My announced Pentecost journey didn't turn out as I wanted. I did manage to sail north to the Sea Of Kattegat, but it turned out to be a trip instead of a journey.
The difference between a trip and a journey is, according to me, the following:
A Journey is an adventure in its own right, the destination is secondary.
A Trip is a transport from place A to B. The destination is the primary objective for undertaking the trip.
My journey was in that sense, made into a trip already in the planning of it. I wanted to reach Kattegat, and I wanted to visit a friend, Ulf, in Kulhuse on the way. The destinations was suddenly primary objectives, that had to be met.
But in spite of that revelation, it was a fantastic trip.
Today I wanted to explore the stream Værebro Å a little closer.
It has its estuary just north of Jyllinge, so to gain some miles under the keel, I rounded Eskildsø on my way up there.
On Værebro Å I paddled about 3 km. upstream, to where the first road bridge crosses the stream. It was an mini adventure. I passed small harbors hidden in the reeds, I sailed through, or so it seemed, the backyard of houses and I went through stretches which could originate from ‘The Wind In The Willows’. And all that within a distance of 3 km. I have heard rumors that say that Værebro Å should be navigable by kayaks for 15 km. I'm definitely going to find out if that is true another day.
Logged = 24 km. TOY = 108 km.
Sunspot(s)?
My day started with a bit of training (remember PRO? I’m still at it). I only worked my legs ‘cause the weather was alright for once, and I wanted to go paddling.
At a quarter past one, pm, I launched and went south. A breeze, force moderate to fresh, was blowing from SE and the fjord was a mix of areas with whitecaps and areas with ripples only.
I went to Veddelev, a small village by the fjord just north of Roskilde.
Here's a little picture of the spot where I had my usual ‘halfway-meal’ (two bananas).
BTW: I’m writing reviews of my kayak and of my camera. I will post them in the days to come, but be warned, they are lengthy.
Logged 18 km. TOY = 84.
Gray/rainy day. The wind was shifting randomly from south to east and changing speed from force 1 to 4-5 Beaufort. The fjord was amazingly shallow when I started the trip.
Down south I went. Down to Risø, the only danish facility made for producing nuclear power. Only as a research, and nuclear power has never been produced in Denmark for any commercial purpose. Now the reactors has been demolished and DTU (the Technical University of Denmark) has taken over the buildings. Test with radiation effects on plants etc. are still going on so the facility are off limits.
On my way back to Jyllinge I found out new things about Roskilde Fjord:
When the wind blows there can be big waves in the fjord. And they raise or disappeared immediately according to the wind.
There can be very very shallow if the conditions are right. The fjord is not affected by the tides like a beach out at the sea, the shape and size of it more or less neutralizes the tide governed by the moon's gravity. Instead it is sensitive to the prevailing winds. In this case the wind had been blowing from the south for some days which had meant that the fjord had been nearly emptied. Now the wind was shifty, and I guess some kind of critical state had been reached. The water was pouring back into the fjord while I made my way back north. It was an awesome phenomena to be in the middle of.
If you look at a map of Sealand, the two fjords, Isefjorden and Roskilde Fjord, almost look like the lungs of the Island. And now after a long exhale they were inhaling water from Kattegat. New water without the nitrogen and phosphorus from the agriculture, which are the biggest problem for the fjords of Denmark.
I have tried to upload a small video of the scenery. Apologize for the missing sound but I'm still learning how to use the camera. Imagine the sound of running water in a creek.
Logged 13 km. TOY = 66 km.
A day with fair wind, clouds and some sun. I might add ‘nothing special’ but that would be untrue. Every day on the water is special and the landscape surrounding the fjord is just plain beautiful. I have discovered that the beauty of a natural scenery is very hard to capture on pictures, so I will just show a fisherman’s cottage and one of the many shelters you can find along the coast of the fjord. At this particular shelter, Salvadparken, I had my lunch today.
The Island Eskildsø is the biggest island in the fjord. It has one farm and a ruin of an old monastery. The farm is only partly used when cattle are shipped across from the mainland to graze when the winter is over. The monastery is said to have been disbanded by the Bishop Absalon because the monks were living a life of wine, women and song (go monks!).
Logged 11 km. TOY = 53 km.
Another perfect day. Sun is shining, the wind is a mild breeze and it blows from the north so it will be at my back. And today is the day I will sail my kayak down to my new club.
So the day started, and it only got better.
As written in the former post, I also received my new camera today. Unfortunately it had to charge the battery and I didn't had time to wait for it.
I started from Frederikssund at 5 pm., and it was nearly perfect. Nearly because the difference between the air and water temperature got too great. According to a safety rule of thumb you should always dress to get wet. Well, the water temperature was 10°c and the air temperature in the sun was about 25°c. I just couldn't wear my jacket. So only Long Johns, a t-shirt, a swim west and a cap. It was so very wrong of me, right?
Perfect sailing condition. Of Cause I had to spoil it a bit by being injured trying to open my day hatch. I still can't figure out how it happened, but while I was trying to open the hatchet, a nasty sound emitted from my hand and I felt a lot of pain. Luckily it only means I have to tape two of my fingers together so they can support each other and I can still paddle.
On the way down south I visited Værebro Å for a brief spell. It is definitely worth a closer inspection another day.
When I arrived at Jyllinge, I called my daughter and son, both of whom live nearby with their mother, my ex-wife, so they could help their poor old injured father with his kayak. It was quite pleasant.
Logged 12 km. TOY = 42 km.
Below is a picture of Jyllinge Sejlklub taken with my mobile phone.
I was feeling a bit sore after all the rolling yesterday, but when I woke up the sun was shining and the weathermen was bidding the temperature higher and higher.
So breakfast and all the annoying transportation thingy. Then out on the water, yeehaa.
I paddled 7 km. south. The wind was blowing from the north, but it was like a mild breeze. Normally I always start out against the wind if possible, so the return trip, when I'm tired, will be the easy part.
At the place where the stream Værebro Å runs out into the fiord, I noticed that the wind was picking up. I decided to cross the fjord, because I thought I would be more sheltered on the other side, and head back.
I was not more sheltered. And the wind was now about 7 m/s. It was a long way up the fjord. Very interesting water and coastline, but I was pushed to my current limit. I also deemed myself totally irresponsible for crossing the fjord where it was about 1.2 km wide. So I went further north than where the club is situated to cross back at a place where the fjord is only 200 m. wide.
A nice trip in brilliant weather where errors and bad judgements could have ruined the day. Luckily they didn't. They just meant I got very very very tired. And I was reminded, again, that this is the beginning of the season, so my skills and physique are poor.
Logged 18 km. TOY = 30 km.
Some places along the fiord the temperature has reached 10° celcius. That means my paddling season has begun. So I went out on the first paddle of the year on my new home waters, Roskilde Fjord.
The sky was gray and dull, it did rain a bit and the wind did blow a bit too strong for my liking but it was ok. I quickly ate my breakfast, packed all I needed to go paddling (remember: It’s not possible to store anything at the club) and off I went. It’s pretty annoying to be using public transport while having to carry wetsuit, paddle, swim vest, wind breaker etc. etc. You get the picture. But it’s possible.
I changed clothes at the kayak and launched it at the rack where there are a tiny launching site full of rocks. The club has an ok. floating jetty, but it's too far away to carry your kayak solo (remember: the club has no club equipment like kayak trolleys).
Just the feeling of being on the water made everything alright.
I went past the bridge, Kronprins Frederiks Bro, and back. Paddled through the little canal in the city on my way out. Nothing special or anything. Saw a lot of Mute Swans and Eiders.
A nice trip.
Logged 7 km. so now my total of the year, TOY, is 11.5 km. Hmmm, gonna skip the 0.5 measurement so TOY is now 12 km.
Finally!
I wouldn't/couldn't wait for that darn water temp to go up, so I went paddling.
I used the borrowed bicycle and the trailer, and rode 8 km. to get to the artificial lakes at Brøndby Strand.
I launched the kayak and off I went. It was nice!! A little bit of sun found its way through the clouds, the wind was blowing at my back and the cries of nesting sea gulls cut through the air. I only paddled about 4.5 km. but it was awesome. Then I rode the bicycle 8 km. back home.
The bicycle trailer performed well, and on the way home some police officers saw me and joked that I needed a driver license to a truck to be riding around with a trailer that size BUT they didn't stop me. I guess they thought it was ok. as long as the trailer didn't harass the traffic.
I don't have many pictures or videos of my trip because I haven't bought a waterproof camera yet. But here’s what I got:
