Some more Folbot Yukon experiences, this time from Bråviken, about one and a half hour south of Stockholm.
The place is called Bråviken and it's a very beautiful place. The northern shore is very steep and the view from the mountain is great. There is a café there that I often take a detour to when traveling by on the nearby motorway, but this time there were no time for coffee. It was time for paddling.
It was about four o'clock in the evening and I was actually on my way home from the Student Orchestra Festival in Linköping where I used to study. I found a great assembly- and launching- place at [WGS84: N 58º 39.930' E 016º 18.124']. By now I have learned how to assemble the Yukon quite fast. The weather was a little bit windy (about 4 - 6 m/s) but very sunny and perfectly warm. The wind was blowing in from the sea so some waves were expected.
I discovered that paddling the Yukon in more open waters and about 4m/s winds is quite easy. In fact, I didn't have the spray skirt on because I have found out that as long as the wind comes in straight from the front or straight from the back, you don't need it.
I set my course towards the sea. Bråviken is very long so I didn't expect to reach open sea, just to see some of the shoreline. The trip turned out to be really great, and after an hour or so I found an island [WGS84: N 58º 39.630' E 016º 21.757'] that had lot's of birds.
What I like about the Yukon is that once you get to a place where you want to stay, you can easily make a cup of tea in the kayak or take your camera and take some photos without having to worry about kayak stability. You can be there and do other things. The Yukon is for journeys, not exercise.
After staying around the island for a while I decided to turn home again. This time I had the wind in my back so It was quite relaxing to go with the waves. Many people worry about how fast a kayak is in water. The thing is, when it gets windy, wind resistance can dominate water resistance. Therefore, I worry more about how much wind a kayak is 'catching'. The Yukon obviously catches some wind, but I'm not sure if it catches more than other kayaks. What I do know is that it is very balanced in the wind. It tracks well. This translates to very little energy focused on going on you decided course in the wind.
At about 7pm I was ashore and had packed the boat, ready to go home to Stockholm again. What a perfect day.
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