In september the archipelago is quiet after bustling human activities in summertime. The sea is still warm and the water is fantastic transparent – almost no plankton disturbance. It’s really enjoyable gliding in the turquoise shallow waters over shell gravel bottoms looking for oysters. Last Saturday offered us a wonderful full day’s paddling.
The weather forecast predicted rain but after launching in drizzle we were happy even to have sunshine most of the day. In shelter and almost no wind we headed towards open sea. After many days of strong winds the swells were rolling in quite deep and wide. We played around some kilometers and then went in behind sheltering islands again.
Time to stretch our legs and have some hot peppermint tea, snacks and some fruit. Oyster shells and sea kale reminds us we are by the sea. All the flora and fauna is different in salt water than in fresh water lakes. We met a lot of young eiders searching food and on and off we met cormorants. Otherwise it was silent and peaceful.
We decided to head west, out to the open horizon. The beacon “Saltskärs käring” is always a nice excursion. It had been nice to have our lunch there but the sea was too rough so we made our way towards inner islands again.
The sea is full of herrings and mackerel and we passed a lot of boiling shoals.
After slipping between narrow sounds we found a sandy beach of our own. Perfect place for our camp fire and lunch – home made fish burgers with tsatsiki and coleslaw. After a nice meal and a good rest we finished with coffee boiled over the open fire.
After days of raining we also had a waterfall of our own. Strengthened by food and rest we made our last kilometers back home. This was a nice full day trip and we paddled 14 km – a very good distance as one of the participants was a total beginner!
September and October offers wonderful paddling. Welcome to join us!
