To: Aspö
Distance: 45 km
Total distance: 822,5 km
Wind: NW turning SW early afternoon, 5-15 m/s
Weather: Mostly sunny, 18 C
Last night's phone call home ended with my husband asking me to look out for JAS39 Gripen in the air with a tone of voice indicating that it would be something special, a good thing if I got the opportunity to see them. Well, I did see them, 4 of them to be exact, don't know if I thought it was that special though... It was a bit more of a happening having some sort of military helicopter fly by time after time just a couple of meters above sea level 😀. To top it all off I was hoping to be able to paddle by Torhamnsskär to see the place where the Soviet submarine U137 ran aground about 35 years ago but the wind made it impossible for me to get that far today and also to go on the outside of all the islands where the waves would have been huge. Even though I was only 7 years old when this happened I still remember it vividly, it was both chocking and amusing having that submarine stranded on a tiny island by the Swedish coast! There is in fact a memorial on the spot where it all happened that looks like this:
Aside from all the military presence this day started with perfect light tail wind, sunny but still too cool to paddle without a jacket on. Made good progress cruising in between the islands up until early afternoon when the wind turned to SW and was getting stronger by the minute. Now it started getting just a little bit crazy, when I had spot on tail wind I was catching the waves surfing like I never have before, fun but also scary! I need to learn the technique for this so I can enjoy it fully 😁. There were a few places where I had to face the wind head on and I was almost standing still, a few hundred meters took 15 minutes to complete. Late afternoon the wind was too strong to continue, it did not feel safe so I did not get as far as I planned today and tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Fingers crossed hoping for a drastically changed forecast for tomorrow...
Really strong winds are very good for drying wet clothes! 👍
Back to yesterday's notes and the second thing that keeps my body working like it should; it's my kayak! Bought it new for this trip since I didn't think the old one I have was suitable or in shape to make it all around the coast. Took all in all 5 different kayaks for a try out paddle before I decided on this one, the World of Kayaks 500. What made the choice rather easy was that it was very comfortable to sit in. I have had problems with my legs going numb in other kayaks but this one comes with a racing seat that is slightly elevated and flat which makes possible to use my legs when I paddle to get more force out of every stroke but with less strain on arms and shoulders. This together with the fact that it seems to be quite fast made it my perfect choice! So far it has done its job perfectly!
Here it is! Waiting for where tomorrow will bring us!
Today's route:
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