Out there , the conditions were dynamic . Big swells with quite some energy . Good that we waited for things to calm down .
PADDLER
14TH SEPTEMBER 2022
That night we stayed in a hut on Lofoten Beach camp . In the morning , I woke up to Oscar and Chris whispering . We drank Mate together and had a variety of conversations . It felt super good with the team . We connected excellently , and I felt safe expressing concerns or thoughts with these guys . Perfect base for it to be a good trip !
We had a look at the map and discussed the trip . It was windy and had big swells , but the forecast looked promising for the coming days . It was going to calm down . And it was going to neap tide . Since the conditions were improving , we had no rush to leave today , so we decided to wait until tomorrow .
We moved from the hut to the campground and pitched our tents in the rain . Lukas and I walked down to the beach , and I breathed in the ocean air and let the sound of the waves fill me up . I had missed the ocean so much . We all had lunch wellprotected under a tarp . Chris and Lukas wanted to take the opportunity to go and surf since it was in good condition . If they had been dogs , their tails would have gone fast from side to side .
ONE YEAR LATER
Last year Lukas and I had been on this beach with Outdoor Academy and surfed with the kayaks . And I loved it . It was one of my favourite feelings in the world . One year later , I stood on the beach and felt insecure in my stomach . The power of the ocean and hurting myself scared me . Oscar and I watched Lukas and Chris when they played in the waves . Oscar reassured me and reminded me that I ’ m supposed to have fun and not put pressure on and push myself . And that it ’ s okay to be afraid . His words felt good to hear . Chris approached the beach and asked why I was not out there . I answered , and he told me he could be in the water with me and coach me .
I have mostly just used a low brace . Now Chris taught me how to use a high brace and when and why it ’ s beneficial ! I kayaked in the soap and practised going from high to low brace and vice versa . It felt perfect after a while . I realised how much power I had in that high brace and how smooth it was to recover in that position . Chris was super good at coaching and encouraging me but , at the same time , made me feel safe . I became more comfortable and smiled , enjoying being back in the surf . And then I did a roll ! Wow , my confidence grew even more ! After some practising , I felt done for the day . We had tacos at the beach bar and were hyped for tomorrow when we left for our adventure !
DAY 1 OF THE ACTUAL EXPEDITION
Since the conditions would calm down more and more with the day , we had no rush to leave early . I was stressing about packing the kayak . Will everything fit ? So an unnecessary thing to stress about . Well , I managed to pack the kayak without any problem ( almost ). We launched through the surf waves . Flakstad is a gradual beach , so the launching would have been hard if the waves had frequently been breaking , creating a lot of soap and pushing us back . But the waves were kind and in our favour .
Out there , the conditions were dynamic . Big swells with quite some energy . Good that we waited for things to calm down . This is my and Luka ’ s first expedition in a tidal environment – super exciting ! I felt nervous about going with a fully packed boat in these big Atlantic swells , and I did not want to flip . I had to tell myself that there was no need to be nervous . I have packed everything waterproof . When I silenced my thoughts , I realised I was stable and managed these conditions without problems .
We timed the weather , and the current is perfect today ! Kayaking in the sun , the glittering ocean – I ’ m so grateful to be here . Today I learned a lot from Oscar and Chris . About route choices , I was considering the boomers ( a rock under the sea level that makes the waves break on top of it and creates chaos ) and the swells and choosing the safe line . Oscar was telling me so much stuff , he threw his knowledge at me , and I did my best to suck everything in .
We kept our distance from the shore to have enough time to sort an eventual capsize before getting pushed onto the cliffs . At times we had currents affecting our lines , so we had to be aware of whether we were moving forward .
Out there , the conditions were dynamic . Big swells with quite some energy . Good that we waited for things to calm down .
PADDLER
25