Finally went sea kayaking! Sint Maartensdijk to Rattekaai on the Oosterschelde

It was a perfect day for kayaking silhouette photos.

Click to read more kayak-related excerpts from my Fulbright application!

I finally did it! I went sea kayaking in the Netherlands. For the last ~3 years I've been enjoying the vast network of inland rivers and canals that the Netherlands and Belgium have to offer. But without my own boat and a group of skilled paddlers nearby, sea kayaking has been just out of reach. 

It felt particularly meaningful when I realized this was also the first time I'd been kayaking on either the Oosterschelde or the Westerschelde. The last sentence of my personal statement for Fulbright - the research grant that brought me to Europe in the first place - was "Enabled by my fluent Dutch, I also look forward to hearing the perspectives of local sea kayakers intimately familiar with the Dutch waterways, while riding the tides of the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde." Though it came 3 years late, it went exactly how I'd hoped. Even better, because if you'd dropped me in a group of Dutch kayakers (with their Dutch accents) 3 years ago, I wouldn't have understood anything!

On top of all that, this ended up being my longest kayaking trip ever (just barely)...

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Loading up the cars at Never Dry in Rotterdam.

As of last week, I'm a member of "Never Dry," a kayaking club in Rotterdam with quite a few seagoing members. It's a short 10 minute bike ride from my apartment (more about the club in a later post). With my 4-piece Lendal paddle and a duffel bag strapped on the back of my bike, I can easily transport myself and all my kayaking gear to the club house. No car needed! ​
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Jan, a fellow member, reached out to invite me on a paddle on the Oosterschelde (the Eastern Scheldt). Normally, new members have to go through a training programme with Iede (starts with an "i"), the resident instructor, but Iede was also joining on this trip and, thanks to this blog, Jan had the confidence to take a chance on me. 

Arriving to a parking lot full of other sea kayakers: one of my favorite sights.

A couple weeks ago, on a Saturday, Jan, Iede, Berend, and I met at the clubhouse to load up the boats. We shared a quick cup of coffee with Paula before making the hour drive south to Sint Maartensdijk (Saint Martin's Dike). We arrived to a parking lot full of people unloading gear and kayaks: one of my favorite sights!  We met with 9 other paddlers from clubs in Gouda (yes, that's where the cheese originates) and IJsselstein(?). Other paddlers included Frank, Eric, Erik, Emiel, Ruud, Annette, Jannes, and a couple others whose names I'm forgetting... 

Brasserie de Zeester before opening.

After we'd put on our wetsuits, we huddled around Jan, who explained the plan for the day. One by one, we launched off the slippery ramp. It was 11am, but there was not a gust of wind to be felt; the water was glassy. Off we went, gliding effortlessly over the surface. In what became a theme during the day, the initial pace was brisk with eagerness. I didn't know it at the time, but this would become my longest day paddle (I knew it would be a long one, but we ended up paddling 4km longer than planned). 

Jan rounding up the group and discussing the trip plan.

Kayakers launching from Sint-Maartensdijk

I'd been to the Oosterschelde twice before (once in the middle to visit the oyster reefs, and once to visit the Oosterscheldekering at the North Sea), but this end of the estuary was new to me. We followed the route set by Jan, from buoy to buoy. Since the Oosterschelde is quite wide (as much as 8 km/5 mi at this end), you can't simply navigate based on sight. The group, though sizeable, stuck together quite well. 

Iede doing a bit of edging.

It's always a strange experience paddling with a new group of experienced kayakers. It's certainly not the first time I've done it. It's a balancing act between being treated like a newbie (if you say nothing and you don't "look" like the typical experienced kayaker) to coming across as overconfident (if you start explaining your background). Luckily, it generally passes quickly once you're on the water and can simply show that you know what you're doing. On the other hand, it means the first impressions are important. If you fall behind to take a photo, it might be perceived as being a weak paddler. Since I'm already not a super fast paddler, that was something I found challenging about this trip. 

Entering the channels of the salt marsh as the tide rises.

​About 2 hours into the paddle, we began the approach towards our destination. Rattekaai is a tiny landing site at the back of a salt marsh. You can only reach it at high tide, when the smallest tidal channels are filled. Paddling through the marsh, I fondly remembered paddling through the marshes in South San Francisco Bay and Elkhorn Slough. The marsh here didn't look very healthy (it was quite sparsely vegetated, and the plants didn't look very alive), but maybe that's partially a seasonal effect? In San Francisco we don't really have winter, so I'm not sure what marshes look like during freezing temperatures. More likely it's related to the reduced tidal prism/range in the Oosterschelde caused by the Oosterscheldekering built across the mouth. The detrimental effects of the barrier on marshes/tidal flats are well documented. 

Paddling selfie!

Approaching our destination: Rattekaai

Getting out of our boats onto the slippery dock.

​The trip was timed such that we'd paddle with the current in both directions, so we had a nice push into the channels. At Rattekaai we landed and took an hour break for lunch.

We dragged our kayaks up the slippery embankment and sat down on the sloped levee, with a nice view of the salt marsh and incoming tide. 

A common Dutch sight: a grassy dike dividing low farmland and salt marsh. The only thing that's missing is a flock of sheep.

Lunch on the dike with a view of the wind turbines and marsh channels.

The water is rising, almost time to catch the tide out!

Kayaks stealthily waiting in the tall grass.

Around 3pm, we launched into the higher waters (+0.5 m?) and headed out to open water. The return route went further west and north, passing the Netherlands' only anchovy fishery (called the Weervisserij) and allowing us to making another small pitstop at Strijenham - see map below.

High water. No channel edges to be seen.

Paddling along the eastern end of the Oosterschelde.

The last 5 km felt long, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by how I felt after this long paddle. We stopped for a drink at Brasserie de Zeester before driving back to Rotterdam. I look forward to many more open water paddling trips with the club!

​For many more photos, and more with people, check out Frank's album!

The little harbor at Strijenham.

34 km later we're back at the same spot. But this time the Brasserie is open and we can have a beer!

Date: Saturday, April 8th, 2017
Distance: 34 km (21.1 miles)
Duration: ~7.5 hours (including 1 hr lunch break)
Weather: Warm, sunny, very calm in the morning, slight breeze in the afternoon.