with some text and photos.

As soon as we get home we will have some photos and possibly some film to upload.

So we are now busy finishing up jobs around work and starting to pack. We were hoping for a new model kayak from Prijon, but decided to take some fast sleek Prijon Barracuda´s that we have been using for training the last 2 weeks.

The Tracking function will start working the 1st of August, it will follow us for the last 24 hours, so you will be able to follow our progress.

Have a great day.

James & Babs.