The Paddler Magazine Issue 79 Late Summer 2024 | Page 26

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About Elinor Before Norway , Elinor participated in many sea kayak expeditions in the British Isles , notably some major trips to Scotland . She enjoys paddling , sheltered in advanced conditions with great company , and is an advanced leader for her club .
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For 2025 ,

we aim to offer two more expeditions to Arctic Norway , celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous British Sea Kayak Expedition from Bodo to Nordkapp . One of our 2025 expeditions will replicate the 2024 Senja and Kvaløya Expedition plan ( albeit with less intense paddling days ), and the second expedition will venture further north with a more exploratory ( weather dependent ) plan to explore : Sørøya Island or the more sheltered and stunningly beautiful Nordkvaløya-Rebbenesøya Protected Landscape . Our van team will support both expeditions by hauling our trailer of quality composite sea kayaks .
SKW ’ s 2025 Arctic Norway Expedition is described in the following paragraphs by Elinor Griffiths .
ELINOR GRIFFITHS ’ EXPERIENCE OF THE SKW ARCTIC NORWAY SENJA EXPEDITION 2024
I ’ m just back from a wonderful sea kayaking expedition in Norway . We were fortunate to have good weather , enabling us to paddle to exposed and remote areas with stunning views daily . I have wanted to paddle for a while in Norway , and last year , I wrote to Geth Roberts of Sea Kayaking Wales asking if they had any planned trips . He said no but to give him a couple of weeks . He duly returned with the option of paddling around Senja , Norway ’ s second-largest island and in the Arctic Circle .
It looked like a beautiful location and lived up to and beyond expectations . Expertly led by SKW guides Mirco Goldhausen and Tim Vanhoutteghem ( Arctic Norway expert and fire master ), they planned a route taking us from the south of Senja up along the west coast and along the fjords on the north , then onto further islands , including Sommerøya ( Norwegian summer isles ), Kvaløya and Vengsøya before being picked up near Tromso . The expedition had a lovely group of people , 11 days paddling , 225km ( about 140 miles ). Longer paddles and moderate sea state for the first few days , rewarded by sun and calm waters for the second half . The highlights included a night paddle , swimming nearly daily , white coral beaches , turquoise seas and high mountains still with snow , and eating wild cloudberries .

About Elinor Before Norway , Elinor participated in many sea kayak expeditions in the British Isles , notably some major trips to Scotland . She enjoys paddling , sheltered in advanced conditions with great company , and is an advanced leader for her club .

NORWAY PADDLING DAYS ONE AND TWO OF 11 ( 9-10TH JULY )
Planes , buses , taxis , and a ferry will get us to the trip ’ s start after food shopping and picking up kayaks . We set off at 21:00 on the south coast of Senja ( not sure if endless daylight is a good thing !), and we made a short crossing to a small island for our first camping spot and