4 - 10 sep Sea kayak expedition - The Ostrobothnia archipelago, fINLAND
The second trip for Outdoor Academy was going to be something very special. A sea kayak trip around the Archipelago in Ostrobothnia Finland. It is part of UNESCO world heritage and filled with hundreds of tiny islands. Ideal for Adventurers that are looking for some exploration. 2 days before our departure we had a crash course in sea kayaking. We learned how to safely enter and leave the kayak, learn different steering techniques and of course rescue techniques. For example what to do when you flip over your kayak and need to escape or what to do when your peer flips over his kayak.
After 2 days of very intense and demanding days we packed our boats and went to the starting point of the trip. You could see that everyone was very focused on preparing as well as they possibly could. To add on that, just before we left we noticed that the weather forecast predicted a storm rolling in on the second day.
Nonetheless we started the first day in a bay with sun on our backs and very calm water. A very easy and pleasant start to our trip. It was a fun day filled with laughter and nice weather and scenery. Just before we got to our Island where we would spend the night we had to do our first ‘Crossing’ of 2km. This meant a deeper and more exposed part of the ocean with bigger waves and higher wind speeds. Altough a bit uneasy at first. It turned into a very exciting crossing with salty sea water spraying in our faces and our boats rocking trough the waves. We made it to the campsite. A small harbour with some summerhouses. Later that evening I went for a stroll away from camp to find some peace and meditate about the day. I sat on a rock near the coast and listened some music. Everything went well until I felt my phone slipping out of my pocket. I could not believe it but my phone slipped trough the cracks down below right into the ocean. Some friends came in to try and save the phone but it was a lost cause.
I felt horrible the first half hour but then I remembered the last gathering where we purposefully put away our phone and tried to see it as a blessing in disguise. And to be honest it might have been the best thing to happen to me during that trip. It allowed me to be in the moment, to be with my tent mates. Enjoying cooking, manually navigating on sea, carving spoons and other things...
One caveat is that the last thing I sent my family was that the next day a storm was rolling in and that they had radio silence after that...We where stuck on an island for 2 days due to the extreme sea conditions but we managed to continue the trip and make it home safe and sound.
The next day we would have a longer paddling day of about 15 km to our next destination. We knew a storm was brewing and it would hit us the next morning so it was necesary to find a safe place to camp sheltered from the wind and waves. And we did. Our grip arrived first at a sandy beach covered by trees and a small log cabin with some neat camping spots. We prepared for the night and for the storm to hit us during the night.
The next morning we would decide if it where safe enough to continue paddling or stay put on our island. The wind and the waves quickly showed to be to big and dangerous for beginners like us and decided it was safer to stay on the island. During the remainder of the day we had some time to recover, learned about map reading and sea navigation as well as a short lesson on how to read the weather forecast and what to do in situations like these. Some of us dared to go for a short kayak tour near the coast to literally test the water.
By the following morning the storm had passed but the wind and waves where still pretty big and fast. But our instructors made the call we would push for the next island where we could refill our water supplies. We made a short but intense push across the wild ocean. About an hour later everyone was safe and sound on the next island that was more covered by the wind and had a tap to refill water. We tried to enjoy the short day and rest up for the next day would be the longest one yet. 22 km to our final and last island before returning to the civilized world.
We had an early and very cold morning. The exhaustion of the wet and cold past days started to weigh on me and the group. I think it might have been near freezing that night but after a hearthy breakfast we wiggled our way into the wet and cold wetsuits and packed and loaded the kayaks once more. A stretch of 22km along coastlines, Islands and open water. It started off cold but soon enough the sun came peaking trough and it became a very enjoyable day. The Northern winds died down and now had a tailwind coming from the southeast. Easy going and covered a lot of water in a short period of time. Late in the afternoon it was time to start hunting for a nice camping spot to spend the night. We checked out a couple of islands before settling on the island that was the furthest away. The Island had a small wind shelter with an old lavvu. We had a campfire and even though everyone was pretty tired stayed deep into the evening chatting about the expedition, the good the bad, the ugly.
By the next morning it was time to pack everything and head back to civilization. A short but intense paddling back to the mainland with a strong upwind and wild ocean. But everyone wanted to get warm and dry and enjoy a warm sauna. So everyone pushed trough one last time until we finally saw our teachers appear in the distance, welcoming us back the the mainland.
