Stand-up Paddleboarding the Malmö Canal System
Malmö Canal.
In the early days of my SUP the World journey, I was quiet and reserved. I would arrive somewhere, paddle and leave.
As my quest has grown and evolved, I am now much more likely to reach out to local paddlers—partly for local knowledge which can be invaluable, and also for company. I love to paddle anywhere, alone or with others, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to.
I was excited as I drove from my home for the night, First Camp, right bang next to Öresund Bridge. But I found driving in Malmö confusing as cyclists have right of way. Of course there is no reason why cyclists shouldn’t have right of way, and it’s probably a sign of an advanced thinking society, but coming from the car-centric United Kingdom, it took some getting used to.
After giving way to about 1000 cyclists and pedestrians, getting lost only once, and making just one phone call for directions, I met up with some newfound SUP friends.
Hello Malmö!
A warm summer’s evening spent completing a circuit of the Malmö canal system with local paddlers Marina and Martin. Well, Martin is a local. Marina is originally from Serbia but now settled in Sweden.
In common with everyone else I have paddled with so far on my mission to SUP the World, Marina and Martin gave me a great welcome.
I was surprised to learn that the Malmö Canal is connected to the open sea. There is no lock between the canal and the Baltic. I wondered aloud about tides, but Martin told me the tide in that part of the world is so small as to be negligible. There is a lock gate that can be closed in an emergency.
When I checked later, the largest tidal difference at Malmö is less than 10 cm. Where I live in England, UK, tidal differences can be massive.
The Malmö canal system was a gentle introduction to SUPing in Sweden. I was looking forward to catching up with Chris Jones the following day for a paddle on the sea, just south of Gothenburg. Although the weather wouldn’t be so kind to me!
