With the help of the ebbing tide, we were soon out of the harbor and paddling as close to the shore as we ever have. The water was flat and clear with only an occasional rogue two footer to sneak up on us. Conditions were perfect at Little Arch Rock with enough water to make it through without even a scratch--well until I made a couple more passes and hung out when the tide left me high and dry.
Ken did some backwards landings in the waves lapping at the beach and we both took the back door to BAR. Ken found one submerged rock to come up to meet him with the typical grinding FG welcome. Arch passes were simple, so I did a bit of rolling inside trying to get some video of the underwater scene.
I continued on through the inside passage going places I'd never gone before and Ken met me on the other side by the Cameo Caves. I mosied on in one backwards for a bit, but even with the small waves, I was worried about conking my head so I didn't linger.
We decided to land at Toxic Creek Beach to enjoy the warmth and the view, but before we hit the sand, I rolled for the folks watching us from the cliff view point. We had the place to ourselves and soon decided to brave a surf launch.
I continued home paddling around rocks I'd never been around before. At one reef with a large rock, I found a small inlet to back into that would drain a bit between waves. It was still a bit wishy washy inside, as the waves got funneled in. I notice a nice place to do a washover on the backside and headed over to check it out. I tried to make it over with the surge a few times, but ended up with a major hangup, my bow stuck in the air and decided to wait for a rock garden day to play in this section.
We headed home with nothing more to contend with than the still outgoing tide an a minor wind. Our launch pad was still open at the SB, so we made a quick exit and soon were off to TK Burger.
Scratch Thursday Video
All Photos by Ken Fry!
Mark Sanders