Laatste dag Peddelpraatkamp

We're enjoying a leisurely breakfast with our neighbors Caroliene en Remco.

To Livorno

Our last day of kayakking was yesterday. Sigh. Corsica coastal waters are SO beautiful! Now we're on the Corsican ferry. Tonight a stop in Italy probably and then on to home and a real bed.

Santa Maria Island

Planning a night on the beach. The Sunday visitors are leaving now. These waters are every color of blue.

Paradise, Sardinia!

We jusr landed at a paradise on earth. We believe we are here but it seems too unreal.

Corsica via Italy

Its WARM outside and in the car. 33 degrees C. Two morehours to Livorno.

On our way to Corsica

Campsite right by the swimming pool. Tonight a zwartswalder weisse bier listening to the soccer game in Mullheim. .Germany is not playing but everyone around us is very interested in the outcome. Tomorrow another 700 lm to Livorno

Fog fog fog

We're still waiting for the fog to clear.

Ameland

It's saturday, so this must be Ameland. Tomorrow we're heading for Schiermonnickoog. Try ronouncing that!

Mist op Schier

The fog came rolling in from the Nort sea just before we had planned to starr our last leg of the trip. Fron Schiermonnickoog to Engelsmaplaat to Holdwer Harbor over the Waddensea. The Coast Guard will not let us leave.

Texel

Today we're heading back home from Texel, one of northern islands - beautiful wide sandy beaches, grazing sheep and cows and tourists. For the tlourist- grazers there' s fish, homemade ice cream, frites and Schuumkoppe beer.

Texel

Lunching at the Slufter.

Ascension Thursday weekend Texel

We're getting ready for a weekend seakayakking at Texel, one of the "Wadden" islands in the north of Holland. Wollen socks, thermal underwear, drysuit amd it's May for crying out loud! It hailed big nasty hailstones this morning and the wind (5 Bft) is cold. But the sun is shining! Let's get the tent packed!

Koninginnetocht

A late lunch in Zandvoort. Mmm
Mm

Rust

What seawater does to metal!

No kayakking today.

If it's not one thing it's another. The pressure on the foot braces in Theo's boat must be pretty heavy. The screws are tearing holes in the hull. Hopefully the repairs will hold tomorrow on the North Sea. We're heading for the beach at Noordwijk for an afternoon on the waves. The weatherman/ woman/ person promises a dry day on tomorrow, the Queen's Birthday. Cold and cloudy. But the partying will not be daunted.

Darker

In the blue dark, heading back, close to home

  

The weather today was a  bit cold, a bit windy.  a bit cloudy, a bit sunny. Not bad enough to not kayak, but to be perfectly honest not  good enough to get excited about. It was however time for a workout on the water. We were out on the van Cleef quai by seven this evening. It started to drizzle after 20 minutes or so. No bother. We paddled out of the wind, warming up, and enchanted by the soft almost fluffy green of the early spring leaves. How many color greens are there to the spring? Birds were singing, chirping and peeping; two black meerkoet ran across the water and came to a screeching stop just in front of my bow.

In the dark

Coming back from the Westeinderplas via kleine poel

 

This weekend we DIDN'T kayak. At all. Theo made a vegetable garden. Snap peas, eggplant, pepper, zucchini, lettuce, strawberries, a fig, flowers and herbs to keep the bugs at bay. But it took longer than planned and we decided to paddle on Monday evening instead of Sunday afternoon as we had hoped.

Day trip from Muiderberg

Erik Oosterbaan from the Haarlem's Kayak Club sent a mail last week that he was planning a kayak trip on the Markermeer (this was a part of the Zuiderzee before the Afsluitdijk was built to close this huge sea arm off from the North Sea.) We don't like to miss any opportunity to kayak on big expanses of water so Theo and I decided to join Erik and our other clubmates. The day started out cold (neoprene gloves and "moffen"), a bit windy 3-4Bft but dry. We experienced a bit of anxiety just before leaving when C. discovered that she had lost the small dry bag with "everything" in it - money, creditcards, bank card, keys, cell phone. It took a while before we gave up searching and as a result C. called her husband to ask him to pick her and her kayak up. After which she proceded to have all her cards blocked by the bank.Back to the startoff spot. Muider-beach. We headed for the emergency harbor (no panic!) of Almere and found a delightful place on floating gardens to enjoy our thermos coffee and sandwiches.

 After lolling around out of the wind and in the sun for a while Erik insisted that we head for Pampus Island smack in the middle of the Markermeer and then change course toward Muiden in the hope of finding a cafe with cappucino e.d. We paddled slowly into the shelter of the harbor, only to be greeted by another kayak group from Heerhugowaard - OSSA. We chatted and generally caught one other up on kayak news and other tidbits.

Erik is calling C.

We continued our search for the ultimate cappucino, drifting past the Queen's sailboat - the Green Dragon, and a chique "café came into view. KNRZV the Royal Dutch Rowing and Sailing Club - the royal family's own yachtclub. As you can see we installed ourselves on the terras and ordered what turned out to be one of the best cappucino's this side of Milan.
Reluctantly we climbed back into our boats, and with the wind in our backs finished the trip arriving back at Muider-beach around four in the afternoon. A great day and an unexpected trip.

Muiden haven

Muiderberg

Het Twiske

The Haarlems canoe club opens the canoe and kayak season with a flat water kayak trip. This year in the Twiske.

Wednesday evening with the HKV

First we paddle on the SPAARNE river, then we drink and talk about things, then we talk about kayakking.

Nieuwkoopse Plassen (Nieuwkoop's ponds)

Our "new old" car is sand free, the kayak carriers are brand new, the roof doesn't leak and we would love to keep things that way: bright and shiny, spic and span, smooth and aerodynamisch. Our car has become a metaphor for growing old and not being able to accept inevitabilities like wrinkles, bags under the eyes and a less than aerodynamische figure.

That's why I suggested we do some flatwater, fresh water kayakking instead of an adrenaline-packed day surfing at the beach. Theo suggested the Nieuwkoopse Plassen where he used to paddle before he got hooked on seakayakking.

The Nieuwkoopse Plassen is very close by - a mere 20 minute drive from Aalsmeer. A drive through the green heart of Holland with its grazing-meadows, cows in the early spring grass and centuries old farms took us to this nature preserve managed by the foundation Natuur Monumenten.

This area is too wet for raising crops or grazing cows, a fact that Hollanders already in the tenth century had discovered, but from the 14th century on the bogs were a lucrative source of fuel: peat!

A landscape of long straight strips of land and water was formed - Google maps! - and eventually as a result of erosion lakes and ponds.

Most of the year the bogs and woods and waterways are undisturbed, but in the weekend in the summer season they are definitely not.

Nowadays the reeds are harvested for making thatched roofs.

Today we enjoyed a unique chance under a bright blue March sky for an afternoon and early evening just the two of us, of paddling and reflecting on (wild)life in general.

Peddelpraat - 1st kayak trip season

Perfect springtime weather, 51 participants, 17 kilometers, and a well organized trip around the island Marken to Volendam and back, led by a perfectly organized lady, Marianne Boer. What person in their right mind would even attempt to evaluate a trip with 50 kayakkers. She pulled it off perfectly.

It was a grand reunion - we were able to catch up with old friends and kayak buddies, chatting and joking on and off the water. Hulde M. and Peddelpraat!

Heading for Marken

Marken Used to be an island in the Zuider Zee. Now it is connected to the mainland by a dyke. Each year the kayak organisation "peddelpraat" celebrates the opening of the season with a kind of reunion. EVERYONE takes part and its a time for catching up and renewing kayak friendships.

Haarlemse Kano Club

Yes Spring has arrived. I spent some time this morning taking some photos of the kayak club - for an update of the website. I wonder if the members really appreciate the well preserved design of the clubhouse. Very 1950s! Talk about sustainability! Here are some pics.

Nanook of the North

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaDVovGjNOc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Plannen

The kayak season has begun. After a few short and and a few long daytrips we're getting back into form. Tonight an evening on the Spaarne with the Haarlems Canoe Club. Afterwards a film - Nannook, the famous Inuit movie.
Still have chores tho. The skeg on my flatwater boat is waitng for warm weather and epoxy.

Rockhopping in Brittany

http://www.nkb.nl/kano/Content.aspx?sid=19&cid=1990&mid=&mnu=3326

Link to Nederlands Kano Bond "Kanosport" waar je mijn artikel over Rockhopping in Bretagne kunt lezen.

This is a link to the magazine of the Dutch Canoe Asscn "Kanosport" where you can read my article about Rockhopping in Brittany.