Packing list: Kayak trip

Tips

• You will capsize. Usually the first time on purpose, on the basic course, on a June day when the instructor asks you to roll over. A T-rescue between two paddlers takes 30–90 seconds if you have practised. Without practice it can take longer than you have — the water is cold.
• Check the forecast pages before you head out. Yr.no for wind, sea breeze and wave height; an AIS app for the waters (where is the ferry, the cargo ship, the fishing boat?). Wind below 4 m/s in open water is the beginner threshold.
• Tidal currents in Norwegian fjords can reach 4 km/h. A kayak does 6 km/h — you cannot paddle against it. Check tidal charts before a sea trip in the north-western fjords. The Moskstraumen can exceed 10 knots and contain whirlpools up to 60 m across.
• Lights on the kayak or paddler for evening paddling. Reflective tape on the paddle blades, a light on the deck. As a paddler you are the smallest unit on the water — a kayak has no radar reflection to speak of and is almost invisible at moderate speed.
• Pack wet and dry separately. A dry-bag system: one bag for clothes, one for the sleeping bag, one for phone and wallet. A dry change of clothes on land is essential if you get wet — fine motor control goes after 10–20 minutes in cold water.
• Midges are worse by the water than in the mountains. Pack insect repellent and a head net in summer — lakes in June and July can be extreme.
• A marine VHF radio (channel 16) is the emergency channel if you are licensed. A mobile phone in a waterproof case is the most common option — the emergency number at sea is 120 (the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre) or 113.
• A sleeping-bag liner replaces the sleeping bag if you paddle a canoe to a cabin — check the cabin trip list as well.
• The 1–10–1 rule: 1 minute of cold shock in cold water (loss of breathing control), 10 minutes of meaningful movement (self-rescue is possible), 1 hour before hypothermia becomes serious. A drysuit shifts the whole scale.

Sources: the Norwegian Canoe Federation (NPF), the Norwegian Trekking Association — paddling, adapted by Snuitide.