Sparks & Splashes around Texel

Arriving early for a weekend trip with Peddelpraat around the island of Texel, Saskia and I had a nice evening paddle from Den Helder to Noorderhaaks and back.

Fogged in

Today was my third attempt to (co-)organize a Zeevaardigheid-Extra (Sea Kayak Leader) assessment for the Dutch Canoe Union. To no avail...

Last year it got canceled for no conditions, in March it got canceled because of sea water temperatures of 3 degrees Celcius. Today it was already canceled because of only force 2/3 winds. However the candidates were keen to use this as a training day instead. Now fog is preventing any paddling. By law we could only be on the water when we would have radar.

The above picture is a still from the webcam on the roof of Lands End hotel & restaurant at Den Helder at 07:17 today. Below is the live feed.

T-Bay Remits

Today Trearddur Bay was flooded with 4* and 5* trainees. While the 4* kept to the shelter of the southern side, the 5* ventured out in a bit bigger waves and strong(er) (onshore) winds.

The above picture is a bit deceptive, but it gives a nice perspective to the 'outer remits' compared to the safety of the inner bay.

Apart from tidal currents all skills aspects of 4 star (and probably 5*) could be practiced. We could even pick a nice 3-foot surf zone to launch and land through.

Holyhead Mountain Highlights

On the Trail,
Up the Mountain,
Off the Track,
Down the Slope.

A nice afternoon hike with Saskia from North Stack to South Stack & Ellin's Tower and back.

Solo PM

Do not think you are ever alone in Penrhyn Mawr.

Skerries Twice

I arrived a week early for the Anglesey Sea Kayak Symposium. While Nico and Karien run this year's Anglesey week for the Dutch Canoe Union, I am 'jobless'. I had some plans for personal paddling, however weather and tide are not always perfect at the same time.

Today I paddled from Porth Dafarch to the Skerries. Taking the 'conveyer belt tide' off Penrhyn Mawr brought me to the Skerries within two hours. I arrived before 'Skerries sunrise'. With no sunshine and the prospect of a three-and-a-half hour wait, I decided to paddle onwards to Cemlyn.

During that navigation I changed my mind. I should have planned better before leaving the Skerries with my fluke change of plan. The quickest way back would be from the Skerries again. I aimed for the mainland, missing West Mouse wide, and paddled the eddy towards Carmel Head. With 1.5 hours of the flood still to go I ferry glided on a 270 degrees course back to the Skerries where it was blazing with sunshine. The sun always shines on the Skerries (if you arrive after local sunrise that is) !

Back to Porth Dafarch took a bit longer with the ebb just barely starting. This was a very nice paddling day.

GPS Track

Menai's Moving Water

Chris took above photo of me playing the small race off the west side of Ynys Gorad Goch. Below is Lianna surfing at the Anglesey side.

Paddlers Polishing Plates

OK, the literal English translation of "Peddelaars Poetsen Platen" does look a bit 'odd', like the above picture. However yesterday 28 sea kayakers took on upon the grass-roots initiative by Hartger, Paul and Marian to clean the Noorderhaaks sand spit from trash. The initiative was welcomed by KIMO environmental NGO that took care of logistics for getting the collected trash back to the mainland.

Interesting finds were a brand-new kite-board with phone number (we did not find the owner yet) and a Scottish GPS-tag that still held some fur of it's previously tagged owner, probably a seal. The exact composition of the trash will be investigated by KIMO.

Bing Sting

This morning I got a worrying e-mail from my hosting provider: "This message is to advise you of a temporary block placed on your account. This account was found to be consuming an inordinate amount of processor time, to the point of degrading overall system performance."

Looking into the matter I found the culprit being the Microsoft Bing search engine crawler... That was indeed firing away thousands of website (and connected database) calls a minute... OK, Microsoft software is generally seriously flawed, however that MS is spawning "Denial of Service attacks" is new to me.

Proper dealing with web crawlers involves a universally recognized and respected robots.txt file. So I added a 'crawl-delay' for the 'Bingbot'. Within minutes after the change, my website was blocked again with a prompt informative and helpful support team e-mail saying: "The site is being swarmed by Bing crawlers. Bing crawlers do not respond to a robots.txt file". Another serious misconduct by Microsoft.

The hosting provider support team directs me to "Bing Webmaster Tools". Not to be confused with "Google Webmaster Tools". Google Webmaster Tools is THE BEST (free) webmaster support tool EVER. Probably something that Microsoft now tries to copy. But in the very best of Microsoft traditions they just created a big mess of theirs.

Instead of allowing Bing to find my site, I just now made it extremely hard for Microsoft to index my site in Bing, at least to a point that it NEVER EVER AGAIN comes anything close to launching more 'MS DoS attacks'. What use it is to have ones site on the #1 spot on a search results page, only to be arriving at a blocked site? Microsoft now surely made it to Junk status (with a negative outlook), at least with me. More than April fools!

Anyway, part of this beautiful Easter monday was spent with a short but rewarding family outing, kinda reunion. What happened to my kayaking? Is Spring finally out there? Paddling in due course!

Empty

After almost a year my mailbox is completely empty again. A lot of time was lost on just checking, prioritizing and organizing. Not that my list was ever that long, I am good at organizing, but still, more and more time and energy spent on process and not on content.

'My' theory is that one gathers so much stuff as one has space for. In the physical world one is limited to cupboards, cellars, attics or garage to move stuff 'out of sight'.

In the digital world space is ever expanding, limitless; stuff scattered everywhere; selectively out of sight. Only when we want it back we can hopefully find it again, if not deleted.

The mind is different. The brain is extremely efficient in storing forever more memories whether we want them stored or not, if we are lucky enough to be healthy. OK, sometimes we struggle with peoples names, but for the rest we probably remember every random bit of detail about a person, meeting or event forever.

Organizing is a fully automated (chemical?) process and in no way can we decide not to store memories or remove them selectively. The brain is blinding fast in recognizing patterns in previous experiences. Premonition could be just something that fits a pattern of previously stored events; already happened, no escaping.

'Emptying' the mind requires focus. At least that is a bit similar to emptying ones mailbox.

Waal River Master Class

Far away from the sea, but a predictable way of experiencing white-water sea kayaking in the Netherlands is on the Waal River close to where Nico lives. At the junction of the river Waal with the Pannerdens Canal, passing river barges interfere with the strong river current creating standing waves.

Today, the extreme high water levels washed-out some of the regular play features, most notably the river groins, but enough remained for some nice play on this day that Nico organized for a group of enthusiastic sea kayakers.

Golden Age

Watching an episode of a new Dutch documentary series "The Golden Age" had me in for a small suprise. But first things first.

During my school day history lessons we were taught to take pride in how once the Netherlands was the richest and most powerful country on earth; Our 'Golden Age' under the Dutch East India Company until Britannia ruled the waves.

That 'pride' quickly evaporated when it when it became clear that the Dutch made their riches from being the biggest and most ruthless slave traders in the world, and more.

Only a few years back (in 2006), the then Dutch Prime Minister enthusiastically hailed in Parliament that we should be proud of a 'VOC mentality' (the global perspective). It was this remark that gave the narrator of the 'Golden Age' documentary series the idea to investigate what that 'VOC mentality' really meant.

In short: the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was the most imperialistic state-approved global terrorist organization the world has ever seen; then.

Oh, what surprised me? I learned that a Dutchman invented 'naked short selling' in 1609 on VOC stocks. OK, (naked) short-selling is just an advanced form of speculation, with lots of foul-play caveats. But in this age I just wonder how big of a global economic war we are currently in.

And how many decades or even centuries will it take for history-since is allowed to be 'rewritten' to that what it really was. With a Kafkaesque twist the International Court of Justice and the International Crime Tribunal ended-up residing in the Netherlands... Clearly, only losers end-up there, eventually, posthumously...

And so we're told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
...
Nothing changes
On New Year's Day

(New Year's Day - U2)

Crisis? What Crisis?

Sadly, 2012 saw the passing away of two Dutch sea kayak coaches, way, way too early. And just very recently a sea kayaking friend was diagnosed to be seriously ill and now is undergoing medical treatments with a very uncertain future.

More upbeat: in this year five Dutch sea kayak coaches passed their coach assessment. Some of them almost got lost in and 'crushed' by the 'new' coaching scheme (system). So very glad that they are still with us.

On a personal level I have been struggling to find the right priorities. Sometimes choosing one thing prevents choosing (or having time for) something else. The luxury of having a choice does not make it easy to choose the 'right' thing to do. Sometimes we have to let go because (we think) it is the healthy thing to do.

Mister, you better get a move on
You better get a fix on,
Mmm-you better walk straight.
(Lady - Supertramp)

Oliebollentocht

Oliebollentocht would translate to 'donuts trip' and is generally referred to as the last (organised) kayaking trip of the year. I joined the Haarlem canoe club (HKV) 'oliebollentocht' through the Amsterdam canals. Starting out grey it turned into a beautiful sunny day.

With no leaves on the trees, Winter is the ideal time to paddle through the canals and see this old city with it's countless historic buildings and landmarks. That is if the canals are not frozen solid. Thanks Nico and Arnold for organizing it and keeping an eye out for the 35+ participants.

These typical Dutch seasonal 'donuts' look (and should look) more like a 'comet from space' and if baked badly would feel just that way when they impact your stomach. However these ones were more than OK and would pass the annual national Dutch donut test.

Would you fancy a trip through the Amsterdam canals then check-out Ailien's new company website www.travelswithpaddles.com for scheduled trips. Yep, she 'stole' the untaken .com domain name, but for good purpose, however with me and my blog totally unrelated. In so far that you might meet me on her trips through the Amsterdam canals.

Ailien offers exciting paddling destinations worldwide for experienced paddlers (kayak and canoe) with quality quiding and coaching and first-class equipment: www.travelswithpaddles.com

The River

With the water levels in the IJssel river at a high 5,90 meters above NAP, Joris, Jos, Grietje and I paddled from Deventer to Zwolle.

I had paddled on this river a couple of times before, but never over the winter floodplains. Things to particularly look out for was not to get entangled in the trees, running in and over barb-wire fences and getting stranded on the occasional shallows. No ferries to look out for because they are all out of service with these levels because the roads leading to them are flooded.

We had lunch in Veessen and could paddle into the restaurant porch. The restaurant was happy to open up two hours early for us to have a relaxed coffee break with Tzech honey cake.

On we went to Zwolle for our take-out and return car shuttle to Deventer.

Sand in the Pea Soup

It has been a bit quiet on my blogging. All to be explained by mountainous work for the Dutch sea kayaking committee. The NKB has 'merged' with the Watersports Council and the sea kayaking committee is still a bit in 'limbo' of how we fit in the new organizational structure. But lots of work could be done and has been done. A good moment to review with all the sea kayaking instructors what we are all about and also 'clean-up' our internet presence and website.

The last trip of the season with PeddelPraat, the other 'club' I am a member of, was traditionally the 'Sand in the Pea Soup' trip to Noorderhaaks, weather depending. The 11th of the 11th was a gorgeous day.

At Huisduinen we were waved off by Ron, the original instigator of this 'season's end' trip. Being nearby for a family visit he could not resist checking-up on his 'baby'. Ron is the onlooker in the far right in the above picture.

Paddling all around the Noorderhaaks sand-spit to find a good spot for cooking the Pea Soup proved a bit difficult with seals all over the place. At least that built up some appetite.

Tragic news was that of the stranding of a female Humpback whale on Noorderhaaks earlier this month. A Humpback was frequently sighted along the Dutch coast for weeks before, but it is not clear if this was the same one. Humpbacks are extremely rare sightings in our waters. It was sad to follow the news of the five day struggle. It died very near the spot where we had our soup.

Finally: lots of 'secrecy' about exciting developments for PeddelPraat for 2013 for which Paul and I were keen on 'not to spill the beans', or should I say 'spill the peas' as not to be ending up with sand in our pea soup.

More soon...

Update: Shawna Franklin and Leon Sommé of Body Boat Blade International will be attending the Annual PeddelPraat Sea Kayak Week end of July 2013. So now revealing a bit more of things to come; the BBB logo.

Derek Hutchinson †

I Just learned that Derek Hutchinson passed away yesterday.

I have never met Derek. However my first reading about sea kayaking (in 1994) was his book. Before even having sat in a sea kayak.

Dunno how many editions and prints are out there, but it must be the most sold, borrowed-out and read book on sea kayaking. It even had a Dutch translation.

Surfin'

Today I enjoyed a wonderful morning surfing at a beach near Rhosneigr. Phil, James and Garreth were there on surfboards, Justine and I in kayaks.

Barry kindly lent me his kayak; he had work to do. My own spray-deck was not the best fit so when the surf got chunkier later on, every once in a while I got submarined after the spray-deck popped.

The waves were so clean (11-second wave period) that I had long rides to experiment with and thus improve my surfing skills. Maneuvering on the wave where I wanted to be and where I wanted to go. This day ends my stay in Anglesey, on my way home tomorrow.

Training Session

This evening I joined a training session on the Menai Straits with John Willacy (Taran), Justine (Rapier), Aled (Pace18) and Pascalle (Taran-S). They regularly do these training racing sessions. I could borrow John's Taran and quickly found out that this is a very fast kayak; surprise?. But also that the others are faster than me; surprise? The Taran glides through the water where all the paddle power (blade pressue) transfers to speed. With my normal paddling cadence it is already fast 'effortless'.

For developing my forward paddling skills up to racing I definitively would benefit from more training, and/or a heart-rate monitor like the others are using, to better build-up a training session. Justine has one of those and the results of our Skerries trip can be found here.

Now I am in a big dilemma. How would a very traditional sea kayaker like me justify buying a Taran? A heart-rate monitor? Let me think about it... This training session felt very good indeed.

Refueling on the Skerries

Barry had a group out to the Skerries. Justine wanted first to play at Penrhyn Mawr and maybe continue to the Skerries for lunch. At Port Dafarch we were joined by Marcus, who finally had a day off and expected at least some paddlers showing up here today. Marcus is inviting everyone to see his new house, but make sure you at least pick-up a bag of sand from the roadside pile to carry to his house...

Around noon we decided to continue to the Skerries. I had burned a lot of energy already. With no lunch break and only a snack it felt a bit of a slog for me although we made good speed and time. It has been a long time that I have seen Langdon Ridge buoy up close. 15 minutes out of the Skerries I was running on empty. On the Skerries we joined Barry's group for lunch.

The return trip to Porth Dafarch went much more easy for me. Refueled I had found my good rhythm again. Off North Stack we had to wait for the Jonathan Swift fast ferry, which passed much closer to the coast than we expected.

Tiger

I bought Justine's Tiger Romany. Why buy a second hand kayak where I am in the business of selling (new) sea kayaks? I could have easily ordered a similar design brand new, but it would never be the same as the original. It just felt the right thing to do as I also know the builder of this special Romany. Also it left the factory the exact same day as my current yellow over white "Tweety" Explorer. Just before they both went into the Falls of Lora.

Today Tiger returned from a check-up at the 'vet's' and a 'scrub and polish' session. Apart from the scratch marks that Justine left behind, and some 'trailer-rash', she is in tip-top shape.

I always wanted a custom design sea kayak for personal use, but the design I have in mind is just way to elaborate to manufacture. This Tiger is the closest 'fit' at the moment.

John Willacy took these great shots in the Swellies.

The Looking Glass

Somewhere in the Pacific drifts Gulliver, Sarah Outen's rowing boat across the Pacific. The rowing boat had to be abandoned, and Sarah picked-up, after a tropical storm made it unsafe to continue. In Gulliver, one of my map cases. The boat's tracking device was inadvertently taken off the boat by the Coast Guard. Where will it end up?

Sarah gave me "A dip in the Ocean", her book of her previous solo crossing of the Indian Ocean by rowing boat. Maybe hinting towards another map case for her to be continued London2London via the World (under human power)? With a new rowing boat for the Pacific.

Justine gave me a wonderful present that she collected from a Sachalin beach when she kayaked with Sarah across to Japan. A Japanese Glass Fishing Float.

So what's in the looking glass?

For one, Justine is currently editing the upcoming This is the Sea 5 DVD, expected to be released in March 2013. In it her sea kayaking with Sarah and an impressive account of a troubled circumnavigation of Tierra del Fuego and lots more.

The Swellies Wave

After my working day I met up with Justine and Barry at the Menai Bridge slipway to paddle under Britannia Bridge to play in the Swellies. Apparently the best time for the Swellies wave is at springs, which invariable means that low water is in the evening and at this time of year paddling at dusk into full darkness.

When I could still see the 'wave train' it was easy to keep on the front wave. With less and less visibility I found myself more frequently drifting in the mess behind it, with 'holes', boils and swift eddy lines. I am not familiar paddling rough (white) water in the dark; an interesting experience.

Not much light for pictures, so this is what it was. My night vision and that of my camera is not that one of a Tiger.

UPDATE: John Willacy has posted some very nice pictures of us Surf Bunnies on his website.

Two of a kind

Today Summit To Sea, the kayak shop on Anglesey, had a Valley sea kayaks demo day in Trearddur Bay. I joined Justine and Barry and we frequently switched kayaks to take them 'for a spin' in the nice surf of TB. I had never paddled the brand new Valley designs of the Gemini ST and SP. Both shorter length sea kayaks proved to be very playful indeed.

With most brands of sea kayaks now more and more tailoring kayak designs for specific purposes it would be harder to choose 'one kayak'. I hope it won't get to the point that there will be new models every season as with white-water kayaks. At least not when I am in the business of selling sea kayaks (Nigel Dennis and Rockpool).

In the evening we went to the Summit to Sea shop where John Willacy gave a lecture on his record circumnavigation of the UK. With the (bad) weather he had it is even more amazing he could break the previous record, only to be broken by Joe Leach shortly after that (also in a Rockpool Taran).

I am Staying with Justine and Barry and it is a 'happy full house' with also Sarah Outen and Claire and her dog Lacey dropping by. In the morning we went paddling near Llanberis, them in a canoe and Justine and I in Rapiers.