Goinground PELEPONNESE 2016

contacts and of cause all the many hours at sea which triggered that off: Dave was a
Canadian sailor I met in the Marina of Pylos. He was interested in my trip and asked for my
experiences. When I was telling him I did something stupid, he said “no you did not -you
learned something.” The way he put it was not this standard superficial think-positive-andyou-achieve-everything-attitude.
Perhaps it is as well part of the German attitude that
everything has to be perfect and successful. I prefer the attitude that failure is not that things
you try do not work - failure for me is not having tried. So along the trip with all theses
continuous deciding where to land, to cross, to stop etc. I started more considering if I would
potentially like to learn something I did not feel like learning. So by and by the three of us got
quite well along with each other. For me one of the important learnings of the trip is that I can
now trust myself to make the “right” decisions - i.e. only to face situations where I learn
things I want to learn.
Feeling alone
What surprised me especially that even in duckpond conditions I was always alert and
tensed: where is the closest put out point (while paddling along the mostly rocky shores)?
What are the fall-back scenarios? How would or could a self rescue work? So the generally
very “healthy” seakayaking attitude of anticipation put me under almost constant tension and
stress. For example in conditions I could easily handle and would have completely enjoyed
with others like a surf in a good force 4 tailwind and a meter swell I was constantly alert of
what could be done if I fell into the water. Perhaps it is a bit too exaggerated to conclude that
this made the trip less enjoyable but this tension is for me enough reason to know that I will
not do again a solo-trip longer than 2 weeks and in colder and tidal areas, which for me adds
quite much on the things which could be learned.
Expedition feeling (for me)
When talking with some paddlers before the trip I realized that I do longer trips in a special
way or in a way typically for some expedition kayakers. Some wondered why I would not go
slower or why I would not spend more time exploring caves and bays. By explaining to them
I first understood myself what longer paddles mean to me. They are
● „Holiday from my brain“
I think paddling means for different people different things. Of cause I like the direct
experience with the sea and nature. But I really love the motion itself. I cannot really
explain why but for me it just feels good sitting in my boat and moving the paddle,
even for hours. And even after a long crossing when even I was glad to stand on my
feet again I enjoyed getting back into my boat after a longer break.
I always have difficulties to “switch off” from work, always thinking what to do next
which goals should be achieved and how. Paddling is the only physical activity when
I can just focus on what I am doing. Even being out for one day on an eastern frisian
island feels for me like several days. On multiday trips there is even less time to think
about anything else then paddling, planning to paddle, camping, eating and all the
things that come after that … But it is NEVER as I realized in Ireland already this
romantic over idealistic longing for a simple “better” life. It is for me more like
switching from one mode to the other. I really love civilisation from hot showers,
coffee, cake up to high speed Internet connection. And I love this simple “stupid”
dipping of paddle blades into the water. AND what I am really grateful for is the
opportunity to switch from one mode into the other.
● A race against myself
©Christian Dingenotto 2018 5