Today it felt about time for paddling some big water again. Apart from Hans (You can click this link for his report about our trip) and me, nobody else was available or was in the mood. As the weatherforecast did not say anything about a summersday, we went to the IJsselmeer, a relatively sheltered place, and planned Muiden-Marken vv., paddling both our AnasAcuta´s.
Early in the morning the black skies predicted heavy weather, but when we shove our kayaks into the water, the wind died and the skies lifted.
Apart from the cold wind this was a good day for paddling; a real "weather window" in between days of storm and expected rain. I enjoyed the skies and the sight of Hans' AnasAcuta dancing the waves.
After a brake at Marken near the lighthouse, alas not in a Scottisch pub
but in the shelter of a small shed, we started battling our way back against wind and waves while the wind increased, varying between 5-6Bft. After paddling a while I noticed that I was short of power. Remembering the long period I needed for warming up while paddling and also being cold after waking up this morning, this seemed like a signal something being different from normal. Or was this just my punishement for having not paddled for 2 months? Or did I consume my energyreserves while cycling to my work last monday, trying to cover the 75km as fast as possible in the morning before 9.00h?
I don't know, but anyhow I tried to keep up with Hans' pace. To reach higher speed I lengthened the strokes with my Kinetik wingpaddle by adding more trunkrotation. This worked reasonably well. But: having covered half the distance my lower back started hurting suddenly. That's frightening because with a malfunctioning back you are in problems.Remembered being rescued with Willem Molengraaf a few years ago because of serious problems with his back. Ah, I also remembered now that this trunkrotation which I was practising, is only possible in a (racing) kayak without back-strapping. I warned Hans (always communicate about how you are feeling!) and he proposed to change paddles. This was a good idea as I noticed after a while, paddling Hans Nordkapp paddle (heavy it was) with less trunkrotation, that the pain diminished and disappeared finally.
On our way we saw only few birds. One silhouet caught my special attention: it was quite different from what is normally been seen around here and seemed yet familiair, remembering having seen it once before. I watched the size, silhouet and the black tips at the underside of the wings. However I forgot to pay attention to the shape of the head: bad bird-watcher! So searching the books afterwards I thought it must have been a "Jan van Gent" (Sulla Bassana # English: Gannet), but I am not completely sure having missed the details about its head.
Having reached Pampus we changed paddles again. This time I remembered that I learned last year that excessive trunkrotation with this kinetikwing paddle did not add much to efficiency. I just forgot this today. Also remembered now I learned that I should paddle while putting most energy in the forward part of the strokes.
So while paddling like this in a somewhat higher frequency now, I had no problems anymore keeping up with Hans. And most important, my back did not hurt anymore, just feeling tired. But this last part of the trip I enjoyed most: waves coming from aside while being confused a bit by other waves. The AnasAcuta seems like flying, probably she likes this kind of conditions most.
Interesting that while always trying to change and experiment with paddling styles to get most out of it, I now got into the boobytrap of choosing the wrong style for the day.
Details: saterday 2 februar 2008, distance 31km, temp water 5°C, air ±5°C, wind west 4-5-6Bft.
