With the Shadow around Pampus isle

Today we originally planned a trip to the Marker Wadden but because of the wind we changed plans to a more safe trip to Pampus isle. Wind was a 4 Bft from the west. No sun today, but some rain. We went with a group of six.

I took the Shadow with both greenland paddles. A few days ago I had fixed the leak in the cockpit rim by filling it with polyester topcoat. This proved to be a good repair as I didn't feel any drops of water on my left leg today.

The first part of the trip was fully and partly against the wind. I used both paddles and both worked well to beat against the wind. Good to notice that I was able to make a lot of speed, also with the smaller paddle. Quite faster than most other paddlers in the group. As this was the first time I used the Shadow in a group it is another indication for me that it is quite faster than e.g. the Skarabee.

The Shadow did pound often on the steep incoming waves. I already had noticed this during other trips but compared today to the other boats it became quite obvious. The hull shape with it's rounded bottom between hard chines has apparently not the smooth entry lines as e.g a Baidarka. Besides the noise it is not really a problem. Even in this situation the Shadow has a dry ride.

Pampus isle, an old fortress

We took a short rest at Hooft isle as we couldn't land on Pampus isle because it is still locked down. Then we headed to Pampus into a quartering head wind and rounded the isle. On the way back we surfed a lot and again the Shadow proved to be rather fast compared to the other boats.

It was a really nice trip and I enjoyed the Shadow and both greenland paddles.