The Naked Kayaker
  • Blog
    • Search the site
  • Resources
    • Complete List of Posts
    • Trip Planning 101
    • Intro to Kayaking - Course Outline
    • Where can I rent a kayak in Belgium/the Netherlands?
    • How do I get certified in NL?
    • Map of Paddling Clubs
    • Dutch-English Watersports Dictionary
  • Destinations
    • West Coast
    • Great Lakes Region
    • New York State
    • New England
    • Europe
    • Oceania
  • Water Nerd
  • About & Contact

Blog

"Believe me, my young friend. There is nothing, absolutely nothing,
half so worth doing as simply messing around in boats." 

The Wind in the Willows

Ringing in the winter paddling season with the Windhappers

10/23/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
The clubhouse, complete with a bar, showers, ping pong, and something that resembles shuffleboard.
Every year, the Windhappers Kayak/Canoe Club celebrates the end of summer paddling season and the beginning of winter paddling with a short paddle and campfire in a nearby park. The Windhappers Kanovereniging (windchasers kayak/canoe club) is a paddling club based in Den Haag (the Hague) in the Netherlands. Every Wednesday evening, members gather at the swanky clubhouse to either (1) practice kayak polo, (2) go for an evening paddle, or (3) loiter around the bar. Elizabeth and I visited a few weeks ago and participated in item #3. I asked at least 5 people how the club works, and how an experienced member can join and use the equipment. They seemed baffled by the fact that:
  1. we are young females - most of the club seems to be seniors and 14 year old boys,
  2. we're interested in multiple types of kayaking - most members seems to strongly affiliate with one category (sea kayaking, touring, whitewater, or polo), 
  3. I wanted to kayak now that it was "winter" (i.e. <70 degrees and not sunny every day), 
  4. and the usual "why do you speak Dutch if you're American" response.  

Click below to read more about our first club impressions! 

Read More
1 Comment

Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) in Interlaken, Switzerland

10/22/2014

3 Comments

 
Lake Brienz (Brienzersee in German) is one of two lakes that flank the city of Interlaken, Switzerland. Unlike the Lake Thun (the other lake), Lake Brienz is a vibrant turquoise blue color, likely caused by glacial sediments flowing into the lake. I rented a boat from Hightide Kayak School in Bönigen (next to Interlaken) and embarked on my longest solo paddle yet. As you can see from the photos below, the views and weather were fantastic!

Note: I'm trying out a new layout with this post, with all photos + captions up front and the detailed trip description later on. Let me know what you think!

Read More
3 Comments

A Stroll to the Oosterschelde Oyster Reefs

10/5/2014

1 Comment

 
This was the first field visit for the EMERGO project, a project by TU Delft and NIOZ (the Netherlands Institute of Sea Research) that I'll be working on during my time in the Netherlands. The overarching goal is to understand the morphological and ecological responses of tidal flats to different restoration measures. The project was sparked, in part, by the ongoing loss of intertidal habitats (tidal flats, oyster reefs, marshes, sea grasses) in the Oosterschelde. Between 1976 and 1986, a storm surge barrier was constructed across the mouth of the river. This barrier was the largest component of the 50 year Delta Works flood management project to protect the Netherlands from flooding after devastating floods in 1953. Stay tuned for a future post about this barrier - an epic bike trip is in the works that will involve biking across many of the storm surge barriers.

Anyways, the barrier reduced the tide range in the river (i.e. the tide does not go as high or as low as it used to). Since intertidal habitats depend on being dry and wet for a certain amount of time, this smaller tide range has lead to rapid shrinking and loss of tidal flat and marsh habitat. Many pilot projects are in the ground already to test ways to slow/stop this degradation, including artificial oyster reefs and tidal flat sand replenishments. The EMERGO project will look at how well these (and other) actions address the unraveling of intertidal habitats.

Let's visit some artificial and natural oyster reefs!

Picture
EMERGO project team: Bram, Lodewijk, Tom, and Oliver
My first impression of tidal flats in the Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt), a major river in South Holland, was the ease with which you could walk across them. In San Francisco Bay, where the tidal flats are muddy (rather than sandy), each step sank deep into the mud. The crossing to the oyster restoration site for monthly monitoring was always an exhausting adventure. Tuesday's visit to the tidal flats of the Oosterschelde brought back fond memories of tromping through the mud in California.

How can oyster reefs help restore the Oosterschelde?


Read More
1 Comment

Maeslantkering: Testing a Storm Surge Barrier

10/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Animation of the Maeslantkering in action (Source)
Once a year, Rijkswaterstaat does a test closing of the Maeslantkering, a massive storm surge barrier on the waterway that connects Rotterdam to the ocean (the Nieuwe Waterweg/the Scheur). Check out the structure in Google Maps. Rijkswaterstaat is the government agency that oversees flood protection in the Netherlands by building and maintaining the complex and highly managed system of rivers, lakes, coastlines, pumps, and flood protection structures. This is necessary because more than 25% of the country is below sea level (protected by dikes). This was one of the last projects within the 50-year Delta Works, a massive flood infrastructure project triggered by the devastating 1953 floods that killed almost 2000 people.

Read More
0 Comments

    Welcome!

    This is a blog about exploring the outdoors (mostly by kayak), traveling, trip planning, and coastal engineering. It currently focuses on kayaking in the Netherlands and Belgium, but previous posts cover Upstate New York, California, and much more. See the Complete List of Blog Posts for a history of the site. Looking for something specific? Search the site here.

    In addition to the blog, check out the Water Nerd section, where I write about coastal engineering and hydrology. 

    ​Happy Paddling!
    ​Nena

    Subscribe Here!

    Email updates on new blog posts, about once per month.

    Reader Tips

    Click the "Read More" link at the bottom of each summary for more photos, to see an interactive map of the route, and to read about the adventure.

    Maps in each blog post: Click the icons to learn more about the launch site (amenities) and destinations. Click the square in the bottom-left corner to see an aerial photo behind the route.
    Suggestions much appreciated!


    Archives

    December 2020
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    May 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010


    Categories

    All
    Biking
    Camping
    Canoeing
    City Trip
    Distance: 00 - 05 Miles
    Distance: 05 - 10 Miles
    Distance: 10 - 15 Miles
    Distance: 15 - 20 Miles
    Distance: > 20 Miles
    Guest Post
    Hiking
    Kayak Polo
    Reflections
    Region: Belgium
    Region: California
    Region: Canary Islands
    Region: Croatia
    Region: France
    Region: Great Lakes
    Region: Greece
    Region: Italy
    Region: Netherlands
    Region: New York
    Region: New Zealand
    Region: Norway
    Region: Oregon
    Region: Portugal
    Region: Spain
    Region: Switzerland
    Region: UK
    Region: US East Coast
    Region: Vancouver
    Region: Washington
    Roadtrip
    Tide: Non-Tidal
    Tides: Non-Tidal
    Tides: Tidal
    Time Capsules
    Trip Planning 101
    Type: Bay
    Type: Canal
    Type: Channel
    Type: Fjord
    Type: Lake
    Type: Lake/Reservoir
    Type: Open Coast
    Type: River
    Water Nerd

    RSS Feed

    Click the RSS Feed link, copy the URL, and paste it into your favorite feed reader.
    Blog Expat: living abroad

    Expats Blog
© 2021 The Naked Kayaker. All rights Reserved.