Zegul Arrow Bara… airborne!

What an amazing day for a kayaker here in the south westcoast of Sweden. Today we (Aterra.se) had premiar for the new Zegul Arrow Bara. Well actually no one came and tested the boat today… Not supriced as the wind was 14-18 m/s. 18 is a bit to much for me as its so boring paddling out in windspeeds like that. But i waited… and waited a little bit more… my heart was bom, bom, bom, all day for this, should the wind drop a bit or to much?

It went down to 12-14, thats my cup of saltwater. Lets rock, lifted the pretty light boat (26kg pretty good for a big tool like this) and tok it out of the shop. Got dressed in My Palm Tsangpo/Seti underwear and the Spark suit. Now wavetime!

Jumped down in the Bara and tok some strokes, ouh feels nice here in the flat. Its suprisingly fast or easy driven to be correct. 8- 9 km/h cruisingspeed should work for a good paddler even longer distance. That is fast for e seakayak, oh have to tell also that last week i paddled the Romany Surf in Costa Brava for five days wich is a very nice kayak but not very speedy. Cant help to compare the both a bit. End stability on the Bara is fantastic, yes its like the Romany Surf. You can lean this Bara close to 90 degrees without being nervous, just as the Surf. And when you can lean its easy to turn, right!

Ok enough of this flatwater, get out in the waves! I put 5 kg ballast in the front of my feet. I am only 169 and 74 kg (some of it is actually muscles) the Bara is amied for at least +75 kg. Small guy in… ah eh, i mean small strong guy in a big boat, does it work? Yes she is so fantastic stable that you can use all the power you have in every situation. But stable means boring right? Yes on flat water, but this is Helsingborg Öresund and the famous superrocky water. Actually Bara is a bit lively with much endstability. When you want to handle a seakayak in rough water stability is the thing, thats why i often paddle Dagger Stratos when its (maybe for you) crapy weather. For a seakayak the Bara works nicelly out against the wave get a bit of surfskifeeling the she lifts just in the right moment. No drama at all in the sidewaves.

Ok out out out and then turn around and direction Tropical Beach. Feels pretty safe but the wave direction was more to the pier, do i feel lucky… Not easy to surf her in the beginnig I got some broaching (its messy and not at all clean waves). But as closer i got to the pier it worked out better and better and when i also got oncomming waves (gives you a bit more air under the boat) then i could get fantastic speed, felt like i was in my Carbonology Vault. Second and third and… sessions i could handle here nicely. Topspeed today was impressing 15,6 km/h!

Very nice boat Nicolai Ilcus and Hans Friedel have designed i must say.

Oh airborne, what about that? Hard wind against the pier get you waves also in the other direction. I manage to get a fine surf on the way out against the wind and when the speed increased i meet a wave and i fly, and i mean fly! Over out from the meeting wave. The damn boat was in the air from the stern hatch and forward and when i landed it was so hard that i thought I should crack the boat. Well this is not a playboat its a touringboat, but we test all our boats in hard conditions… just because we want to know what we are talking about.

Hope you also have had some fun in the wind today!

More about the Bara you find here.

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