havspaddlarnasblaband.se - official homepage
 

Rules for obtaining
THE SEAPADDLER'S BLUE RIBBON of Sweden

Valid as of 2009

1. Start, finish and (if applicable) aborted attempt should be announced in writing to:
  Havspaddlarnas Blå Band (HBB)
c/o Bengt Larsson
Granatvägen 10
179 95 Svartsjö
tel. +46 (0)8-560 401 11, mobil +46 (0)70-560 80 05
E-mail: kajakbengt(at)havspaddlarnasblaband.se
  Minimum age at time of start is 18 years. Starting fee is not applied.
Starting point:
  The land-abutment of the old Svinesund bridge on the Swedish side of the Svinesund sound. The bridge spans across the sound between Norway and Sweden.
Finishing point:
  The border marker No 59 at the outflow of the Torne river at Virtakari point on the Swedish side just south of Haparanda town - see drawing on HBB´s homepage under page links. The river forms border between Finland and Sweden. The trip is concluded when the paddler puts his hand on the border marker.
Starting notification
  must contain the following information:
  dot Name of paddler
  dot Birth date (year, month, day)
  dot Address, including e-mail address if available
  dot Home phone number and mobile phone number (if available)
  dot Address to trip website if there is one
  dot Type of kayak (brand and model)
  dot Safety equipment carried
  dot Start date should also be included. As the weather situation is unpredictable this date is considered preliminary. Once under way the paddler should without delay - in writing or by phone - give the correct date and time of the start.
Finishing notification
  must be submitted no later than one week after finishing and contain the following information:
  dot Confirmation of the previously indicated starting date and time
  dot Date and time for finishing, i.e. when touching border marker no 59
  dot Number of paddling days
  dot Distance paddled in kilometres
  dot Paddlers who, as a memento of the trip wish to have their own handmade HBB miniature kayak personalised with their name, can obtain one at cost which currently is SEK 400.- . If the paddler in the finishing notification indicates this wish the miniature kayak will be awarded to the approved paddler at the jury meeting.
 
2. The trip should be undertaken in a single kayak. All provisions and equipment such as maps/charts etc. should be carried aboard the kayak. Swapping kayak along the route or receiving assistance by land support for adding or unloading any provision or equipment is not allowed.

However should a kayak be stolen, the paddler may seek help to get a replacement. The same goes for safety equipment such as paddles, float, PFD, spray skirt, compass and mobile phone, with amendment that those may be fetched with outside help even if they have been lost under other circumstances. If other equipment, not classified as safety equipment, become unusable, addition may only be made by the paddler her- or himself.

Eventual repairs should be made by the paddler, why a repair outfit ought to be part of the equipment. Should damages of such extent occur that the paddler is not capable of within reasonable result make the repair her- or himself remains the fact to abandon, get the help needed and restart from Svinesund or continue outside HBB.

Addition to provision along the route should be made by the paddler her- or himself. If visited by or co-paddling with relatives and friends during the trip, it is neither allowed to receive provisions from them, nor to get their help with unloading or completing the equipment.
3. Each distance and place of camp should be carefully marked on the map/chart (scale at choice) and entered in a log. All days including days of start and finish are considered fully paddling days. The trip should be completed within one and same calendar year.
4. The whole of the trip should be undertaken in the sea without portages. The paddler's route at sea should thus be possible to mark as a coherent line from start to goal. It is allowed to paddle through all canals without locks, such as Sote canal in Bohuslän, Falsterbo canal (adjustable flood damper that will be lowered during passage) and Väddö canal by the Roslagen coast north of Stockholm.
5. For propelling the kayak only the use of paddle is allowed.
6. There are no checkpoints along the route. Each paddler's kayak-honour is a guarantee of that the rules will be complied with. After completion the paddler will give an account of her or his trip before a jury.
7. All those who according to the rules complete the paddling will be awarded the Seapaddler´s Blue Ribbon regardless of how many days she or he has used. Any paddler is free to obtain the Seapaddlers´s Blue Ribbon more than once.
8. Each paddler's name, age, year of completion and number of paddling days will be put on display in a glass showcase with a styled miniature kayak and a blue ribbon at Svima in Solna.
9. In case the slightest doubts concerning the rules should arise, ask for information before the start or during the paddling. Nothing would be more painful for a jury than to reject a trip on the grounds that a paddler has taken too lightly on the rules.

The meaning with the rules for obtaining HBB is that the paddler after own ability, own navigation and with good seamanship
shall carry the tour through by own strength and navigate the craft in to port without any support from the outside.


AS ALWAYS: THE RESPONSIBILITY IS YOURS.

Photo of HBB-miniature kayak awarded honorary member Stig Nyberg


We talk about safety and give some hints in our wish to strengthen and encourage your own safety adaptation.
No matter we paddle alone or in groups.


Here are the rules as a MS Word or as PDF for saving or printing