Every year at the end of November, Grenland Sea Kayak Paddle Club arranges cold water training for its members. This year, Saturday 23.11.24 was chosen. The weather was brilliant, blue skies, weak winds from the south and temperatures around zero degrees Celsius. The night temperature was down to minus 8, so a thin layer of ice had formed in the quiet, shallow bays.
In 2009, the bulk carrier Full City ran aground on the island of Såstein on the outside of the fjord, causing 300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil to pollute large parts of the coast. Now, fifteen years after the accident, all traces of the accident are gone, except for the anchor of the ship that lies on land as a memorial to the accident from 2009. Every kayak paddler was dressed in dry suits with thick woolen underwear inside. One was also wearing a tuilik, a waterproof Inuit jacket, which is used when kayaking. It is sealed on the face, at the wrists and around the cockpit frame. It replaces the splash cover we usually use in the cockpit.