Hi, I'm Mark Sanders.
I created this site to share pictures and talk about the sport of kayaking.
I live in Costa Mesa, CA and do most of my paddling
in the ocean off the Newport Beach coast.
View my Visitors List to see why I'm
The World's Most Famous Kayaker You've Never Heard Of!
Check graph of Newport Beach tides
Write me: marksanders at sandmarks dot net
Check out RockGardenKayaking.com for Baja Kayak Fest photos!
Rock Garden Kayaking April 2013
Easy RG Day
Ever since I first started kayaking, I heard about these strange creatures called "Rock Gardeners!" It was a term that seemed appropriate for Tsunami Rangers and other daring elites of the kayaking world. Now, as I play about near the rocks and the waves, I'm still not sure that I've earned the title. So I've coined a new term for people who feel drawn to paddle where the sea meets the land, Mineral Spirits! If you want to know if you are one, check out my song and video to see if you agree with me!
in Palos Verdes |
A Night RG Paddle |
Circle of Life |
in Newport Beach |
A Blue Whale Tale |
Duane Strosaker at T.A.K.S. 2009
In the Surf at TAKS
On the Shore at TAKS
On the Water at TAKS
On the Brinck
To see my videos, go to the
'Kayaking with SandMarks'
show on YouTube
Photos |
Shark Bait |
On a Journey |
Hat On |
Photo by Duane Strosaker
This is my usual haunt, Big Arch rock between Corona del Mar beach and Cameo Shores. It's usually protected from large surf, but the swells that curve around the rock and pass through the arch to meet in the middle make for some fun action.
I like to paddle through, but I've got a few scratches and scrapes from an unplanned meeting with the rocks and waves on the other side.
Whale Huntin'
On July 9th, I joined Duane Strosaker and 5 other hardy paddlers for my first whale hunt, out of Dana Point, CA. It turned out to be my most incredible day in a kayak. We shared the ocean with Sea Lions, a Sunfish, a flotilla of Dolphin and best of all Blue Whales! To read more go to:
A Most Incredible Day
To see the full versions of Duane's photos, visit his web site:
Roll or Drown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes it's good to have the Blues!
Newport Beach, CA
Not a horrible place to be forced to paddle!
Here you can see my pump mounted behind the seat. I'm trying to figure out the best position for the Water Witch switch so that it turns off when the pump has removed as much water as it can. Right now I'm using a ten pack of rechargable NiMH batteries in a Pelican case. You can also see my high-tech back-flow preventer!
Here you can see one of my proudest moments as a kayaker, where I play the part of a capsized kayaker in a demonstration on how not to aid a fellow paddler!
Photo by Duane Strosaker
My Other Pages
Big Water at Big Arch
Traditional Arctic Kayak Symposium, 2007
More T.A.K.S. '07
Brass T.A.K.S.
Duane Strosaker at T.A.K.S.
Traditional Arctic Kayak Symposium 2006
More T.A.K.S. '06
The Rogue Otters
Big Island Piddle Paddle
Surf n Turf
Surf n Turf II
Surf n Turf III
Crescent Bay Paddle
Whoa Nellie
Kayaking 2006, Year in Review
Kayaking the Elk Coast with Force Ten
My First 20 Miler
My Kayaks
My main kayak is the Sapsucker, a plastic Tempest 170.
The Lollygagger is a QCC XL500 in Kevlar, my first real boat.
I've got a Mayan Seas Delfin at about 10 1/2 feet that I use for surfing.
For Rock Gardening, I have a Dagger RPM Max.
I also have an Old Town Loon 160 tandem which is a fun, no worries paddling platform.
My Gear
I love Onno paddles; Light and stiff and a great price.
I have two, but they're both broken, so mostly I paddle with a home made GP.
I also have a Redondo Ridgeback, one of Duane Strosaker's handmade spruce and carbon paddles.
My Paddle Float
My Camera
On the water, I use a Pentax Optio W10. I also have a Canon Digital Rebel with a 17-85mm Ultrasonic lens with image stabilization.
Check out my camera/paddle cradle
To see my video set up check out:
The Captain's Mast
"Always be a Gootleman"
Good Links
California Kayaking Friends
PaddlePort
marksanders at sandmarks dot net
