Blog - The Naked Kayaker

Canoeing in the snow is WAY easier than biking in the snow

1/19/2018

In this episode of winter boating, we compare the efficacy of canoeing and biking during a rare Dutch blizzard. Back in December, forces aligned to bring a rare snow storm to the Netherlands. This is my 4th winter here, and until now I'd only experienced a few light dustings. On December 10th and 11th the snow (~10 cm?) came down and stuck around for a few days. While children were making snow-people in the streets (ok, I made one too), Nathalie and I embarked on a memorable adventure: canoeing in the snow!

Discovering Friesland by boat, and camping along the way

8/27/2017

Taking shelter on an island in the middle of Fluessen lake in a storm.

Last weekend I went on my first overnight kayaking trip in Europe! Until now it's been too difficult to coordinate, since I don't have my own car/roof rack/boat. Just checked, and the last times were in 2013 and 2014 on Tomales Bay, California. So it's been a while...

Our destination was West Friesland, a province on the northern edge of the Netherlands that's known for having it's own language (West Frisian - yes, there is also Friesland where they speak Frisian!) and a long distance ice skating race, the 200-km Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour) that takes place on the rare occasion that the canals freeze over. Instead of skating, we did part of the tour by kayak!

The Frisian flag is so cute with its "hearts," which are actually a type of lily pad common to the region.

Circumnavigating Hompelvoet Island in Grevelingen Lake

7/31/2017

View from Ouddorp harbor, the launch site.

Just a short post today to share a few photos and stats from my first trip to Grevelingen lake - one of the four (former) estuaries in Zeeland, the most southwestern province of the Netherlands. Read on to find out why my face was caked in salt at the end of the day...

Spotting ducklings and wild cows on the newly-restored island of Tiengemeten

4/30/2017

Scottish Highland Cows - the largest residents of Tiengemeten. Photo from http://quiltingjeannet.blogspot.nl/ because I couldn't get close enough...

Ducklings peeping along the coast of Tiengemeten.

Tiengemeten, population 10, is an island in the Haringvliet named after its size (tien = 10, gemeten = ancient unit of measurement corresponding to approximately 1 acre). It started out as a sandbar in the Haringvliet estuary (which has since been blocked off from the sea and turned into a freshwater lake), and eventually grew to be an island between 1750 and 1804. After that it underwent all kinds of changes and development. Yesterday, Tom, Amelia, Iede, and I kayaked around it. Read on to see some cool photos of wetland restoration and find out what makes this island unique (from a kayaking and historical perspective)!

Twee rondjes Kralingse Plas; Two laps around Kralingse Lake + History!

4/27/2017

Storm clouds hovering above the swans on Kralingse plas.

... view from the other side of the lake, towards Rotterdam and clearer skies.

The Kralingse Plas is a ~100 ha (~250 acre) lake northeast of Rotterdam centrum. One trip around the square-ish lake is approximately 4 km (2.5 miles), depending how close you stick to the shoreline. The lake is also, conveniently, a 10 minute bike ride from my new apartment, and home to Never Dry, my new kayaking club. Read on to learn about the fascinating history of this seemingly simple lake.

A Short Cabrew on Lauwersmeer, on the north coast of the Netherlands

6/16/2016

Pumped paddlers! Alex, Elizabeth, Nena, Henk, and Sander.

Last weekend some Delft friends and I plopped ourselves into a couple canoes for a cabrewing adventure on Lauwersmeer - a lake adjacent to the Wadden Sea, about 45 minutes north of Groningen. It was my first time sleeping in a tent in almost a year (so sad), and my first time in a canoe since long before moving to Europe. Why don't I do this more often? It was fantastic.

I also did some Water Nerd research about Lauwersmeer, and it has quite an interesting/complicated history of floods, poldering, and damming. If you just want to read about that, you can skip to the Water Nerd section.

Glacier Kayaking and Hiking in Nigardsbreen, Norway

6/10/2015

Kayaking towards the glacier

Our second adventure in Norway took us to some fantastic stealth campsites and kayaking and hiking on a glacier. What we thought would be a simple kayaking trip and glacier walk turned into quite a suspenseful event involving crevasses and ice caves. Read on... :)

Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) in Interlaken, Switzerland

10/22/2014

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!

Days 21 - 24: Revisiting Owasco Lake, BayCreek, and NYC

8/12/2014

Kiran, Maya, and Mallika fresh and full of energy

This weekend I met up with Maya at her grandpa's lake house on Owasco Lake where we spent the day kayaking with her brother Kiran and sister Mallika. We launched from the lake house (east side of the lake) and paddled north. Back in 2010 I paddled around the southern half of Owasco, so much of this territory was new to me.

Days 19 & 20: Rough Rider Reunion on Lake Ontario

8/7/2014

Paddling back into the Lake Ontario sunset. Mark, Dave, Janet, and others in the distance

Yesterday evening turned into Rough Riders Reunion 2014. In the wise (and paraphrased) words of Mike Peet: "Paddling like it's 2009!" The turn-out was fantastic (26 boats!), and the waves were apparently the largest of the summer. It was a perfect evening for rock gardening and practicing towed rescues. A bunch of the original Rough Riders were present, including Jeff H, Mike, Steven, Dan, Jeff B x 2, Rita & Garnetta, Sue, Ann-Marie, Nick, Dave, and I. It was also fun to meet some newer (i.e. in the last 3 years, so maybe not so new) members. Matt from Brooklyn was in the area for a couple weeks and recently bought a boat from BayCreek. I'll be in NYC on Monday to visit friends, and he provided some helpful tips for kayaking around the City...