I had an urge to see to the basecamp cottage on Grytskär on May 8th, Saturday. Preparations for the 12 km paddle one way was not exactly what it should be this late gloomy afternoon. To paddle away from civilization past water of 6 degrees Celsius, humid misty air of the same temperature strong northeasterly winds actually requires a good warm meal and not some quick yoghurt with muesli. My hopes was for a sunny evening with clear skies into Sunday morning.  The quick decision was to paddle the "Needle" as its fast and I might be back for the night. I knew its cold out there, especially in a big cottage meant for summer use and never warmed up since last fall. For eventualities I did pack an extra woolly, a sleeping bag, dried fruits and 1 litre of water. While packing I could feel my energy level was not what it should be but this was the chance to do this necessary checkout tour. New pictures for this Website was also in need.

Already the first half kilometer raised the stream to an uncomfortable level. I was dressed too hot for a speedy paddle, while would survive if I had found myself swimming back home from island to island. With any other boat than the tippy nearly unmountable Needle I would have opted for less insulating layers under my drysuit.

The paddle out went well. A lonely sailingboat, three small boats in the distance and some cottage folks binding their time in the dull dripping rain. I also saw a rare pair of longtailed ducks.

On arrival to Grytskär I was in a desperate need of a drink of water, and some energy fill up. To be quick in my doings for this trip I started with lighting the fire up in the cottage, then in the sauna. The sauna was a small struggle. Everything was damp, even the newspaper did not want to burn. Finally after half an hour I had the sauna fire started and rainwater in the Whitewater container. The idea behind a small fire is to dry the chimney bricks to avoid breaking them apart from sudden and local heat expansion. By this time I started to get cold. Being inside buildings with their first is colder than being outside. It is probably the higher level of humidity and draft created from the fire. Back up at the cottage the open fireplace is warming from the front while my back feels cold. Peeling off all the wet underwear and changing to my dry woollie feels better and after drinking a litre of water my focus is returning from finding sources of warmth. Now I found myself being hungry in front of the excellent sausage grilling glow. After a while I had a well grilled sausage that was mildly hot on one side, and cool on the other. This was the second step of recovery towards decent life. Still was not warm though.

The bricks of the fireplace were feeling cold. They had for sure accumulated cold and humidity from the winter. My breath in any direction brought out a cloud of mist, similar to the one creeping closer from the horizon. I had another piece of sausage and another half litre of water. A bigger fire is out of the question this early on the heating cycle. A thick wall of bricks requires a longer time of gradual heating. After a week from this first visit it might be time for a second more fierce round of fire, and it should be more comfy then. The same with the sauna. 

Lucky I had my sleepingbag. Spread out a woollen blanket, one of many in store at the cottage, onto the coach, opened the sleepingbag carefully airing it up first and climbed in. 

Somewhere along the night I could see the last glow of the fire from the corner of my eye. In the morning the day was still gloomy, the chimney pipe fully open and no warmer in the hut. The Aladdin petroleum stove I lit in the evening to assist in drying up was out. Went down to the sauna to fill my drinking bottles with collected rainwater. This water was to become base of my morning tea and a noodle soup for breakfast. Some of the sausage was an excellent addition to spice up the soup. It was like a gift from heaven to have this warm and tasty breakfast. I felt saved and fit for my returnpaddle of a wimpy 14 kilometers. On the way home I could se flocks of Ejderducks and another pair of longtailed ducks. A deer cadaver high on a cliff was proof that life could end here.  

That deer had certainly been short of food this gone snowy winter. The area of the cliff is known for unreliable ice and my assumption is that the poor animal fell through and saved itself to the small rock for a rest. The sun was shining but not enough on the south side to let this soul escape the evident death of starvation and cold. 

Back home I had my sauna warm in 15 minutes, stretched and relaxed. Drank more than a litre of water, ate and slept. I had cannot remember such an exhausting 26 kilometer paddling from any time in the past.  

I wanted a kayak that would be faster than Nordkapp, more tracking and good manouverability. It should also cut the top of big waves rather than climb bow up to the highest top.

The hatches are closed by neopren covers with stiff wood-epoxy-fiberglass covers on top. The keel has been stretched for maximum hull speed. With a norrow bow waves are cut early on which this boat transit waves without loss of speed.

We had excellent conditions for premiere tests in calm and windy conditions on Friday April 31st and 1st of May. True rough open sea conditions have not been tested yet, but so far all the expected properties and features have been validated. Additional bonus benefits are great secondary stability and sensitivity for surf even with small 40 cm waves.