Arriving in Namsos

Kartverket Chart 49

Let the fun begin!

In August 2025, ten Irish Sea kayakers invaded Namsos in Norway. The aim: to reunite with Norwegian kayaking friends and for most of the team, to experience the incredible Norwegian coastline for the first time.

The travel from Dublin to Trondheim (via Oslo) with Norwegian Air was smooth and thankfully uneventful. On arrival, we packed up two hire cars with all of the kayaking gear (over 350kg!) and headed north for Namsos.

Over eight posts, I will share some of our incredible experiences from the week in Norway. From the spectacular Sør Gjæslingan island, to paddling in Fjords and around islands. These posts are mainly focused on the people, places and activities during the expedition. I have not included the technical / training elements.

Photographic galleries are sprinkled throughout the posts. Click the thumbnail to view any photograph full size.

We are extremely grateful to our Norwegian hosts, including:

• Bodil & Asle for hosting and opening their home as the Command Centre for all operations.

• Also, Asgeir & Hege and Vibeke for being such generous hosts.

• The whole Namdal Kayakklubb for supporting us for the week and making time for some really enjoyable paddles.

• Stefan Skulstad, captain of the Namdal Kayakklubb, for his leadership, support and providing klubb kayaks for us.

Craig was inspired to get a group together for the 2025 expedition and together with Bodil set about 8-months of detailed planning. The Irish Crew are indebted to Craig and Bodil for coordinating a packed agenda of unique opportunuities.

The conversations on and off the water were both rich and a lot of fun. Everyone got to rekindle old friendships and build new ones during the week.

We are looking forward to hosting the Norwegian Crew in 2026 and each of us holds a deep desire to get back to Norway in the very near future.