Surfing in West Cape, Norway

– The waves are a bit messy today. The biggest ones are in the south end of the bay, lesser in the north end, the young, bearded guy explains. It’s a little to nine, Wednesday morning in West Cape, Hoddevika. I am at Lapoint surf camp to rent boards for my wife and three kids. It has been one year since we were surfing.

Magicseaweed is forecasting 2-3 foot waves. Sounds good for us.

In June, news media reported an overcrowded Hoddevika. A rare situation in Norwegian terms that led local authorities to consider people’s right to public access to nature which is a treasured right among Norwegians, due to Covid-19. There where simply too many tents. Four weeks later, when we arrive, things look more normal. A few tents and a dozen people learning to surf.

We sent all five; my wife and I and our three kids to Stad this corona summer. Last year we went to Unstad in Lofoten.

So, living in a capital with the closes decent surf a few hours drive away won’t make you a great surfer. When we go, it is always uncertain whether we will catch any waves and have fun, or just look at each other and say: – No more. Too cold, too boring. But with the right boards and attitude we had a great time.

The Hoddevika Dream

It is easy to dream about surfing when you watch videos of surfers in warm waters on a sunny day in their shorts and bikinis ripping waves. All you need is a board and go out, right? Nature is free. Then you get out there, light rain, a little cold and you think a 2 foot wave is scary.

If you do things right you can get a pretty cool experience even the first time. You will need four things: An instructor, a longboard, a good wet suit unless you are in the tropics and two days. And waves.

We brought our own boards and rented one and stayed at a low cost Airbnb house in Leikanger.

Padling

Then it is the padling. In the beginning you feel you don’t move an inch. And definitely not so when the waves bring you backwards. But that is not true. Just paddle steady and all of a sudden you are out there, beyond where the waves break.

Padling is a good training exercise as well and let yourself be inspired by the Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku. He won the Olympics 100 meter freestyle in Stockholm in 1912 and in the Antwerp Olympics in 1920.

Copper and other chemicals in Hoddevika?

Driving from Leikanger I see six fish farm cages a few hundred feet ashore. A large proportion of farmed fish comes from the Western county of Sogn and Fjordane. The county governor explains on their official website that “the county has 10 per cent of all licences in Norway. Farmed fish has considerable emissions of organic waste, phosphorus and nitrogen. The environmental conditions are in general not bad. We have little knowledge about how drugs and other chemical emissions.”

Ok, I think to my self. “Generally not bad” What does that mean? What if my doctor told me “take it easy, your health is generally not bad.” And added “we know little about how drugs and other chemicals affect your health.” Not very comforting.

I don’t know if the copper and chemicals from the fish farm industry has reached Hoddevika. Probably no one does.

One thousand tons of copper into the ocean

Norwegian investigative journalist Per Anders Todal points out the colossal increase in chemical use the last decade. In 2008 Norwegian fish farm industry used 308 kilograms of sea lice pesticides. In 2015 this had increased to 43,000 tonnes. An increase that has been criticised by UK and the EU. Todal also looks at copper that is being used to control fouling production. Copper is poison for life in sea. And where copper use in other industries is drastically reduced the fish farm industry has gone in the opposite direction.

1,000 tonnes of copper i leaking from fish farm cages every year. Apparently, according to Todal, authorities have not set a limit simply because it is difficult to measure.

This is not good enough.

Offshore wind

As we approach Hoddevika, we see a banner saying “No to wind mills on Stad”. The West Cape has already gotten their fair share of wind mills. They are located south as we drive the last bit to the beach. The blades rotate slowly as if they haven’t heard the protests.

The local community stresses that this is not only about a battle to keep a mountain free of wind mills. “It is about preserving the natural and cultural heritage. We are concerned how the state values the extraordinary landscape and natural diversity. Trust to decision making processes regarding preservation of nature and practice of international conventions on the preservation of nature and environment is weakened.”

On Thursday we head South towards Jæren and pass Ølensvåg. The drilling rig Scarabeo 8 lies on the other side of the small fjord. The drill was damaged 8 years ago and needed repair. There it is. Don’t know what happened. With the protest banners fresh in my memory I think about offshore wind. Norway is lagging behind in the global competition . With generations of engineers in the petrol sector, the chances could be good to make use of their skills to develop offshore wind.

Tow in or just needed a ride in?

I usually bring a surf board when I go windsurfing. It is nice to catch a few waves when the wind dies. My level is so so which also means that when I catch a good wave, it saves that week.

One afternoon in December 2007 I learned a lesson. The girls were one and two years old and we went to Maui, Hawaii for two months.. Maternity leave was the occasion. We lived just by Mama’s Fish House. The waves looked good this afternoon, not too big on the inside. I paddled out and got a couple nice waves. Amateur as I am I miscalculated the current. All of a sudden I was on the outside where the waves were definitely not my size. Fast, heavy, 9 foot waves breaking over shallow corals.

Stuck

I scratched my head sitting on my board. Not a dangerous situation, I would manage to get in, but with good chances of ripping parts of my skin. I was stuck. There were no entry points really. The waves broke all along the North Shore.

I spotted two jetskis to the West. The sun was just above the horizon. Half hour and it would be dark. I waived my arms. Nope. That one didn’t see me. Another try. The other jetski turns and heads towards me. I asked if they could take me through the waves. – You see, I kind of miscalculated and here I am. – Sure, said the guy, just grab the straps on the back.

I got in. A sense of embarrassment and humbleness stroke me. Then a typical Hawaiian waterman came towards me. He stopped, looked at me an asked: – Paddling or tow-in? Then measured me from top to toe and concluded before I answered. – Or you just needed a ride in? he smiled. I nodded and walked up to the house.

Well, that is how it is like to grow up in the city, far away from the waves of Hawaii. But I got back in time for dinner.

Cover photo: Our youngest son having a good time in the waters of West Cape, Hoddevika.