Celtic Tiderace 2

Just a quick note on a british kayak expedition, a major crossing from northern scotland to the Faroes - check it out here. On this second attempt at the crossing, their progress can be viewed live with Spot Messenger tracking!
Best wishes to Patrick Winterton and Mick Berwick on this major adventure.

UPDATE (2009-07-08) Patrick and Mick made it! Congratulations!

Check a movie of the landing and an interview with them on Simon Willis' blog.

Watching their landing in Vagur is fantastic, it really brings back memories - we used the exact same landing spot, in similar conditions (small swell rolling in) - only less crowded :-)



The coastline around Vagur, on the west coast of Suduroy, is simply awesome. I can only imagine how they must have felt on their arrival - after all, Jesper and I only paddled from Stora Dimun, 48 km, on a day with rather calm weather, and for us, that was a great experience in itself.

Summer season is coming up

Tuesday 31. march, thirty-odd people gathered in Århus to hear about the trip - thanks for a great evening, folks - we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. For the coming summer season, a few more talks are in the early planning stages, but no dates/venues to be announced at the moment. However, when something comes up, it will be announced here!

Now, it is time for something at least as important: Kicking some butt in the surf kayaks, having fun teaching courses, or paddling some great trips with friends. Let's get afloat!

See you out there!

Upcoming talks

If you'd like to hear the story about paddling around the Faroe Islands, there'll be at least three chances for that in 2009. The planned talks on the Faroe Islands Circumnavigation are as follows:

• 17. February: Brdr. Vestergaard, Thisted
• 20. February: Danish Kayak and Canoe Association, hosted by Sorø Canoe and Kayak Club. [invitation, signup] (Cancelled)
  
• 31. March: Danish Kayak and Canoe Association, in Skive Århus, Denmark. [invitation, signup]
  

Update, 2009-01-14: Invitation and signup for 20. february is now online!
Update, 2009-02-17: Invitation and signup for 31. march is now online!
Update, 2009-02-19: 20. february talk in Sorø cancelled. New date/venue will be announced.
Update, 2009-03-19: Talk in Skive moved to Århus. Check new announcements from Dansk Kano og Kajak Forbund.

See you out there!

Just a quick note

Monday evening, 31 guests attended the talk at Crandals Galleri. Thanks for listening, it was a joy to tell the story. Some of you had a taste of the Logan bread that we ate during the trip - there's a lot of recipes out there, if you want to bake some yourself. Experiment and see what you like best - but be gentle on your teeth!

Tuesday evening's talk at Brødrene Vestergaard (18. november 2008) has been postponed! We'll keep you updated here (and i'm sure that Brødrene Vestergaard will put up advertisements) for the talk we're going to do there, when a new date has been decided.

Telling about the past, living for tomorrow

On november 1st, we had the opportunity to tell about the trip to 25 danish sea kayak instructors, who were gathered in Hanstholm for a weekend seminar on the subject of surf and waves. Jesper gave two more presentations, to a group of local scouts in Hanstholm, and to the people in his hometown, Ræhr, just south of Hanstholm. We have received good response from the talks given so far, which motivates us to keep going, and tell the story about a fantastic kayaking trip!

Two more talks are coming up in the near future, and more are in the pipeline. One is at Crandals Gallery in Langholt, 17. november 2008. On tuesday 18. november, we'll be at Brødrene Vestergaard's shop in Thisted. Feel free to contact us if you want to host a talk, or if you plan to visit one of the talks - there may be an available seat still!

Telling about the past isn't all we're doing, though. Whenever possible, we're enjoying the kayak surf action on the danish west coast. Fall has arrived, bringing better and more consistent surf conditions. The water is getting chilly to the point where it's similar to the Faroe Islands (8-10 degress C), so it is nice to stay warm in the drysuits. Getting some time on the water and having fun, that's what it's all about, afterall!

First talk, and surf seminar

It seems like a week ago already, after two intense days of surf kayaking on the west coast, but friday evening we gave the first talk about the Faroe Islands circumnavigation. PureKayaking hosted a seminar for their customers and instructors, and we were invited to tell about our trip.

I think we made it in about two-and-a-half hours, which was somewhat longer than expected - but responses were good, and you guys seemed to have a good time. Thanks for listening and asking questions. I hope that this has sparked your interest in going on longer kayaking trips. It was a joy to visit you!

Friday night we drove the long way to Klitmøller, and spent the rest of the weekend on a national kayak surf seminar. What a rush to see 30 kayakers in the waves (saturday was pretty crowded, with maybe 30 windsurfers, 30 kites and 50 paddle surfers as well - sunday was less crowded and conditions were better than saturday).

Talks in preparation

During the next months, we'll be giving talks to our sponsors, and if we can get it coordinated, to the danish sea kayaking scene in general. Notes are being prepared, photos selected and edited, and all in all, it is a nice way of going over all the experiences from the Faroe Islands once again, letting them sink in! We're looking forward to seeing our sponsors (and their customers), friends and other kayakers, and tell a good story about a great trip!