Ship's Log 2008

7/20/08
Day #63, 2nd Non-Annual Wayne's BBQ Launch and Carnage
Well we waited till the last minute hoping he'd show up, but Wayne was a no show to his namesake event; we decided to have fun without him!

Everyone got an early start today, unable to sleep most likely with the thought of TastyQ'd Hot Dogs just waiting for all this foolish paddling to be over. When I got to the Coast Guard beach, Henry and Kathy were already out on the water getting in some early practice. Soon Duane joined me as well as Pete, George and Dave O'Connor. Pete, too, went out to practice a while and left the rest of us to chat and wait for our 8:30 start time. H&K got done and stored their wet gear and soon Carol Fallon showed up to make us eight on the water. If anything we got off a minute or two early.

The surf forecast for the day was a bit of a concern: waves 4-6 with 16-18 sec periods--that's a lot of water! Still I hoped to convince someone to land with me at Crystal Cove for bragging rights. The paddle down was a breeze except maybe for Duane who was in his Mini Benny so had to work a bit harder and also spent most of his time close into shore. At CC, I asked for volunteers and Duane, George and Pete decided to join me on the shore. With the big ol' rollers passing under us, we knew we'd better time things right. Duane went on in first to video any possible carnage.

Hoping to help Pete judge a good time better from the beach, I went in next. We already had a small spectator group watching us from the shore. Rather impatient, I don't always wait for the biggest lull and picked a medium sized wave to ride to shore. I soon had my bow planted and seemed to be watching the earth from a new altitude. I came down on my side and missed my attempt at a roll and mostly washed up on shore! George and Pete both showed how it's supposed to be done and we rested and chatted with our audience for a while before heading out.

Getting Pete out took a try or two and once I got him started, I was shouting at him through his gauntlet of waves to keep him moving. I went next and wasn't having much trouble, but a wall of whitewash was heading my way and in my attempt to get turned straight to meet it I felt my paddle blade break in half! George launched to see if anyone had a spare paddle with them, but we don't usually worry about such trivia and I was on my own. Duane said he'd go get his car and picked me up, because it didn't seem like I'd make it out with a jagged half paddle. But I waited for a lull, stayed straight in the soup and luckily made it out.

We were all waiting offshore sure Duane would show us all how it's done, so we weren't ready for what we saw. It seemed like about three big sets came in at once and despite waiting out the big ones, Duane still had some big water to deal with. The Mini Benny was getting spun around in the swirling water and Duane was getting hammered. It didn't help that he was trying to keep his video camera pointed in the right direction after each hit. Finally the surf calmed down a bit and Duane fought his way out to sea.

After all that excitement, the paddle home was anticlimactic, but we were all ready for some tasty dogs when we hit the sand. As everyone loaded up, Win and Carol drove up after their harbor practice to join us for lunch. We had a great lunch sitting by the water talking about all the fun on the day. For all the fun, I have a broken paddle (#6) and a boat with a deviated septum, but what the hey. It was a great day on the water and off and I hope to do it again soon!


7/19/08
Day #62, Headed Nowhere
Had the boat on the car still from yesterdays paddle, so thought I'd go out for an early paddle this morn. Sleeping till 10:00 threw a bit of sand in that plan, but I still made it by 11:30. Once again, it was a busy day on the water despite the gloomy sky. I had whale hunting on the back of my mind, but thought I'd hit BAR first while the tide was high. I hugged the coast on the way down, but some uppity surf was making the rocks a little too messy to play around.

I reached a bespectatored BAR and snuck in around back and played in some lumpy conditions. Kids were diving off the rocks and fishermen were trying their best. The tide wasn't high enough for an arch pass through, so I just hung out in the clapotis. After a rather rare and nasty set, I decided big waves would be more fun down by Toxic Creek Beach. Unfortunately a large group of surfers had already staked the turf and I didn't want to intrude.

After a while of hanging out past the surf line, I decided it was too gloomy for whale hunting and made my way back to the harbor. The only excitement on the way back was the pod of dolphins that still seem to be hang out near the harbor entrance, despite all the boat traffic.

Just a short day on the water, but they all count for the Ship's Log.


7/18/08
Day #61, A Blues Solo
Having watched Jaws on TV last night, I felt compelled to paddle my kayak off into the wild blue yonder to look for whales out of Newport this afternoon. When I hit the water, there was a flotilla of youngsters sailing about in wooden shoes. I was informed by a young man in irons that I'd best be careful, as I had wandered into a water fight and he could guarantee my safety. I beat a hasty retreat.

It was rather cool with a gloomy sky, but Pirate's Cove still bustled with hordes of inlanders escaping the heat. A plethora of colorful cabana tops lined the sand on the other side of the sea wall and there were several boats either coming or going through the jetty. It was a busy Friday afternoon.

The paper had been bragging about all the whales in our waters lately. Supposedly almost twenty Blues and even a Humpback or two joined by large pods of dolphins all enjoying an unusual upwelling of nutrients. So my hopes were high and only got bolstered by the pod of dolphins I could see hopping around between me and the channel buoy. Several boats were congregating to watch the show and it was still going on five minutes or so later when I finally got out there.

I headed straight out of the jetty leaving any course correction to the wind and the tide. The dolphins seemed to be a good sign and I being one of those 'the ocean is half full' kind of guys, I was feeling lucky. I always think unexpected occurrences must be an omen of whales to come, so I figured should I come across a naked mermaid, the Blues would be a foregone conclusion. I didn't see any mermaids, but did pick up a Mylar balloon, something that has proceeded all my Blue Whale sightings. Of course it's also proceeded miles and miles and miles of empty ocean as well.

I paddled out of the harbor for about an hour and without Duane to slow me down, I figured I must be six miles out! There was nothing around me and I decided to hang out and hope for the best. I could hear the distant drone of jets leaving JW airport, but I was sure I'd hear any whales that might come my way. To pass the time, I treated the ocean to a rendition of my new song, "No Blue Whale Blues" sure I'd be basking in the irony later in the day. Get me drunk some time, I might sing it for you!

I'd been out about 40 minutes and had drifted down past Crystal Cove when I figured it was about time to give it up for the day. I started paddling back, but saw what had to be a whale watching boat heading out somewhat towards my direction. They passed by me a ways off, but were moving slow, so I thought I'd follow them a bit to see if they'd get lucky. I paddled right at them, but they were still moving faster than I, but at least they seemed to be circling my position. I stayed out another 20 minutes or so before they moved on to greener pastures and I set my sights for the coast.

Turns out, the potency of Mylar balloons as a Blue Whale indicator is fading fast. I had to settle once again for a pretty nice dolphin show and a nice day on the water. I was able to sneak some time behind BAR on the way home. The tide was pretty low, but I was able to hand out in back with a bit of nasty swells coming in through the arch. Reading the whale stories again at home, they were talking about finding the whales 8 miles out, so I'm not sure I'll get out there to see them this year, but I don't find hanging out off the coast to be an onerous undertaking. Next week might have to be dedicated to offshore paddling and one more chance to sing with the Blues.


7/15/08
Day #60, Afternoon Jaunt
I joined Ken & Barb around two on Tuesday for a leisurely meander barely past BAR. Ken seemed to have designs on going farther, but Barb and I dug in our heels and he had to relent. I got to enjoy some arch time while Barb hung out and Ken continued his rolling successes. The tide was a bit low, but I was able to make a few passes. I elicited a few whoops from some kids climbing on the rocks when I passed through the arch just a nice sized wave started curling up in front of me. I think I got a bit of air going over it and was happy to provide the show. We headed back, once again checking out the mothball fleet outside the harbor. Inside, it was time for some rolling practice and even Barb joined the fun. We had a couple in a SOT watching our practice and asking questions, so Ken went into a rolling frenzy for their enjoyment. They were chanting for Barb to roll again, but she'd reached her yearly limit. We paddled back and decompressed at Starbucks before heading home.


7/13/08
Day #59, Longing for the Leviathans
The 13th was not a lucky number for the 5 of us that set out behemoth hunting this morning. Duane had called for an 8:30 launch from Dana Point and while I got there first, I was soon joined by Kathy and Henry Pilcher and Dennis Hyndman. Parking was scarce until the spaces parted to allow for Duane's last minute arrival! Soon we all had our cars ensconced near our launch site and were ready to hit the water.

Paddling out the harbor, it seemed prime WH conditions. We head out under a sunny sky and by the time we closed on the end of the jetty, everyone was sweating in the heat!! We were all glad when after rounding the jetty, we found a nice ocean breeze to greet us. Conditions were a bit choppy though, so spotting the Blues wasn't going to be as easy as we hoped.

We lost little time heading out to our usual hunting grounds. Plentiful whitecaps and an occasional breaking wave had us thinking whales were all around us. We took a couple small breaks and were just hanging out waiting for some excitement, when we were encouraged to see the Dolphin Safari tour heading right towards our location. They'd been having good luck spotting a couple Blues lately, so we figured they had the scoop. The DS boat headed off a bit west of us and seemed to stop to wait. We decided to nonchalantly try to weasel our way closer to their position. We headed off parallel to where they stopped and put a bit more distance between us and the coast. But they never seemed to find anything and soon headed out past our desired range for the day.

We decided to hang out for half an hour and hope for the best. The breeze and the sun behind some misty clouds made conditions pleasant despite the choppy water. We all kind of drifted apart as we waited and kept that arrangement as we started paddling back to shore. Kathy and I were bad, as we started heading out straight for the jetty entrance, where the rest of the group looked like they were headed right into shore. We had a large chunk of ocean separating us, but I was hoping we'd corral the Blues right in between us. No such luck.

We battled the chunky sea the way home. Off by ourselves, Kathy and I were startled by a couple dolphins that looped right in front of our bows. Then another pair came up to our side. We soon had dolphins popping up all around us heading in every direction! It was impossible to know how many, but being as they seemed to be all around us, I'd say there were at least ten. They followed us longer then either of us would have thought and then seemed to head towards the other group, so we hoped they'd get a show as well, but it wasn't the case.

The boat traffic and chop got worse as usual the closer we got to the mouth of the harbor. Our bows were plowing through the surf, which I was glad for, because one of the dolphins had got so close, it came up to do its 'morning business' on my foredeck and I was glad for the chance to wash it off!! I'm surprised it didn't bring a newspaper!

Back in the harbor, we fought the strong wind down the channel with the smell of the barbeques wafting by. We saw no whales, but perhaps clocked a bit more time in our whale hunting karma to give us hope for the next hunt. It seems most of the Blues have decided to skip our neck of the woods this year and it's always a big ocean out there. Still it was a beautiful day on the water with nice folk and the best dolphin show I've ever seen.


7/1/08&7/10/08
Day #57, 58, Soon All the Days Start to Meld
Well I'm calling this two days because I forgot I went out last week with Ken for a warm up for my Catalina paddle. Today was a Catalina wrap up paddle and much more fun! It was a warm day at home, so I didn't expect much from a paddle, but when we hit the water around 3pm, the wind had picked up and the sun was playing peek a boo. On the way out, I chatted with a couple SOTers who asked us if we were on on way to Catalina! I had to give them a brief recap of my weekend just to impress them!

Outside the harbor, my favorite derelict sailboat was still moored nearby. The wind was kicking up the waves a bit; not what I'd expected on the day. Barb didn't join Ken today and I'm sure she would have been glad considering the conditions. The tide was high and I was hoping for some fun behind BAR, although I'd have to take it a bit easy, as I'd left my helmet at home.

The waves at BAR weren't big, but they were a bit tricky. We made a few passes and I hung out a while inside the arch, but I didn't want to press my luck too much sans helmet. I was just nice to have a bit a texture mid July when things are usually rather hot and flat. There was just enough water for me to scoot over the rocks out the back way of BAR and Ken and I headed home close to shore. In front of Big Corona we checked out the couple boats I might someday consider home before finding our way back in the harbor.

Despite the wind, we threw in a few rolls past Pirate's Cove. The water was rather nice and but for the wind we might have spent more time upside down. But we figured with our big paddles out of our way, there wasn't any reason not to take it easy and headed back to the high tide back at the Secret Beach to call it a day.

It was nice to be back on the water with no important agenda pending and a fun way to spend a late afternoon on the water.


7/4-6/08
Day #54, 55, 56, Wave-Ra!
Here's my tale in pictures and words.
Wave-Ra


6/29/08
Day #53, Kinderockgarten
While in Denver over the last 10 day, I bought a used Dagger RPM Max that would have been just peachy for Jack's PV party this morning, but it's still in Denver and just arriving home late last night, I couldn't see myself making that party anyway. But early bird that I am, I loaded up the old log and met up with Jack, Steve Wilson, George Miller, Lee Shurie and Billy Kroll just south of the lighthouse. Although they had no gear to join us on our paddle, Steve and Vicky Brown were there to say hi and send us on our way.

I was a bit trepidatious on this paddle, glass boats not really being the proper attire for such a party, but also from the stories of the difficulty launching. There's the wicked trail down the cliff and the round, toaster sized rocks that constitute the 'beach' we'd be launching from. I started having second thoughts upon seeing the trail down, but figured it was too late to back out after everyone had seen me, so I was the first one down the hill.

Steve had his Coaster today and Billy and I had full sized boats; the rest were properly outfitted in WW boats. Billy planned to shoot pictures on the day and his boat was sporting a nifty, new, double pontoon outrigger to give him enough stability to shoot with his SLR. The WW crowd helped us glass boaters launch in the water to avoid too much damage to our boat, a sight that was worth the price of admission all by itself. Already hot, I was glad for a dunk before launching and soon we were all headed up the coast.

Conditions started out mild, which was good for a few of us rather new to Jack's style of fun. It allowed us to get wet to the level we felt comfortable with out too much worry. Even with the small swells, surprise rocks kept us on our toes throughout the day. A sneaky breaking wave hit me on a rocky stretch, but a nice high brace kept me upright. We continued up the coast playing in every playground Jack thought appropriate. At the Big Pool, the water wasn't high enough to make our way in, but we found a small cove to pull all the boats up on and took a break on the rocks.

By this time, the swells had increased quite a bit, but so had our confidence playing in it. We headed to the north end of the Big Pool to play in the clapotis of the surging waves. With my giant boat, I wasn't able to do all the others were doing, but I still managed to push myself a bit. We were all getting pretty stacked up together and on one of my passes I heard Steve yell out, "look out, here comes the Queen Mary!" Close to some big rocks while trying to get set up for a set coming in, I missed place a deep stern rudder and found myself upside down, but took my time and came up with no problem. Steve was testing himself by rolling in some trouble spots, but had no trouble. Jack, George and Lee just made playing in the rocks and waves seem effortless.

We decided to head home with enough energy to play a bit on the return trip, but we had still been out a long time. The most fun came getting the big boats back up on the shore back at the launch. And of course, there was the dreaded climb up the cliff to the cars. On the beach, there was a group of teenagers just back from spear fishing. I offered ten bucks to any two of them if they'd haul my boat up, but got no takers. I started the long slog up constantly stopping for air and couldn't refuse George when he came back down to help. I may be ten years younger, but I think George pulled my boat up farther than I did on the way up, and I was glad for the help.

It was nice to all be back at the top and everyone agreed it had been a great day. We were all thankful for Jack for calling for this paddle and sharing his skills and knowledge with us. It's clearly one of the best benefits of CKF membership. While I often hang out where rocks and waves meet, I don't often push my limits when I'm alone, so it was nice to have a group of like minded folk around to help you out just in case. It was a great chance to increase our skills and I look forward to getting my Dagger so I can play like the real rock gardeners. I'm sure Billy has some great pictures of the day and thanks again to Jack for leading us and George for a helping hand!


6/18/08
Day #52, Belated Whale Tale
I met Duane at the Coast Guard beach for a 5pm paddle to see if the Blues would make a visit to my usual haunt. At least we'd hoped to maybe see the dolphin pack that gave Duane such a great show on his earlier paddle. We had a stiff head wind as we set out and a head sea throwing an occasional bucket on our laps. I seemed to take the lead and I tried to keep a good pace despite the wind. We were on a schedule, so if we wanted to get some space between us and the coast we couldn't dilly-dally. Lucky we didn't have Ken with us!!!

As I write from memory from over a week ago, I don't remember much of the conversation that went on, but I know I enjoyed plowing through the swells on a rare evening paddle. We got perhaps a couple miles out and just hung out chatting and bobbing in the sea. I seem to recall the coast being a bit foggy, but clear enough for a beautiful view of the OC coast. Again we didn't see any whales, but we're glad for the opportunity to hang out for the chance.

The wind became our friend on the way home and we notched another whale hunt in our belts. I figure the more time you spend out there, the luckier your going to get, so sure on our next hunt we'll have to beat them off with a G stick.


6/15/08
Day #51, Still No Blues
Seven of us braved the Father's Day crowd at Dana Point to put a bit more time in the outer waters to look for the Blues. Duane, Barb and Ken were there as well as Chuck and his out of town visitors Tabitha and Jonathan(hope I got those right). It was an overcast day as we made it out of the harbor to find a derelict, old sailboat making its way out to what could only be misfortune! Besides the usual harbor chop, there was a rolling swell coming in, but conditions weren't too bad for hunting.

We were all making good time until our first break, when Chuck and his friend decided to switch boats. About the same time, Tabitha started feeling the sudden onset of Mal de Mer, so four of our group decided it was best to head back in. That left the burden of finding the Blues to Duane, Ken and I.

We paddle out to our usual haunt about 4 miles off shore under very quiet conditions. All of a sudden, right off Duane's bow there was a small boil of what looked like small flippers sticking out of the water, but they didn't hang out long enough for us to figure out what they were. Soon the head of a seal popped up close by and we wondered if he'd been rounding up some fish dinner.

There were no boats close by; nothing to suggest any whales in the area, so we just settled down for a long rest to see what my arise. Without any sun, we could enjoy just hanging out bobbing in the swells, but after about 45 minutes, we figured the Blues still aren't ready for visiting. Even without any sightings, the day seemed to go by pretty fast. As a consolation prize on the way home, a long finned tuna surprised us by leaping out of the water and I have to admit we were grateful for any excitement. We made it back to the beach with only a few more miles under our belts for our troubles.


6/14/08
Day #50, Those Who Can't, Teach
When I got to the Secret Beach, Ken and Barb were sitting on the sea wall looking like two beached seals--all clad in black rubber ready for our Saturday Wet Works. They head over to the CG beach while I got ready and when I joined them I found Pete and Jeff Libby there to join us as well. To the side of the beach was another, large group of paddlers getting ready to head out under the expert tutelage of George M.

We all headed to Pirate's Cove and we could see a couple yakkers already there who turned out to be the Pilchard bunch. Clearly, they were there to show off their nifty new two-piece Superior GP's and had already warmed up with a coastal paddle. The sun wasn't out yet, but the water didn't seem too cold, but I quickly had to acclimate to the chill. Barb was just getting out her face mask when it slipped out of her hands heading for the briny deep. The briny deep only being 10 to 12 feet here, I donned my mask hoping for a quick retrieval. Sans my PFD, I still was rather buoyant with just my wet suit top, but managed to make it down, but the Eel Grass in the area was too high and after a few tries we left it as a sacrifice to the rolling gods.

It didn't take long for Kathy to start to show off with her new paddle. They claimed they were still getting used to them, but Kathy showed off a real nice butterfly roll that had her looking like a pro. She gave Ken a few hints and he was able to do one too, so we already had people learning new skills on the day. About this time, Ben paddled up from his launch site at NAC and joined in the practice

Every one kind of paired up to work on sundry skills. H&K worked on more Greenland skills and Ken helped Jeff try out a paddle float reentry roll. Barb and Pete worked on reentries and I just seemed to paddle around watching. Jeff wasn't having any trouble with the paddle float roll, so I graduated him on to my kickboard paddle float. It helped him add a bit of sweep to the maneuver and soon Ken was schooling him in the finer aspects of real rolling. Off to the side, Henry was helping Kathy get set up for a nice static brace. I looked over to see Ben swimming, the victim of a broken paddle shaft on his roll attempt.

After a while, I asked Jeff if he wanted to come closer to shore where I could stand up and help him with his roll attempts. Just trying to repeat my rolling class with Jen, I had him do some hip snaps just holding my hands and he came up rather smartly. We moved on to me holding the back of his boat and letting him try to roll on his own and it wasn't taking a lot of help from me to get him up. We gave him the story of keeping his head down and after a couple more tries he rolled up all by himself like a real pro. We figured it best he stop on a high note.

Since I was already in the water, I worked with Pete trying out my kickboard paddle float. He was doing well with that and we moved on to trying some real rolling. With Henry giving advice and demonstrations, I think we got Pete moving in the right direction, but we didn't have two new rollers on the day. Still I was glad to see him doing well with the paddle float roll.

By this time I hadn't even tried a real roll yet myself. I'd done a reentry roll earlier only to find I should have recharged my bilge pump battery last night! My roll of late has been at the best, iffy. I asked Ken to borrow his boat and despite the tight fit, enjoyed rolling a boat that seems meant to be rolled. Not to be out done, Barb was showing some excellent rolling technique. Of course, Ken in my boat didn't look to have too much trouble rolling my barge.

We had had a busy, successful morning of practice and all decided to head to the Fireside for lunch. It was nice to be on hand for someone to do their first successful roll despite the weakest roller giving the advice!


6/12/08
Day #49, Docking Procedures
Went out for a short paddle and play day with Ken, Barb and Chuck.
The great thing about kayaking with others is their willingness to share their knowledge and abilities with others.
Docking Procedures


6/10/08
Day #48, San O Sol O
As I sat in my car checking out the surf, I was glad it looked smaller than predicted. It's amazing how a short walk from the car to the beach can change your opinion. I don't much like the idea of surfing solo, but what choice do I have since Duane got all respectable on me! The surf forecast was 3 to 5 with occasional 6 footers--not really that big, but at the limit for me at my skill level and all by my lonesome. And that's the way I found the beach, with no other kayaks to be seen.

So the forecast was pretty accurate, but at least the waves were of a crumbly nature, so they didn't look like they could do much damage. They were pretty stacked up though, so getting out didn't look like it was going to be fun. I took my time past the shore break to get used to the Delfin again. The closer I got to the outside, the more I was fighting over the rows of whitewater coming my way. I took a chance and got a nice ride on one of the smaller waves which added to my confidence factor. I wasn't really worried about riding the waves, it's still my lack of confidence in my rolling and that long San O swim to shore. I finally got a break and made it out through a lull and was glad to see someone in a Scrambler paddling out to join me. At last, someone to drag my lifeless carcass to shore in the event of an untimely demise.

I went for broke on a large wave and once making nice progress down the face looked to the side for a shoulder to lean on, but just when I went to take it, a board surfer showed up out of nowhere on his paddle out and I ended up broaching on some big white water. I was glad to ride it out upright and now the chase was afoot. I got some nice rides in the bigger waves with some nice shoulders to ride, but spent a lot of time broached in the white water. On one large one, stuck broached in the large white water, I was able to get turned back around straight just in time to catch the same wave as it reformed with a nice angled ride. What I learned on the day is my kayak needs something that just happens to be spelled out in its name DelFIN. Without a skeg, I can't keep the stern planted to keep a good angle on the waves. Still I was having fun.

After each big ride I'd have to deal with the arduous journey back outside through the breakers. I admit I was pretty tired. I'd say old age sucks, but heck, ten years ago I would have died on the first paddle out! I'd gotten some nice rides, so I wasn't so worried about capsizing, figuring I'd had my share of fun on the day. On a nice ride in, I got knocked over trying to exit the wash and rolled up with some help from the shallow sand bar under me. Same thing on the way out, this time going over a big wave. I picked up the next good size wave and rode it into shore. Right outside the shore break the water is pretty deep, so I punched out a couple real rolls just to prove I could.

I'm used to sandy beaches, but some of you might be more familiar with the San O shore. I stood for a while enjoying the clacking of the large cobble stones sounding like castanets as the powerful waves ebbed. I lived to tell my tale and had a nice solo surf session. The only casualty on the day was my video mast that broke when a wave upended my kayak on the shore upon landing. I'm glad I'd removed the camera already!


6/8/08
Day #47, Three Would-be Reef Point Paddlers
Duane, Ken and I reluctantly missed the H&K paddle to Reef Point this morning in the fain quest of spotting some Blue Whales, this being early in the season. We got an 8am start under overcast skies and started out for our usual hunting grounds off Dana Point with light boat traffic around us. With only three paddlers, we were quite free to chat about all the other paddlers that weren't along with us on the day. I can only hope we at least presented equal fodder the other group on the water!!!

Conditions were nice on the paddle out and we hoped we had improved our whale karma by picking up several groups of balloons floating on the water. After a couple short breaks, we found ourselves about 4 miles off the point, in what in the past has been prime spouting grounds. Our eyes seldom left the horizon as we searched in vain for tell-tale signs of the behemoths. We saw no whale watching boats scouring the water to give us hope of a sighting. We spent the last half hour before returning just enjoying the quiet off-shore waters lolling about in our boats. We paddled home with nary a dolphin or a seal to visit us. Still, if we didn't get to find a whale, we got to put in a nice, peaceful, 10 mile paddle and perhaps increase our chances on our next hunt. We can't come up empty every time!


6/1/08
Day #46, Meandering del Mar
I arrived at Crescent Bay at 7am to find Ken and Barb already with their boats on the beach. On the drive down, I had noticed the surf and it looked rather mild, but Barb was standing on the sand watching as a rather nasty set came in to mush on the beach. It was going to take a bit of timing to keep Barb happy today!

Soon we were joined by Duane, Bob and Dennis and a surprise visit from Pete, who we haven't seen on the water for a while. We had plenty of time on the sand to chat and to see that aside from the occasional set, launching didn't look to be too difficult. Bad host that I am, I had us leaving a few minutes early when Richard from Torrance showed up to join us. He was ready to go quickly and without any trouble on our launches, we were on our way.

Duane had his Mini Benny today and planned to make the whole trip in the surf line and around the rocks. The pace on the day could only be described as meandering, but it let me spend some time investigating rocks and still keep close to the group. We had soon left Duane in our wake and at times it was hard to see him still plugging away in the waves. This area has many rocky reefs spread out and the cliffs are covered in coastal homes. It makes for a pretty paddle. If the pace was too slow, no one was complaining out loud. Tide was on the low side, so we didn't get to see the blow hole we'd found on our last trip. We rounded Treasure Island and headed in to Aliso Creek to see if there was any chance to make it in, but in less we wanted to portage our way it was a no go. We figured the water quality inside wouldn't be so great without any ocean water making its way in so decided to head back to TI to land and rest.

Treasure Island was an easy stop with only Richard getting wet on his landing and that mostly because I was shooting video and didn't come to his aid! We had the place to ourselves and after a bit of chat, Duane headed out to get a head start for the trip home. Once again, the group about split in half with some plying the rocky shore and the others out in calmer water. The sun had come out for our trip home and it was a beautiful day for all. Back at our landing site, the carnage potential had risen a bit, but with a little timing things would be no problem. All landed safely and make the trek up the steep hill to our cars.

It was a fun day on the water, despite the lack of carnage and it was nice to be joined by Pete and Richard. Denise had to head home San Diego way, but the rest of us all adjourned to Husky Burger to replenish after our outing.


5/26/08
Day #45, Southern Migration
Saw an email late yesterday that Lee would be down to paddle Newport with Carol Fallon today. Early this morn, I called Ken and he told me he'd emailed Lee to say he'd be at the CG beach around 9:30, so I thought I'd tag along. Ken was tired from his paddle down in San Diego an I was tired from laying around all weekend grumpy from our aborted Catalina trip. Today would have been our return day and conditions were still up in the air. Just a light breeze, but the sky was gray and threatening and we felt a bit of drizzle when we hit the water. Still, Catalina looked as clear as could be, as if to mock me for my failure!

On the water, I learned that Ken had only emailed Lee early this morning and with his commute, there was no way to know if he'd received it! We head over to the CG beach, but it was mostly deserted. We paddled over in back of Balboa Island to see if we could see them paddling, but no luck and the weather seemed to be taking a bit of a turn for the worse. We figured we'd missed them and so decided for a short BAR paddle as our destination.

The harbor waters were a bit murky, but outside the jetty things looked a lot better, so we both tried a roll. I was still bummed from my Edith trip rolling difficulties and wasn't really in the mood which was probably why it took me a couple tries to get up and even then it looked ugly! Ken's roll was Superior, even though he was in his Epic. Cooled off, we continued down the coast.

BAR was crawling with pescadors and the low tide had exposed the rocky shelf, which one brave angler was using. Ken continued rolling while I snuck back to hang out a while. Catalina looked beautiful in the distance. We headed home close to shore through the kelp beds with spear-gun wielding scuba divers popping up around us. Almost back at the CG beach, we ran into Lee and Carol heading out to sea. Lee hadn't received Ken's email so they'd taken time to have tea before setting out for their paddle. We chatted for a bit, but were both ready to head home and left them to enjoy the ocean by their lonesomes. Ken and I once again availed ourselves of the public dock to land, which we're sure delighted the man who lives nearby who always complains about sand on the sidewalk! It was a short paddle, but it was nice to see one of our northern, tuiliked neighbors visiting our waters.


5/18/08
Day #44, Dingbat Crossing
Expansion of my horizons was on call today. Not that I haven't done a twenty miler before--heck, just did one a couple weeks ago, but today we were heading off the coast farther than I'd ever been before!

Destination Oil Rig Edith was a shake down cruise for next weeks paddle to Catalina. Before this paddle, my longest excursion off the coast was 4 or 5 miles looking for Blue Whales. Their were five, me, Duane, Ken, Bob and Steve of us getting an early 7am start from Alamitos Bay. Edith is 8 miles off shore, but with the harbor exit, we'd be puting in about twenty miles. Even at 6:30 this morning, it was already hot and we wondered what we had in store for us.

Outside the harbor we'd be using Duane's crossing procedures--a smart way to keep the group together, safe and focused. Duane took the first stint in the lead and I followed, this being my first chance to navigate using a compass with a target out to see and as yet hidden in the haze. As my turn at the lead came next, I was lucky that I could hear all the early morning chatter behind me to keep track of the group to know they weren't falling too far behind. After a while, you could see occasional glimpses of Edith, but I tried to rely on the compass heading for practice.

We rotated shifts and the mileage seemed to pass rather quickly as we passed closer rigs and large ships anchored off the coast. Many seals seemed lying about, their flipper stuck in the air either to cool off or warm up, we weren't sure which. Steve was our greyhound on the day, so when he led, I put my head down and hunkered in to keep up with him. We were glad to have a minimal breeze to at least keep the temps at bay a bit. Soon Edith was clear to see and we made our pass to the barking cheers of the seal sunning on the rig.

We took an extended break and Bob, Duane and I indulged in Duane's traditional Edith Crossing Swim. It was nice to feel the complete coolness of the ocean, but soon Bob and Duane were back in their boats leaving me as the only shark bait. I decided to do a reentry roll, but on my first attempt, I came up sitting on my 64oz water bottle! After that my roll deserted me along with the plethora of water bottle floating around in my cockpit! While Ken gave me a bow, the rest of the group collected my belongings and we had no more excuse to linger with Edith.

The first leg of the trip home seem to really drag for me. I think I was mostly PO'd that I'd missed my reentry roll! I was next in the lead and things settled down and mile came slowly but surely. Steve once again tried to show off on his lead, putting a few of us in a bit of hurt, but Duane threw a lasso on him. For the most part, it was just mind over matter as we kept paddling on through the occasional boat traffic. I think Ken and I were feeling it most at the end and since he's got at least ten years on me, I think I was the official slow poke. Be we all showed we have what it takes for next week's crossing. As I'm the only one in the group who's never made it, I guess I was most on trial. I don't have much fear of the first crossing, but I wonder how a couple nights of camping will recharge me for the twenty miler home. Today we ended the paddle with a trip for some fast food burritos. I'm hoping next week to stock up on Catalina Buffalo burgers!


5/17/08
Day #43, Cooling Off
We've had a bit of hot weather out here, so even with my twenty miler coming Sunday, I decided to spend some time upside down in the harbor to cool off.

Ken and Barb had left earlier with their friends Justin and Kirsten, so I had hopes of running into them. First though I ran into Read and his friend Jane coming back from an exploration of the kelp paddies. Read said he'd seen a foursome out on the water and I figured that must be K&B, so I headed out to sea. As I neared BAR, I saw the foursome returning and a Life Guard boat sitting in front of my rock. I snuck on back and ended up stuck on a rock in the low tide for a bit and when I started to head into the arch, it was inundated with green beanied Junior Lifeguards! It was nice to see the youngsters challenging my usual habitat, so I gave up my pass for their edification!

I joined the foursome already in progress and we headed back in to the harbor for some wet work. I rolled well for a while, but then found myself swimming and consternated that my pump didn't come on. Turns out I was negligent in my charging, so Ken had to dump out my boat and give me a rescue. I switched to my GP and had no more trouble, while Ken coaxed Kirsten into some rolling practice. It took a while, but finally she went for it and I wish I could report success on her first try, but she got to take her first swim at Pirate's Cove. Despite Ken's tutelage (or because?) she had another swim or two, but at least gave it the college try.

Nice and cool, we'd had enough on the day, although we were glad for the respite from the heat. We headed to the Fireside for a nice lunch and to recap the events.


5/14/08
Day #42, Pig Town Jig
Things seemed to conspire to sabotage our Crystal Cove Hot Dog Paddle this evening, but the desire for tasty, albeit mysterious meat products overcame all obstacles!

It started when I came across Ken and Barb on the road heading to the beach and realized I had forgotten the pan to cook the weenies. So unless we wanted to cook them over an open fire with our fingers, I had to head back. I had gotten an early start, so it wasn't too bad a set back. The Secret Beach was almost deserted which made launching pretty easy and I soon glided to a stop at the Coast Guard beach to join the rest of the group. Ken and Barb were there with Dave O'Connor and Chuck Freedman, with only one snag--Dave and Chuck had both forgotten their paddles! Only Barb had brought a backup paddle to loan to the unfortunate, so we hoped for Duane to arrive to see if he had brought a spare. No such luck, but Chuck did have half a Tooksook paddle in his car and so used it for the paddle!

We all set out a few minutes past 5pm, but Duane wanting more of a workout decided to do a lap around the island and to catch up with us on the beach. We were a motley group paddling out, but Chuck with his half paddle kept up fine. Outside the harbor, Ken and Dave went to check out an inflatable boat seemed abandoned and floating in the kelp. I made a bee line for the Arch and made a few passes through the playful water. After my last pass, I saw the group heading on down with me quite a ways behind. It wasn't till we were almost at CC that I noticed Ken was no where to be seen. Even now that Duane had caught up with us, there was no sight of Ken! Turns out he'd decided to hang out at the missing dingy to call it in to the Harbor Patrol. His good deed took a bit longer than expected because he couldn't hear the HP over the radio through the closed ear vents on his new Gath helmet!! He arrived with all of us but Barb on the shore and sent her in on the tails of a large set, which she handled with ease.

We set up hot dog camp and I brought out my surprise for the night. In my back hatch(thank heaven for QCC hatches), I had the world's second cheapest guitar. Second cheapest only because I'd just put new strings on it. I figured I had a captive audience, I might as well abuse them with a song or two. Ken got the hot dogs cooking and Chuck treated me to an overpriced beer. Duane and Barb both played some licks on the guitar and we got down to serious dog munching. After dessert of tasty brownies, I once again realized I'm not ready for an audience without a few margaritas in me, as I butchered my version of "Four Wet Pigs", which seemed so appropriate for this paddle. Perhaps I did a bit better with my two other songs, but Barb made the guitar sound beautiful as she and Ken tried to finish a duet. But the sun was getting low and Barb was itching for a surf launch, so we closed shop and headed for the boats.

I got out quickly and despite the cool temps decided to do some punching in the shore break. Barb got sent off the shore at an inopportune time and while I shouted at her to keep going, the shore crowd told her to stop and she got hit full on by a goodly sized wave and sent back surfing to shore! I missed it, but I heard there was quite a bit of carnage involved, but soon she was back out and launching over another big one. Paddles being scarce on this trip, Dave was force to launch with a GP and seemed to be stuck in neutral in some of the shore break even while his paddle seemed revved into high gear! He made it out, but it didn't help bolster his opinion of traditional paddles.

Soon we were all headed home, paddling beneath a beautiful sunset. Despite our set backs, we managed to down some tasty puppies and all return safely. It started iffy, but turned out to be a great paddle, funny how that happens. I left the group at the CG beach and returned to my Secret Spot. With high tide, I was only about 15 feet from my car. I threw my paddles an such in the back, but when I came back for my boat, it had decided to wander down the harbor a bit. I managed to corral it a few docks down before it made me take a swim. What a great day on the water!


5/10/08
Day #41, The Rum Runners
Despite what Steve Wilson tried to suggest, I rolled up to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro ahead of Ken and Barb. It was only 7:35, but it appeared the Dave O'Connor was about to abandon anyone who happened to show up on time and join Steve already out on the water. They reluctantly decided to wait for the "stragglers" and soon we were all out on the water headed for Smuggler's Cove.

There was not much of a break hitting the shore, but as we passed Point Fermin, there were some nice small sets breaking. We continued on past, paddling through the abundant kelp growing in the area. After Carnage Sunday last week three of us had donned our bean caps even though rock gardening wasn't on the agenda. Barb was wearing a psychedelic colored helmet, while Ken just wanted to try out his cool looking new Gath helmet. As helmets are supposed to protect you from rocks, I mentioned that it seems ironic that they would name a helmet "Gath", which is the town Goliath was from and we all know of his experience with rocks!

At White Point I snuck in a bit close to the rocks and wished Jack Brisley could have joined us to show us a thing or two. The tide was real low though, so there wasn't much fun to be had. We continued on and found ourselves slogging our way through more kelp and made a mental note to avoid it on the trip home.

It took a while to get to Smuggler's Cove and the overcast sky and breeze kept us pretty cool. The normally deserted SC was awash with people as a local hiking club had made it down for a walk. We all landed safely and were greeted on the beach with a man walking his Parson's Terrier. The dog was a bit animated, as they are as a general rule, and the man admitted that he had forgotten to bring the dog's b.a.l.l. Only Ken didn't realize not to use the dreaded word in front of the dog, so when he did the dog got only more agitated. He ran over and tried to fetch a large limb still attached to an even larger log, so I snapped it off and he ran away as happy as he could be with the next best thing. We had a nice rest on the beach and then launched with only minor scratches.

Right south of SC, I had noticed a couple caves and convinced Steve to check them out a bit with me. Steve had now donned his helmet and despite our timidness from last weeks adventure, we snuck in a bit. Conditions were pretty mild, but with the coldish temperatures, I didn't want to risk a swim with no wet suit on, but we both managed to enjoy ourselves amongst the rocks. We continued on outside of the kelp beds maintaining a chatting pace. Back at Point Fermin, the swells had grown a bit and we contended with an occasional 3 footer hitting the beach on our landing. I managed to get soaked punching through the small waves for a while and once back on dry land we all headed to a local taco joint for debriefing.


5/8/08
Day #40, Finally Back on the Water
Darn, I feel like such a slacker! I haven't been on the water since Carnage Sunday, so it was nice to join Ken for a longish paddle this noon. We agreed to meet at noon thirty, but Ken was already on the water when I arrived at 12:10. I guess he just wanted an excuse not to help me with my boat!

We made quick work of the harbor and were greeted outside with a nice visit from some dolphins. Three of them were head straight for us and lazily came up right off our bow for a snort before heading right under our boats. We took our first break around BAR and conditions were squirrelly, but I managed a pass through the arch for the first time in a while to find Ken practicing rolling outside. I snuck in one more pass and we headed on for Crystal Cove. I figured Ken was in charge of this paddle; I planned to head wherever he told me to go and he figured we should at least beat out our Sunday paddle. Paddling past Reef Point, we saw the very wave forming over the hidden rock that took me out on our last paddle.

Heading on we neared Steve's reef at Abalone Point. The tide was high, so conditions were safer, but you could see the water churning over the reef that Steve danced with not so long ago. Seal Rock was not far off and Ken felt we should at least go a bit past where we turned on that paddle. I took the inside passage at SR, the rather mild conditions as they were, but I was thinking they might change the name to Stinky Rock as I passed down wind. A couple coves down, we stopped to rest before our trip home and I used the time to enjoy the beautiful view of the Laguna coastline.

It had been a muggy paddle south, but once turned towards home the wind greeted us to cool us down. I hugged the rocky coast, while Ken took the outer route. For a bit of change, I switched to my GP for the paddle home. Despite Steve's recent carnage, AP was rather tame, so Ken followed me on the inside passage there till we rested in the choppy waters to the north. The Green House at Crystal Cove was to be our next stop, but we separated quite a bit on this stretch. I like to see the coast moving by close up to show my progress, but Ken kept on an outer course. Near Reef Point things still seemed rather tame, but when I got closer a nice set rolled in. I was in a good angle to handle things and soon found myself plowing through a small set of waves. Things were going peachy until just north of the reef when an overhead wave decided to land right on my vicinity. I though I might again find myself wrong side up at RP, but made it through upright, although soaked from head to waist for the rest of the paddle.

Ken decided to follow me for a bit close to the shore and got to realize one of the benefits of inshore paddling when we passed a couple of surfergirl wanna be's prancing a bit on the shore. This part of the shore can seem a long paddle at time, but hugging the coast makes things go by quicker as you have to keep an eye on the occasional sneaker wave. I had no problem passing the myriad of small reefs, while avoiding said sneakers and we were soon back at BAR. Conditions had turned for the worse, so after a brief rest we continued on our final leg.

We were glad to hit the Secret Beach and as a salute I did a celebratory roll. We'd put in a good day of mileage, so headed home to recoup.


5/4/08
Day #39, Matriculating at UHK
When you get to a certain age, regular school often isn't enough for you, so some of our group today enrolled in the University of Hard Knocks!

It was an early start for what was to be a longish paddle to the Laguna environs. Ken and I left the Secret Beach early and met the rest of the group chomping at the bit at the coast guard beach. It was a nice crowd with Henry and Kathy, Dave O'Connor, Duane, BBBob McMurray and Steve Wilson joining in. The wind was quite a bit stiffer than what we were led to believe on the day and there was quite a bit of chop, so we had our work cut out for us. Of course, we were also led to believe we'd be paddling at a crossing pace, but Duane and Bob despite those skinny little paddles had everyone working hard to keep up. Dave and I were able to catch up to them just before we stopped to break at Crystal Cove to let everyone catch up and hydrate.

You could tell that Steve was itching to paddle, because he didn't rest for long. While the rest of us drank, he headed in to shore to spend some time in the waves. As we continued south, we could see him floating over the waves, his rock star hair blowing in the wind. He was waiting a bit for us inside of Reef Point and as Duane and I grew closer, we were surprised to see him paddle between the two rocks, especially as a rather large set had come in. We paddled around half expecting some carnage, but he was happy and intact on the other side. I had almost mentioned to Duane that I find the outside area around RP more dangerous than the inside, but then things had settled down a bit so we seemed fine. Until...With Duane on my left, a wave decided to appear out of nowhere right on my beam. I don't know how high it was, but I know it was 16' 10" long, as it was the perfect size to try to take out my boat. I had no time to avoid it and planted a high brace as it broke into me. Perhaps a bit too high. I found myself upside down, a condition I like to call a "Libby" in honor of one of our newer CKF members. Now I figured we were probably safe from most of the rocks in the area, but it's hard to tell at Reef Point, but I took my time and rolled up-my first combat roll in my long boat. I basked in the cheers as we paddled on for Abalone Point.

Once again Steve seemed to be ahead of us, lingering right at the edge of the reef at AP. Now this is an area I am always leery of as even in mild conditions it can be down right contrary. Duane had just mentioned that Steve was in a bad spot when a wave formed right on Steve's beam and despite a good brace sent him careening into the reef! He seemed to have been protected from his trip over the rocks by the amount of water in the wave, but now he was upside down in the churn and his roll failed him. He was now in the water with waves still rolling along each side of the reef. I headed in to the south side of reef to see if I could help, but with my hard to maneuver boat, I couldn't get close enough to help without becoming victim #2. Duane headed around from the north end and got to Steve toot sweet and held on to his boat while he did a quick reentry. But Steve's boat was still full of water and you could tell he wouldn't get far as unstable as he was. Dave headed in with his tow belt and hooked up to Duane to pull them to safety, while Steve started pumping frantically, their two boats rafted together. They were quickly out of harms way, but decided to land at a nearby cove to empty out the remaining water.

Although close to our intended destination, we all seemed to agree that the adrenalin used up in the incident called for us to start home early. Steve seemed well recovered from his play time, but kept asea of any reefs on the paddle back. I took the inside passage home, soon to be joined by Bob and Duane, with an eye peeled for any more sneaker waves to catch us so close to shore. Time flew on the trip back and Steve voiced mock relief to be back in the harbor. When everyone comes back alive, you've got to admit that's a good paddle, especially if you decide to take to heart the lessons only hard knock can sometimes provide. It was not a paddle I'll soon forget!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A Post Mortem- I figure I better point out some of our mistakes made on this paddle before those who weren't there point out the glaring facts. I hope a few others on the paddle will add some choice words. Paddling in a group today, I was lulled into not wearing my helmet in areas I would normally have it on. Although conditions weren't really tough today, that tends to be the time you start to push the envelope a bit and then find yourself in trouble. Does the term "risk homeostasis" mean anything to you? Steve would be the first to admit now he should have had a helmet on, but today wasn't supposed to be a rock garden day. Perhaps he was trying to make up for missing Jack's paddle a while back. Although there didn't seem any obvious rocks in the area of the wave that got me, I figure there must have been something under the water to make it form right on my beam. Alone, I've conditioned myself to don my helmet at the mere hint of a rock or wave and I shouldn't have let the safety of a group deter me from my usual prudence. Steve took some chances paddling and hanging out where he did, but what better time to take such chances then with a group around to come to your rescue. But you have to realize the chance you are taking and a helmet should have been the order for the day for Steve. Once out of his boat, Steve maintained his composure which facilitated an easy rescue. And he never lost his rock star good looks, even with the hair a bit plastered down after his swim. Familiarity with rescues certainly helped and who better to come to your aid than Duane. With no injuries other than pride, everyone felt today was a great paddle with excitement to share for years to come. Sometimes the dividing line becomes a bit thin.


4/28/08
Day #38, BAR Newbie
Although we were both still rather parched from our day of yaking and gabbing at the Fest, Craig and I planned a short paddle to BAR for the early afternoon. No more having to settle for viewings from Google Earth! But for the morning we had time to go look for a copy of Adventure Kayaking, Big Sur to San Diego that Craig wanted after seeing my coffee table copy. I thought Southwind would be a good place to find one, but they had just sold their last one, so he had to settle for the northern version of the series. All was not lost though as we checked out all the boats and found out that Harold is a secret Paddlewise lurker and had heard of Craig. They were able to talk shop while I wondered a bit more through the store. Of course, I had to show off my picture of Big Arch Rock that adorns the bulletin board by the checkout stand!

Next we headed to REI to check for the book and while there looked at the boats hoping to find the new Necky Looksha 14, which Craig heard was a bit like a coaster. We had seen one listed on the REI website, but none had made it to the showroom floor. Craig bought his book and we headed for lunch at my favorite burger joint.

Finally we hit the water and although it was a bit cooler than Sunday, the heat still slowed us down. The harbor was more quite than usual and it took a while before we could find even one sea lion floating around the bait barge. I pointed out my usual play spots in the harbor, like Pirate's Cove, which may not live up to the hype I give them in my writing. Caveat emptor! We hit the open water and Craig was a bit surprised by the derelict fleet of boats moored in the bay. We paddled in and across the kelp close to shore with BAR in the immediate future. Past Little Arch Rock, we could see a large group of teenagers mingling on top of BAR, so we figured we might be in for some cliff diving, but none of them summoned the courage to take the leap while we were in the area. I went back in for a look see, but even though we tried to go out near high tide, there wasn't enough room for any fun in the cove. Craig spent some time outside hoping to see the remnants of our gray whale migrators with no luck.

We headed back into the harbor with little wind to cool us down. With Craig's interest in Mother Shipping, we paddled by some of the moored boats to figure out which best suited such an activity. There was still enough water between the two islands to let us paddle through and then we headed back to The Secret Beach. With his bad leg, Craig was glad to have the dock to exit from his boat and once out, shot his boat to me on shore so I could take the Express out for a spin. Like the Coaster, this boat has a 15 inch wide cockpit, but unlike his Coaster, it has the Mariner sliding seat. I liked the rigid, built-in back support, but because the seat goes straight down from the cockpit rim, I had less room for my hips to expand once passing the cockpit bottle neck. It was a tight fit, but I still had a great time paddling the boat. Initial stability seemed a bit low, but I quickly gained confidence in the secondary sort and could quickly spin the boat around on edge. The boat came to speed quickly and I could tell it had more speed than the Coaster. I felt like it would be great fun out in conditions and my one roll attempt came up just about as well as I did in the Coaster and a lot better than I do in my old boat. I guess I'm just going to have to keep my eyes peeled for Mariner looking for a new home!

We headed home and after an ice cold Coke to quench our thirst, Craig loaded up his car and headed home for Moses Lake. It was nice to finally put a face to a name of someone from Paddlewise and I hope to someday make a journey to the Great Northwest to meet more Paddlewiser and ply some new waters. I hope Craig enjoyed checking out my home waters and meeting some of us city paddlers and it was great to have him at the Fest.


4/27/08
Day #37, CKF Fest, Alamitos Bay, Belmont Shores
Had a great time at the CKF Fest on a very warm Sunday. I think it's safe to say I had the guest who came farthest to visit, as Craig Jungers came with me after heading down from Moses Lake Washington on Friday night! Things started off well with the chance to see DeeAnn Hess' home made Pygmy Tern. And we got to celebrate her beautiful work with champagne. Sadly, I had to go back for several refills with quite a few morning teetotalers refusing France's Breakfast of Champions. Later it was especially nice to see the folks helping out Bev as she tried out her new sit inside kayak. I'm glad to report success on her first wet exit!

Craig and I got on the water and took a tour of the Naples canals. I got to paddle his Mariner Coaster and he was in his Express. We passed several stand up board paddlers, which I guess are still a rarity in the Moses Lake neighborhood. After we made it back to the beach, Craig went off to mingle and I got Peter O'Sullivan to stand by with a bow so I could try to roll the Coaster. At a bit wider than my QCC, I was worried I'd have a bit of trouble, but popped up real easy. Even went to a non-extended roll with no trouble. Peter gave me a couple tips, but actually said my roll didn't look horrible! Heady praise indeed! I was happy with my success and the chance for some relief from the sun in the cool water. The Coaster was nimble and fun to paddle and once getting past the narrow cockpit rim, I seemed to fit fine!

We adjourned to the shade of my canopy for the rest of the festivities and enjoyed the breeze that came through to cool us down as best it could. Of course we were disappointed by the obviously rigged raffle that sent a poor dejected Ken Fry home empty handed while most other folk tired of the constant rising to collect their next prize!! After a while, I think the collected UV exposure finally took its toll on the group and things folks started to head off. Craig and I figured why not fit one more paddle in and were joined by Bob McMurray and Dennis Hyndman for a nice leisurely stroll around the harbor. It was a great time and Craig was impressed with all the nice folk we have to share in our kayaking adventures.


4/24/08
Day #36, More Mileage
Got on the water again today with Ken in hopes of putting a few more miles under our belts. No more pussy-footing around with BAR turn-arounds for us! Hit the water 9ish on this eve of the Newport to Ensenada race and faced our first obstacle at Pirate's Cove. There we found Henry and Kathy working on self rescues. Well, we found KATHY working on self rescues and Henry paddling around aimlessly! He claims he had got wet too, but there wasn't much evidence of it!! He said he had tried a roll and his bionic shoulder let out a squeak and he decided not to provoke it anymore. Probably a wise decision. Kathy was wearing a smart looking, brimmed bootie hat that made her look like an equestrian and how appropriate as she did a cowboy reentry on her steed. We chatted for a while and then realized we ought save some for the Fest and left them to their own devices.

As we turned the jetty, a small seal greeted us on the rocks and jumped in seeming to come for a visit, but then gave us our space. On the heels of this weeks death by Grizzly story, Ken seems to have become deathly fraid of seals, so we had to make a quick get-away. As we neared BAR, I spied Reid in his tell-tale Mariner paddling with Jane visiting from Florida. Another chat session ensued and we learned Jane was a Sit on Top girl giving a SINK a try. She seemed to have the hang of it and we soon left them for greener waters.

We got down the business of serious paddling, passing Crystal Cove, Reef Point and upon reaching Abalone point decided to make the loop around Seal Rock. That made it Ken's longest paddle in a while and my shortest in my last two outings! Of course, at SR, it's namesakes were all around cavorting in what I could only imagine was wet, slimy seal procreation. At least they had the decency to do it underwater instead of on the rocks for all to see!

We passed on the thought of making a landing and started making good progress home. We once again ran into another paddler, Chuck Freedman off on our same paddle, but still a while behind. A short discussion on the dangers of seal fraternization and we were off again-me taking the inside passage and Ken hanging out farther from shore. It was a sunny cool day and I knew in the end I was going to be sorry for forgetting my sun tan lotion, but I'd have to wait till now to know how much! Soon we were back in the harbor, passing the line of impressive sailboats ready for tomorrow's launch. We were both glad to hit the beach after a good sized paddle and adjourned to a hole-in-the-wall joint for some tasty burgers!


4/19/08
Day #35, Chewing up the Scenery
In keeping with my desire to get in some extra miles, I hit the water at 9am today. The sky was gray and threatening and I fought a stiff head wind out of the harbor. Although I had my ONNO today, I tried to concentrate on my foot and knee placement that Duane had talked about at his GP clinic. As always seems the case at the start of a paddle, my posture was good and I made good time while concentrating on good rotation(well, come on, as good a rotation as someone my size ever gets!)

My XMAS GPS saw its first duty today as I hoped to keep track of the day. Abalone Point was in the back of my mind as a decent destination considering my sloth of late and I was glad to see it showing so clear in the distance as I exited the jetty. It was a rather chilly day with the wind and a couple contradictory swells making their way through. I remembered back in the day when just getting out of the harbor would call for two or three rest stops, but it's been a couple years since I've denied myself a break till I hit the ocean. Today I didn't stop till I hit BAR and settled alongside the churning water for a quick swig.

Continuing on, I came along side Crystal Cove and became aware of a small tingle in the middle of my upper back. That's often where I start to feel my mileage and I doubt if it's a sign of proper technique, but I ignored it and paddled on. Now I'll admit I like to cut corners, which is why we had to decide that for a true paddle to Crystal Cove, you have to be straight off the Green House. For Abalone Point, I like to think you've made your destination when you come to the first part of the cliffs past El Moro beach, but I'm sure others would argue that "point"! Once at AP, I was feeling adventurous and decided to head for one of the coves closer to Laguna. I hoped to land and rest and snack before my trip home.

Crescent Bay was rather rough and the proceeding coves not much better. There was often a lull, but it was hard to judge with two significant swell coming from different directions to cause a bit of shore break. With my long paddle home, I just didn't want to get soaked. I made a note to carry a dry bag and extra shirt and towel to remedy that situation next time. All by my lonesome, I gave up my hope of a nap on the beach, figuring with no sun out, I'd just be cold anyway! Starting home, I thought of taking the inside passage at Seal Rock, but hesitated not knowing the reef real well there. Then a large set of waves came it to dissuade me for good and I hurried out into calmer water. As I neared AP again, a bit of blue sky appeared and I saw my first shadows on the day.

A bit past AP, I met up with the ubiquitous Chuck Freedman and his friend John returning from their paddle. We paddled along together for a while, but I was sad that Chuck no longer had his hitchhiker from the other day. Even so, we were treated to an appearance from some sort of small whale who popped up not too far ahead of us. It came up to spout a few times, but gave us no spectacular views. After a while I left C&J to try a landing at Crystal Cove. I still hadn't eaten any of my munchies and the shore was calling. But after watching the shore break a while, I decided against a landing. While I sat a bit off shore, a swimmer came by and told me he was training for a triathlon and asked if I had any advice for his swim! I told him to head north so the tide would help him home and that he was probably out far enough to not have to worry about waves breaking on him. He said thanks and I turned to head off and of course a big ol' wave decided to come crash right on our location! I hightailed it out to meet it and was greeted with a full soaking. I looked back to make sure my swimmer was still alive and headed on.

I continued to head home using the inside passage. Regularly I'd have to spin my log of a boat out to meet the cresting waves coming in. The tide was getting low and showing off all the reefs that dot the shore on this stretch of water. I had more close calls, but finally made it to Toxic Creek Beach and headed in to see if I could have some fun in the breakers. As I paddled over some of the big waves, I saw Chuck and John out side joined by a whale watching boat and got to see one more spouting on the day. They headed off and I took another break farther off BAR to finally get to my munchies.

When I hit the jetty, my GPS had me at @14 miles. I still felt good-especially my feet often a concern of mine-and decided to do a bit of a harbor paddle to pad my miles. Once past the Pavilion, it didn't seem all that much to throw in a paddle around Lido Isle, so I went for that too. I had hoped that would actually put me close to 20 miles on the day, not too shabby. I came around the back side of Balboa with my GPS registering 20.1. The only problem was it was set to statute miles. I knew if I bragged about doing 20 statute miles, people would just snicker and berate me, so I figured I'd convert it over and finish off in NM. I wasn't too happy when the conversion showed I had almost another three miles to go!!! But I was in it for the long haul and once again started off against the stiff head wind to make my way out of the harbor. This little set back had a rather nasty impact on my demeanor and I gritted my teeth and decided a trip around the channel buoy would do the trick. I was a long slog and I found the buoy standing room only for the seals. The biggest guy with the best seat in the house wasn't too happy with my close pass by, but I was too tired to go out any farther. The paddle back to the beach was uneventful except for an obliging wave that lifted my spirits giving my a nice ride a bit of the way down the harbor.

It was painful getting out of the boat, but I managed to get the boat cleaned off and up on the car. After 6+ hours and 20.5 NAUTICAL miles, I was done for the day, tied with my longest paddle to date. I'm glad it's over.


4/15/08
Day #34, Cracking the Whip?
Ken and Barb suggested it was time we put a few more miles into one of our paddle. I couldn't argue with that, we've been a tad lazy lately and coming off a 90 degree weekend it seemed the right time for a bit of a work out. So while I was up for anything, Team KB decided for a harbor paddle when we found rather unexpected wind and waves upon our launch from the Coast Guard beach.

Barb would have been happy to never leave the harbor, but I always say you've got to at least stick your nose out to see what conditions are really like. But the constant head wind was a bad sign and when we hit the outer water conditions could only be described as FUN!!! So to make someone happy, we decided to put our miles in in the harbor.

Turning back into the harbor, we could at least have a bit of fun trying to catch the swells rolling in. We hugged the west side of the jetty trying to ameliorate the wind a bit. I paddled close by the jetty to satisfy my jonesing for big rocks, but paid the price with a grinding cross-over of a barely submerged rock. I continued to add texture to my pristine boat by paddling next to the sea wall and through the private dock pilings. Pretty pathetic that most of the scratches on my boat now come from a harbor paddle!

With the wind at our backs, we got a bit warm as we paddled down around Lido Isle. Still it was a pretty day with the occasional sun battling the threatening clouds. On the long haul back against the wind we could at least blame Barb for our predicament-had we gone even for just a BAR paddle, we'd have the wind helping us home! But at least the chat made up for the mundane scenery.

Right past Kevin Costner's house we zaggeg past the dredging barge for the final paddle back behind Balboa Island. Ken's long mileage resolve was ebbing in front of the continued winds and the decision was to head back to the CG beach. Barb went right for the beach, but Ken and I put in an extra .2 of a mile to bring us to an impressive 8 miles on the day! Not as far as we'd hoped, but we had to save our energy for the carry back to the parking lot!

Perhaps we had better intentions on the start of the day, but we still managed to have a nice day on the water. Having cut our paddle shorter than we'd planned, we realized we didn't manage to fit in all our chat and so reassembled at a local regal burger joint to fit it all in.


4/13/08
Day #33, Stickin' it to the Man
I wasn't sure what to expect today from Duane Strosaker and Bob McMurray's GP Stroke Clinic. Not that I questioned their abilities and knowledge-any one who paddles with them knows they are the Greenland experts for our local waters. It's just that using a GP always seemed rather intuitive to me-a big reason I like to have mine around. But as is the case for most classes I take, I came away with a couple savory morsels to consider for my future GP paddling.

We got started sitting on the sand under a hot sun and covered all the basics. I can't imagine why, but Duane seemed to be staring right at me when he mentioned how important an upright posture is to achieving a good torso rotation. Before long we were on the cool water of Los Alamitos bay to practice our bright shinny new knowledge.

There were about 15 of us, so we took up a bit of the bay as we paddled out around the buoy to try the different techniques. We had to compete a bit with some youngsters in the beginning sailing class, but there weren't any close calls to mention. During some backwards paddling practice there were some odd looks from the bystanders and bykayakers, but only enough to make us feel special. Bob, it turned out, was the only person to capsize when he misplaced an extended backwards paddle stroke, but of course his rolling ability made it looked planned!

Duane made sure anyone who had any advice to give had a chance and we ended up hearing about a few contrasting styles of GP paddling, which is something I always appreciate. It seems silly to think there's only one style of paddling no matter which kind of paddle your using and as Bob said, on a long paddle being able to alter your style a bit can help stave of fatigue on overtaxed muscles.

It turned out to be a great morning on the water and I'm sure everyone appreciated Duane and Bob's effort. Hard to complain about a group that's so willing to share and learn and provides these opportunities for all the CKF members. I hope to attend more in the future.


4/12/08
Day #32, Surf Boat Play
No not actual surf boat surfing, just sorta pretend. Ken hadn't been out in his Wold Death surf boat for a while and wanted to ease back into it. Not that there's any way to really ease into it--you really have to shoe-horn your way in. Anyway, we set off for the short paddle to Pirate's Cove for rolling practice.

Ken had his new Superior GP to see how well it would roll his surf boat. I can still remember his first attempt to roll this boat last year-how he came up looking like a breaching whale, but everything came up fine today. Surf boat rolls seem to come up rather slowly, we decided, but we didn't have much problem. We switched paddles for a while, but Ken seems determined to use his GP in the surf to hopefully avoid any shoulder injuries in the future.

The most fun on the day was when I convinced Ken to try an assisted reentry. He exited and although his boat lacks much in the way of deck rigging, I was able to get his boat emptied. With me holding on to his boat, he climbed over the bow of mine and tried to squeeze into his. We were both pretty much sinking throughout the endeavor, but we managed to get him back in. The water he took on while getting in made him too unstable and he quickly capsized after I let him free. I actually did this once in the surf with Duane's help and managed to continue surfing, but that's only because of my electric bilge pump and I can't seem to convince Ken he should get one!

So after a quick upside down session, we were paddling back and deciding that even a short paddle in a short boat is quite a workout.


4/10/08
Day #31, Getting Wet After a Lull
After what was probably my longest stretch off the water in the modern era, I went out for a paddle with Ken and Barb today. Haven't kayaked since the Symposium, so I was a bit rusty! Spent the week preparing to and then laying 1300 sqft of sod in my front yard, so it's not like I was goldbricking. But after all that real work, I was ready for a soak.

Ken had his pencil-lead boat and decided to bring his Superior pencil-lead GP to accessorize. Barb brought her Strosaker GP as well. I was loaded fer baar (BAR?) with my GP stuck to my front deck, my Redondo Ridgeback in my hands and a Strosaker canoe paddle filling out the rear.

I let K&B determine the destination, so you can't blame me for only paddling as far as BAR. Barb has a bit of a time keeping up with her GP, so I was able to go for a look see behind the arch, but the low tide prevailed. Ken practiced some rolls farther out while Barb warned him that the current was headed for a couple large rocks. As spouses sometimes do, he ignored her.

We chatted on the paddle back and landed on a beach in the harbor before starting a bit of rolling practice. I'd not had any success rolling with the Red Ridge, but hadn't really tried since I became more proficient at rolling. I missed my first try, but then was able to do my next few with an extended paddle. Ken looked good rolling with his GP until he tried his off side and just couldn't make it up without switching over to his good side. I broke out the canoe paddle to see if I could have any success, but couldn't find enough bite to make it up. Switching to my GP gave me the best rolls of the day, although a couple tries with Ken's Superior were also really nice.

We headed back after our short jaunt and hit an obscure coffee joint for a bit more chatting. It was nice to spend some time on and under the water after my absence and with my green lawn all in, can plan a bit more paddling for next week.


3/29/08
Day #30, Southwest Superimposium
It almost seemes that anybody who's anybody made it to the Aqua Adventures Southwest Symposium although I'm sorry to miss the few who couldn't attend. CKF folk were out in force monopolizing a whole section of the campground which made mixing, meeting and mooching all the more easier. Late from my surf class Friday, I chowed down some dinner and got my camp together to the sounds of Steve Wilson amped up in the exhibition tent right next to my site. Folks with Friday classes staggered in to meet old friends and gab about the good ol' days.

I had planned to just take the surf class and spend Saturday just hanging out on the beach taking pictures of the goings on and maybe check out some of the new boats or tent talks, but after a lazy morning decided to join a group for a paddle out to the ocean. Henry and Kathy, Duane, Ken and Ben and I hit the water against a breezy bay. Despite the chilly start we all warmed up so as we stopped for Kathy and I to take off our jackets, Duane charged ahead needing to get back to set up for his Greenland Ropes demo later in the morn. We meandered through the channels, this being my first time kayaking anywhere past the Campland shore in SD. The longer we paddled the more we wondered why we hadn't seen Duane on his return trip, but soon figured out why. As we got close enough to the end of the channel, you could see the large swells forming outside. Up close to the jetty was Duane using the swell energy bounding off the rocks to power his way back down the jetty.

We slipped out of the channel just enough to get a taste of the wind and large swells in the unprotected waters. Turning gingerly with the steep swells we headed back and I caught a couple of the rides that served Duane so well. On the way back, we met a few other folk and lost Ken to his own devices and decided to paddle home around one of the islands. I was strange at one point to see a pack of dogs running wild on the shore until we realized we were paddling next to a dog beach. Several of the water variety were bounding into the water to retrieve sticks and balls, but I couldn't entice any to chase me as I paddled close to shore. We put our trust in Henry to lead us home and though we did make it safely, we had to paddle through a couple jet ski designated area and portage our boats across a minor thoroughfare. Along the way we were also treated to sounds of hoof beats of a couple of horse riders plying the shore, a first for me on a kayak.

I landed in time to watch the closing of Duane's demo where he got a middle-aged lady who used to be a gymnast interested enough to give it a try. Wet though I was, I tried one maneuver on the ropes before heading back to stow my gear.

The rest of the day was left to socializing, although I'm afraid I forgot about my plan to immortalize the event photographically. Steve had asked for guitars to be brought for Nigel and Russell Farrow to use on the night's bonfire jam session. I just happened to have the only guitar no one was worried about getting too close to the fire. Around our dinner chatting at camp, Steve tried to get the guitar in some kind of tune and along with the chat gave us our own special performance. As an encore, Barb Tomita amazed us by playing and singing two beautiful Peter, Paul and Mary songs. I can only imagine it was my brush with death in my surf class that possessed me to offer my two song repertoire to the group and hands shaking like I leaf, I proceeded to butcher my two songs. But after downing three margaritas to settle my nerves, I got to try again an acquitted myself as well as I had hoped considering my talents.

Soon we were all adjourning to the beachside fire pit for most people favorite part of the weekend. Last year while jamming around the fire, Steve's beloved Ovation guitar got a bit singed and this year as the fire grew a slight mist began to fall. Steve, not wanting to subject his guitar to the rain started off the night playing my guitar and I have to say I felt proud that my guitar that in its life has only know three chords could make that kind of music come out of it! It was a blast to see Steve go at it with Brent Reitz blowing the harmonica. After a few songs the weather eased a bit and Steve brought out his guitar alternating songs with Russell and Nigel and Duane Strosaker played his didgeridoo and provided a short comedy skit between songs. The music went on until the mist returned and the guitars were put away for the night.

It was a great night of music and the real rain waited for most of us to be safe in our tents and even then took it easy on us. I woke in the morning to the sound of rain on my tent, but after about half an hour it stopped and we were able to get up and ingest some bacon and round up our gear. A few people still had classes on the day, but most pulled up camp and headed home. Another great weekend of kayaking music and friends.


3/28/08
Day #29, La Jolla Surf Shindig
Friday I drove down to San Diego for the Southwest Symposium and after dropping my camping stuff off at Campland headed to the Marine Room at La Jolla for a surf class with Sean Morley and Nigel Foster. There were about 10 of us in the class including Chuck Freedman, Patric Martin, Mike Bode. I was also happy to meet for the first time the builder of my Delfin kayak, Rafael Mier and his son Gustavo who were up from Mexico to attend the symposium. Everyone seemed competent kayakers with various levels of experience in the surf.

We spent a bit of time talking in the sand and then headed out for the hands on training. I paddled out alongside Patrick who expressed some apprehension about his twitchy new boat, but looked like an old pro heading out through the surf. The waves had seemed a bit small when we had arrived, but picked up a bit and there were some challenging conditions for us novices. I think I caught the first wave of the group and had a nice ride to shore, but the paddle back out did not bode well for the day. A large wave broke in front of me and knocked me over backwards. A bit winded already I didn't even try for a roll and was probably the first in the group to swim as well. As someone who loves puching his sea kayak through incoming waves, I'm a bit embarrassed that punching through them in my surf boat is my major cause of carnage. Back on land for a bit, I got a tip from Sean on how to bunny hop over the soup and tried to put that to good use.

A few of us moved a bit north of the Marine Room and while the waves were of a good size, they were rather closed out and after a couple rides we mingled back with the rest of the folk. Conditions seemed to get a lot better with some green water on our sides to push our rides a bit. Every time I'd paddled out I'd see Patrick out there with a big smile on his face till I decided he must have carved it into his beard!! We were a bit crowded and I had a couple near misses with Patrick that had his eyes widening a bit! Mike and I shared a wave on one ride and both of us zigged when we should have zagged for a bit of a collision, but we both stayed upright and Mike professed to be fine later.

For the rest of the three hours, I just tried to sqeeze in as many rides as I could. Gustavo, only 16, seemed relentless and indefatigable playing in the surf that he said was bigger than what he was used to. The bunny hop served me in good stead and I found myself getting through waves that I felt sure would swamp me. A one point heading out one of the big ones loomed in front of me and I was sure of another swim. Next to me, Nigel was also paddling out and I hoped that before I found myself upside down, I'd be able to at least see how an expert would handle it, but what do you know, we both made it over! My bunny hop maneuver alone was worth the price of admission!

I got some great rides and one of the best found me riding the shoulder deep into the reef area we were supposed to avoid. In trying to pull out of the wave, I got hit by another angling wave and found myself upside down for only the second time on the day. With a bit more air in my lungs, I took some time to compose myself and pulled out my first honest to goodness combat roll to add to the day's success. Still I was in some rough water and at Seans behest surfed some white water to a safer area.

There were nothing but smiles on the faces of all the students for the day and I don't doubt on Sean's or Nigel's either. I've stopped trying to rate my latest surfing sessions because it just doesn't seem possible that each on seems to be better than the last. But a handy tip and my first combat roll makes this one I'll remember.


3/23/08
Day #28, Not a Single Chocolate Egg!
I guess I've got to check my clocks; I was supposed to start my paddle at 8:30, but got there way too early! I thought I was running late and left without even my hot water to warm my booties! A bad way to start a paddle! Early as I was, Barb and Ken were already there with there boats on the beach waiting to go!

We hit the calm water and went searching for Henry and Kathy, who as usual were starting their paddle earlier. They fooled us by showing up from the opposite direction as last time and sneaking up on us all quite like. But the harbor was not our destination and we set out for the sea. Checking the CG station, there was no one else to join our paddle, so we were on our own.

There were a lot of kayaks on the water and as is usually the case, we wondered if any of them were people we know, but most turned out to be fishermen. There was one kayaker a ways ahead of us who was on our same path and we finally met up with him amongst the kelp and rocks off of Little Corona. It was Reid paddling his Mariner Express and he joined us for our paddle to Crystal Cove.

There wasn't a lot of eagerness to land at CC, so we decided just to paddle on to Reef Point, although Reid had to head home. It was a quite day on the water, not much wave action, so it was mostly a gab fest coming and going. I had made a tour of the squirrely water of the Arch on the way out, so Henry wouldn't let me go in on the way home for an encore. Although it was a warm day, the cold water discourage most of us from rolling practice, although Ken punched one out at the landing beach. KB had guests at home to get back to, so it was just HnK and I having Easter lunch at a convenient Carls Jr.


3/22/08
Day #27, Easter Eve
Decided on a little solo time today, hoping to hang out a bit at BAR. With no one to meet, I didn't make it to the beach until about 10 and as a harbinger of what lies ahead with our warmer weather, my beach was already infested with sand urchins running about. They stayed pretty much on their side of the beach and I launched without difficulty.

With my late start I was losing the high tide and made a beeline to BAR hoping to have enough water to play. It was a bit on the shallow side, but if you didn't look down you hardly noticed! I didn't play too long with the tide lessening and me all by my lonesome, but it was nice to battle a few swells coming through the arch. A bump on a submerged rock told me it was time to head elsewhere.

Over at Toxic Creek Beach, I joined a surfer in close to shore. The waves weren't very big on the day, but I managed to get a bit wet punching through a few of them. But things slowed down and I decided to head on back. Back at BAR, I spent a bit more time hanging out sea-side with the small waves washing over the point. It was a pretty small day, but I managed to have some fun. Cold water limited me to just one roll on the day, but the sun was out in force as I loaded up the car for the trip home.


3/16/08
Day #26, The Opposite of 15
I'm 51 and ten days paddling in the last two weeks are starting to remind me I'm not a teenager. Sadly, I really can't whine because most of the folks I paddle with are older than I, but put me to shame in activity level. Yesterday's pre-storm paddle had me tired on the night and even though the storm decided not to show up, I was tempted to call today a day of rest. But the boat was still on the top of the car and as lazy as I am I hate to miss a chance to paddle with the boat all ready to go!

I decided a lengthy upside down soak in the cool waters of Pirate's Cove would invigorate my system without taxing my muscles too much. When I hit the water, the two gale force warning flags that greeted us on our return yesterday were still flying despite the fact that the only way to describe the day was sunny, calm and beautiful. The only real clouds were the fluffy white ones separating the ocean from the sky off on the southern horizon. Reading my mind, the flags started to come down as I passed the CG station.

The harbor was dead calm, but I asked a couple returning outriggers if there was any swell left over from yesterday and they offered an enthusiastic "yes". Looking out to sea, the ocean seemed like a churning river heading south, so I thought I'd first stick my neck out to see. There were still a lot of swells rolling by, but nothing like yesterday to lure me out of the harbor. Still, while out there Chuck Freedman paddle up after a longish paddle and decided to roll with me a bit.

Rolling went well and after a while Chuck asked if I'd like to switch boats. I got to paddle his Nordkapp and had no trouble rolling it up. Without a backband to fit me, I wasn't able to get a real good feel for the boat, other than the huge difference from my QCC. Chuck in my high volume boat really showed what a big boat it is, but he rolled it without much trouble.

I had hoped that with my late start I might meet up with the group that headed out on a harbor paddle earlier in the morning and sure enough, Dave, Ken and Barb came paddling by. We met up and decide to continue rolling practice in the cleaner water outside the channel. Dave started off practicing the open day hatch roll and then proceeded on to the pumping out the day hatch drill. Ken was really diving his paddle blade on his roll and fighting to get up and the cold water wasn't making things any easier. The water was crystal clear though and my rolls all went OK.

I was ready when everyone decided to call it a day and head in. My muscles felt tight as I paddled back. The plan became to renourish at Wahoo Fish Tacos, but a car loading error prevented my appearance. Suffice to say, you don't want to get the lip of your spray skirt stuck in your trunk latch with your keys in the back. Nuff said.


3/15/08
Day #25, Chunky
Ignoring the Ides of March, I glided over to the Coast Guard beach at 8 this morning. Assembling their assorted gear were Duane Strosaker, Bob McMurray, Henry and Kathy Pilcher and Chuck Freedman. Joining the party late was Ken Fry, but no one seemed to mind chatting at the water's edge as we waited for him to stow his accoutrements. Weather was expected on the day, but at the CG station, I decided to take off my wet suit top as the sun was warm and the flags lay limp on their poles. Seemed I was out of luck in my hope for a monster surf paddle.

Our unusual route for the day was to head north to Newport pier in case the wind picked up so we could avail ourselves of it on the way back. Nearing the end of the jetty, you could see there was a bit of texture outside, despite the calmness of the harbor. Nosing out past the rocks, Chuck and I took the lead. As is often the case, there was some large peakid swells at the harbor mouth, but despite his nickname, Chuck didn't come through with the tsunami. He and I waited for the rest of the group to catch up, but when they did, we already had a casualty--Ken decided not to risk his mending skeleton in the surf and stayed inside for a harbor paddle.

We started at a brisk pace, but the calm wind of the harbor belied the conditions outside. We had a steady head wind and sea to fight on our trip. Every one seemed to enjoy the chance to bury their bow through a wave with the sounds of hulls slapping the ensuing troughs. Bob, as is his wont, rolled willy nilly in the swells, but never slowed down the group. I was feeling a bit of a chill in just my t-shirt, but we were working hard enough to generate some heat. The long sandy coast dotted with palm trees looked beautiful under the cloudy sky--not our usual scenery. Soon we were taking a break in front of a sparsely populated Balboa pier.

Duane said the best word to describe today's conditions was choppy, but I decided chunky was a much more apt moniker. We had a constant smaller swell that would often be peppered with some larger waves just to make sure we all got a bit salty. By any name, we were grateful to have something a little more exciting than the usual pacivity we usually paddle through. Chuck stayed mostly on the point, while Kathy did her Greta Garbo impersonation towards the rear. Quicker than I imagined we were milling about the Newport pier as the waves rumbled through the pilings.

We set home with the wind now on our team and a rear quartering sea to keep us on our toes. There were some occasional quick rides, but it was hard to judge just which swell was surfable and I spent much time chasing losers. This was the first time for Bob to get an extended test of his homemade kayak in these kind of condition and it seemed to handle them well. Bob said it was taking a bit of work to make it look so easy, but as Henry said, we were all working a bit today. As we neared the Wedge, condition picked up a bit again and unexpected braces were the order of the day. Henry and I almost did a synchronized pinwheel pirouette on one large one, but managed to miss each other and stay upright. The biggest swells once again met us at the north end of the jetty, but we were quickly back inside the harbor.

So for the folks who ply the northern waters, a day like today is probably a humdrum event, but for us who paddle this part of the pond we call the Pacific, it was a chance to have some fun and hone our skills. I'll have to wait for some other storm to make my epic paddle, the kind that makes you wet your kayak, but it was fun to be out there sharing the water with a great group of people.


3/13/08
Day #24, Easy Breezy
I was surprised as Barb, Ken and I started our paddle this afternoon that there was no small craft warning flag flying at the CG Station; the wind was definitely in that category. We fought the head wind out of the jetty, but there didn't seem much of a swell making its way into the harbor. Even with the sun out, it was a bit chilly fighting the wind, but not so bad.

We assumed conditions outside were going to be mild despite the wind, but then as we neared Pirate's Cove a really nice set of waves came in. Perfect surfing size and shape, but I was sure I was too late to catch one. Turned out there were about 6 waves in the set and I was able to get a ride on the last small one. It was a long wait between the big sets, so we headed out for a BAR paddle.

Outside the harbor we found conditions mildly challenging and settled in for what was a slow paddle to BAR. Everyone seemed to want to paddle off by themselves today, so there wasn't much idle banter going on. The waves were churning up pretty nicely at BAR as I donned my helmet and headed in. True friend that he is, Ken let me know ahead of time he wouldn't be coming in to save me! Tide was too low even if I wanted to do an arch pass, but at least I hung out for a bit along side. Ken and Bard didn't even want to watch so kept facing out to see ignoring me. I didn't want Ken to have to test his mended collar bone with a rescue tow, so I kept my visit short but sweet and soon we were headed back. We wondered what conditions were going to be like for Duane's Saturday paddle.

Back at PC, we hung out a bit, but the swells had calmed down considerably. Ken and I got a couple small rides, but Barb would have none of it and stayed out practicing different strokes. As we passed the CG Station again, they'd finally got on the ball and put out the SCW flag. At least the wind was at our backs and helped blow us back for a safe landing. My hope for Saturday? Four times the surf and two times the wind--I'm hoping for something Doug Lloydian.


3/12/08
Day #23, Question of the Day
Can a combat roll be planned?

My kayak date for the night jilted me. The only thing to do in such a case is put on your corsage and head out alone! I hit the water at about 4pm without much thought of where I was heading. I spent yesterday whittling down my GP some more so I took that with me. I was able to shave off another 5 oz and flatten the blades a bit which I hoped would help my rolling.

I figured just hitting the water was a plus today, so I thought I'd just do an easy BAR paddle, but when I got to Pirate's Cove, there were some nice swells hitting the sea wall. It looked like I might sneak a ride next to the point. I was impressed to see a man swimming right by, but my awe turned to ire when I realized he was swimming back and forth right in my surf zone! We got into a good rhythm though, where I'd catch a wave while he was away and by the time I got back for the next one he'd be gone again. I was surprised on my second ride; I really had to lean back to keep my bow from plowing under. Most of the rides weren't that great, but they made me forget about my other destination.

Things calmed a bit, so I started working on some bracing and rolling practice. I've had luck lately rolling with my Onno, but not so much with my GP, but the new sleeker model seemed to do the trick. My rolls felt sharp and with the confidence of success, I was able to take some time under water to notice the effect of my hip snap on the boat. While rolling though, I missed a nice set of waves that came in that would have given me a great ride.

I was hanging out a while and I could hear some nice sized waves pounding on the Wedge and figured my long range set was coming in again. I got a couple small rides, but was hoping for at least one big one. I figured if I caught a big one, I'd let it knock me over to see how I'd roll in more realistic conditions. It took a while, but I finally got a ride big enough to take you whether you wanted it or not. I got a good ride, but before it died out I did a quick capsize. No goggles or nose plugs, just that lovely feeling of salt water being injected into your sinuses. A bit discombobulated, my first roll only got me up enough for a quick breath, but I took my time on the second try and popped right up. Well, it wasn't a real big wave and I knew it was coming, but it stilled seemed more realistic that the usual rolling practice.


So it ended after a couple hours of fun where I never even left the harbor. 3/9/08
Day #22, Time and Tide Wait for No Man
Had I realized that the time change was on for last night, I would have started my paddle today a bit later, but there I was meeting Barb at the secret beach at 8:15--too early in my opinion even without losing an hour. When we hit the water, Henry and Kathy glided up already with a loop of the island in their belt. Doesn't anyone sleep late anymore!!!

There was talk about of some wind in the immediate future, but for now it was a great day to paddle. The paddle out was dotted with kayaks--fishermen and others, all enjoying the early morning quiet. The sky was mostly clear despite the misty fog in the distance except for a clearly discernable bank of fog that had descended on Dana Point 12 miles distant.

I used Henry's ongoing recovering from shoulder surgery as an excuse to keep a mild pace rather than admit any fatigue from my fast paced Saturday paddle. No one argued against Crystal Cove for a destination. We shared stories of foggy paddles past while dolphins passed us in the distance. To our left, 5 kayakers angled the water below the kelp beds while more out to sea, we stopped to chat with more early morning paddlers. We kept our eye out for Dave O. who was might to be out earlier to do a longer paddle than us pikers. Even at our lazy pace, we were soon abreast of the cottages where we declared that for a true paddle to Crystal Cove, you must at least reach the Green House, although I added a codicil that when on an arm rattling pace with Chuck Freedman, you can turn back at the first cottage!

It was nice to just hang out floating a while and chatting at CC, no one seeming in a rush to head home. We took the inside passage on our way home so I could visit BAR which I had ignored on the way out. With a high tide, I hurried back for a quick arch run so as not to hold up the group. BAR today seemed to be the only place anyone was sleeping late, as it was covered by a large flock of pelicans. To punish me for my early morning intrusion, they crapped on my boat from stem to stern and I paddled home smelling like the Dana Point jetty!

Inside the harbor, we saw a kayaker heading our way with the unmistakable stroke of Dave O. We wondered if perhaps he had forgotten the time change, but in a hurry to get in his paddle, we didn't get a chance to ask. With the early start, the paddle seemed over way too early, so we headed to the Fireside for our aprhs paddle brunch.


3/8/08
Day #21, Puttin' a Hurt on the Newbies!
We salty yakkers can be a macho lot. I joined speedster Duane Strosaker for his harbor "fitness paddle at your own pace." That's code for keep up or be prepared to be left behind. Bob McMurray was there as well, another notorious greyhound and I usually seem to be able to keep a pace these days. Stretching their wings to brave this paddle also were Chuck Fowler and Jeff Libby. Chuck, a marathoner has shown himself to be an able paddler, but doesn't get out with us much. Jeff just absorbed a battering of email advice that flattened out his left leaning tendencies encouraging him to try paddling straight for a change.

We set off giving no quarter. Bob and I took the lead; I wondering at the ease that he seems to keep a fast pace. Duane seemed off in the back, I assumed laying down the law for the upstarts who thought themselves worthy of this crew. Soon Duane joined us and three abreast we powered on through the back bay. Trouble was we couldn't lose the newbies!!! Credit where it is due, these two showed some grit and stayed right behind us as we passed under PCH. We hallowed Harold on the shore waiting for a class and continued on for our turn point at NAC.

Perhaps the pace got to Jeff a bit and to stave off dehydration, he reached behind for his water bottle. Yes, clearly a newbie mistake!!! Up a head we were alerted by an outrigger who suggest we might want to check on our entourage. Jeff was in the soup. I made a quick Uey and got his boat up and emptied. I like to rescue like I roll, unlike anything anyone has seen before. I just held on to his boat and he crawled in, but he admitted it was completely backwards from the rescues he'd learned before, but I don't like to stand on ceremony. Our slight detour allowed us to collect for the ride to NAC. I mused that in all my years of kayaking, it's not too often you have a kayaker go belly up for no apparent reason and I thanked Jeff for the chance to do a combat rescue! Good experience for both of us!

Now that we were warmed up, we were ready for the real paddling to begin--back to the main channel and around Lido Isle. For some reason, this seems the place where the pace always starts in earnest. As we made the turn around Kevin Costners house, the three of us out front seemed to be paddling alone. Half way down the island, we decide Chuck and Jeff must have headed back to the beach. Making the turn around Lido, we faced the paddle home through a brisk breeze. We chatted, solving the question of feather vs. none and countless other kayaking uncertainties. We perhaps unleashed a low evil chuckle at the thought of our lost compatriots realizing this pace would never slow down. We allowed grudging respect of their mettle, but not too secretly basked in our prowess! The wind only goaded us on, feather be demmed. We owned the bay and all seemed to part before us.

We soon landed on the CG beach and perhaps fatigue clouded Bob's thinking a bit. He suggested I try his boat, the absolute antithesis of my QCC. I had to remove my booties just to get my feet in and all the while fearing the sound of fiberglass coated plywood splintering, tried to wiggle myself in. Now Bob is a tall fellow, but my feet soon hit the bulkhead while my legs were squeezed together like a kielbasa stuffed in a breakfast sausage casing. A man on shore was taking pictures to warn his family of attempting such madness and I had to resort to my usual groveling in the mud and water to extricate myself from his shoe box. A very ugly experiment!

Up in the parking lot, we realized that our newbies were still on the water and I think we said a silent prayer! Turns out they didn't let our speed daunt them and continued the complete loop only a little bit behind us. Though I tease them a bit, these two are welcome additions to our paddling scene, able paddlers and I look forward to plying the ocean with them in the future. I certainly remember starting out where I could only recognize my paddling partners from behind! And if we gave no quarter, neither did they ask for any. A fun morning of testosterone and salty spray.


3/6/08
Day #20, An Even Score
My fourth day on the water this month brings me to a score for the year. Wasn't expecting much for this paddle, so I left my helmet in the car; just wanted to pad my record, but the day served to add truth to my motto: "Expect the worst; you'll probably be pleasantly surprised!"

Ken joined me again and we headed out for BAR--again!!! The tide was at zero ft and falling, but it was still a beautiful day with a wispy clouded sky. Outside the harbor, the water was smooth as glass--pretty, but not usually conducive to a lot of fun. We headed inside close to shore and found ourselves pushing our way through the unusually abundant kelp. Ken said he'd read that they had been planting it in our area; I just wondered if it was making the fishing any better for the kayak anglers.

Quickly we made it to BAR and I slipped into the cove on the side while Ken was content to practice sculling braces out past the surf line. Despite the glassy water, there were some nice waves coming in on occasion. I snuck back as far as I could, as the waves weren't breaking till they hit the shore and we continued like this for a while. All of a sudden, I found myself facing a five foot vertical wall of water looking to land right on top of me! I poured on some speed and just made it over the crest with a hard landing on the other side. It was a fun ride, but not one I expected or usually look for in the rock studded cove on a low tide.

We headed back and spent some time in front of Big Corona to see if the big swell would come in again. I saw a large fin pop up, but it was gone so quick I couldn't tell which marine creature it could belong to. We thought it may be a whale as we waited quite a while, but didn't see it come up anywhere else.

At Pirate's Cove, we landed and snacked, I asked Ken if I could try his Explorer. It was a tight fit for me and I seemed loose without my giant back band, but I learned what it's like to roll a real kayak! I couldn't believe how well my rolls were popping up. For the first time, I could really feel my hip snap having an effect on the boat. After a couple extended rolls, I switched and had just as much success as non extended. Ken gave me his Superior GP to try and I seemed to pop up even more solid with that. I was pretty amazed at the change and felt ready to take next to last place at the next rolling competition! Back in my boat, I confirmed its barge like quality with a couple more pathetic rolls. Darn I need a new boat.

Well, we'd had enough on the day and headed home. The tide was so low, there was hardly any beach for us to land on. So we rolled out of our kayaks onto the public dock and saved ourselves a walk through the sand. Another fun day on the water.


3/4/08
Day #19, More of the Same
Third day on the month-not a bad way to start. I met Ken at the secret beach @noon today, a beautiful day to be on the water. On my way home from my paddle on Sunday, I nearly lost my boat from the wicked wind that almost torqued it off my racks. We were lucky the wind didn't start until we were done with our paddle. Today the wind was our friend, easing the heat from a sunny sky.

I've got to be impressed with Ken. Old man that he is, he seems to have recovered quickly from his bike crash and was ready to hit the water. We had no real agenda; just started paddling. I was a bit worried with my blisters from Sunday, but they seemed no problem while paddling my Onno. Conditions were calm and the low tide prevented any excursions behind Big Arch Rock, so Crystal Cove became the default destination.

Ken surprised me by saying he was up for a landing at CC. I just wanted to atone for my adventure at Treasure Island on Sunday. I headed in for the Green House, figuring if I was going to mess it up, at least do it for the folks feasting on over priced burgers at the restaurant. There was a rather nasty shore break breaking on occasion, but I made it in without incident if you ignore my usual sandy dismount. Ken exhibited good timing as well and we were soon snacking on the sand.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day??? There's something special about standing on the beach taking a break from a paddle that gives you a chance to realize your good fortune. Snacking, chatting and watching the surf roll in--it seems the way a paddle should follow. Talking with Ken, I mention how before I started kayaking, if I saw a group of kayakers off Crystal Cove, I would be amazed! Where did they come from--these intrepid explorers braving the elements so far out to sea??? Now perhaps I am one of those people impressing the luncheoners and beach wanderers.

As is usually the case upon landing at CC, we had a nice couple walk up to ask about our boats and our trip. Even the mild surf at CC seems to impress the uninitiated! Just about then, a wicked wave unlike anything we'd seen till then pounded the beach! The couple was concerned for our exit and Ken didn't help things by mentioning the loss of our club president last year!! Ken told them that with judicious timing, we'd be out safe and sound, but added that I (me) would just punch through anything that came my way!!! They asked if they could watch and I assured them that an audience could only lead to carnage!! I launched without a hitch and just to show off, waited for one of the large waves to roll in to catch a bit of air for our fans. The waves were hard to predict and I worried for Ken with his sore ribs getting hammered by that rogue wave, but after a bit of waiting he made it out with no trouble.

Our trip home was rather uneventful. Off in the distance we saw a paddler headed home that by the cadence we discerned to be Chuck Freedman, but we never caught him to confirm. Towards the jetty, Ken seemed to be feeling the longest paddle since his return from his crash, but still had enough oomph to knock off a couple rolls at Pirate's Cove. When we hit the beach, Chuck's Nordkapp sitting on the sand confirmed our suspicions of the suspicious paddler. We had all snuck this paddle in for the day and couldn't hang out to chat, but I think we were all glad that we made it!


3/2/08
Day #18, Duane's Sunday Paddle
Lugged myself out of bed in time this morning to join Duane's first Sunday paddle in a long time. When I pulled in to the beach at Dana Point, Henry and Kathy were already there talking with George M. We all had our boats down by the water by the time Duane strolled in. Treasure Island was the destination, although H&K had other engagements on the day and could only go about half way.

Compared to yesterday's miserable weather, we had it pretty nice. The sun was out and the sky was clear and once out of the harbor, Abalone Point was quite clear in the distance. I was a bit worried we might get too warm, but the breeze kept us comfortable all day. The sea was mild which let everyone paddle close together and gab while keeping a leisurely pace. It seemed too early when H&K decided to turn around.

On my rolling practice yesterday, I tweaked a chest muscle, so today I decided to only use my GP. I figured with Henry still recovering a bit from his shoulder troubles, the pace wouldn't get too high. Trying to eliminate clutter and simplify my paddling style, I left my Onno in the car. We fell into a good rhythm and soon were closing in on TI. There to greet us was Dave O. who had left early to get in some extra miles and join us on our way back.

On our landing at TI, I was able to provide the only drama on the day. This was my first time landing at TI and despite George's warning earlier that things could get tricky, I just plowed right in. Those who have paddled with me know I often utilize a modified wet exit on beach landings where I just sort of roll out of my boat on shore and get all wet and sandy. I'd timed a wave just right to leave me on the beach, but found the shore to be a bit steeper than I expected. So when I rolled out, my boat and I got sucked back into the water. I was floundering about in the rocky shore, no worse than most of the indignities I have to endure, but my real worry was the new VHF radio I had stored in my snack bag in my cockpit. Sure enough, it got sucked out along with all its contents and now my radio was at the bottom of the rather shallow sea. George had a dive mask with him and lent it to me, but the search didn't go well. The water was so cold I could barely stay under to look and the receding waves would suck me past the area I was searching in. I had to hold on the copious sea weeds to keep my place. But the water was too roiled with sand and the rocks and sea weeds to plentiful to see anything and I soon gave up hope. But ladies and gentleman, Poseidon smiled on me today and George saw the radio spinning about in the shallow sand. It became a mad electronic grunion hunt as he grabbed for it in the fast moving water. George really saved my bacon on this trip.

The guys were nice enough to give me a bit more time to recover from my ordeal. We talked about every paddle always having some excitement, but I said that was most true about landings. Always seems to me there is always something to be learned in even the easies surf launches or landings and I usually always enjoy them! Soon we were heading off and the same conditions that gave me trouble on landing sucked my right out for an easy launch.

Now Dave is usually out ahead setting the pace, but today he was chatting it up with George, so Duane and I had the lead. I was soaked, but despite the cooling conditions felt warm under our steady pace. I learned something else today though--an unfinished Greenland paddle can get hard on your skin during a 13 mile paddle. I had 5 blisters on my hands that soon lost all there skin to become gaping open wounds. I figure by the time we made it back, my hands would be bloody stumps. Not something I thought of when I decided to leave the Onno in the car.

Finally Dave had had it with our lollygagging and took the lead to get us home. Even he had to rest a bit to catch his breath as we turned into the harbor, but then he had quite a few more miles in than we. My fingers held up during the slow paddle back to the beach. We loaded up and then chatted a bit and then everyone went home to get ready for the next paddle.


3/1/08
Day #17, A Quick Rolling Practice
Ignoring a gloomy sunless sky, I headed out at noon for some rolling practice. I had hoped a later paddle would give time for the sun to come out, but no luck. The water too looked less than inviting; a ruddy, dark, greenish-brown affair, but I decided not to let it spoil my practice.

Pirate's Cove had a tiny bit of swell rolling in when I arrived. I got to work quickly and despite the gloom, stayed relatively warm despite my immersion. My rolls came without a hitch, although the wind kept blowing we into the shallows. After a while I let my Onno float a bit and switched to my GP. I was impressed with my first attempt--a solid roll up, but the next few required a bit of forward skull to make it up. With the cold water creating a disinclination to swim, I didn't take much time underwater to focus on my movements and try to realize any flaws. I'm still waiting for some warm water pool time to concentrate on my technique.

Once again, I showed off for the large yachts that sailed by and I had no swims on the day. The swell coming in picked up a bit and I was able to get a few rides on the waves that formed around the PC reef. It calmed down quickly and I made a fast paddle back to my beach.


2/28/08
Day #16, Pushing it a Bit
I was supposed to meet Barb and Chuck Freedman for the Thursday Afternoon Paddle, but I was surprised when Ken showed up for the first test paddle of his crash ravaged shoulder. Of course Ken is never know to push things, so I figured he must be ready. In the mood for a new boat, I was checking out Chuck's Nordkapp as we waited for the tardy K n' B. Haven't had a chance to look one over much before.

It wasn't the ideal shoulder testing weather; there was a strong head wind that would steal and progress if you stopped your paddling. Ken felt pretty good, but felt a little pain in his ribs. Chuck convinced him to try his paddle, a narrow bladed affair and he seemed to do alright. It was looking pretty choppy outside with some swells making their way into the harbor, so KnB decided to hang out in the harbor. That left Chuck and I to make a run to Crystal Cove. That was my fall back position when Chuck suggested Abalone Point. I told him, I'm not used to real paddling!

I've heard Chuck likes to chew up the miles and he set a pretty fast pace. It was fun though, plowing through the wind and the head seas. We seemed to slack of a bit now and then to where I could find enough air to converse a bit. I quizzed him on his opinion of other boats and our pace soon had us closing in on the first cottage of CC.

I was ready for a corn-nut break which gave the wind a chance to start us on our home journey. We followed a more inshore route on the way home and Chuck gave me a heads up on a couple waves sneaking in. A choppy rear quartering sea also kept us alert. I was happy for a slower pace on the way home. Ken and Barb were still hanging out at the launch site when we landed and we all headed to a little know coffee place for more kayak gabbing.


2/25/08
Day #15, Eye of the Storm
I stopped along the strand at Huntington Beach this morning to see what our stormy weather was doing in the way of big surf. Things weren't massive; the waves weren't all that tall, but had quite a bit of water too them. Like Ken Fry, the waves had no shoulder and would break in a line a couple hundred yards long on the beach. There was plenty energy to chew up a kayak and spit it out. I wished I was in there, but hey, some of us have to work for a living!

By three o'clock, I was on the water back in Newport hoping to find a little energy left. As I paddled out, there was no wave action hitting the jetties. It looked like what swell there was heading south and skipping the shoreline. The paddle to BAR was a mostly calm affair.

The bathymetry around BAR always seems to scoop up a little energy and my favorite rock was getting a bit of a cleaning. Low tide closed out the back, so I just hung out on the side as the small but powerful swells rolled by. Not wanting to swim, I took it easy and enjoyed the sound of the surf crashing on the rocks.

I paddled home thinking I'm way behind on my paddling this month; if I'm lucky, I might squeeze in seven. I'll have to think of some special way to atone in March.


2/17/08
Day #14, Scum on the Water, Fire in the Sky
Plan today was to head to Pirate's Cove to work on my rolling. Haven't tried many lately and my success rate was dropping. It was a beautiful day with just a few wispy clouds to occasionally occlude the sun. Despite the mild temps, at least I could count on some solar energy between tries.

The paddle to PC caused me to change my plans. I was paddling through stretches of brown lumpy water. Clumps of foam would dissipate with every paddle stroke, but I had no idea where all this stuff was coming from and decided to head to open water.

I decided to head on to BAR and maybe do some rolling in the protected cove. I paddled close to the shore through dense beds of kelp. Low tide made me keep my eyes open for sucking rocks, but the ocean was very calm. Off in the distance I noticed a canoe floating unattended. I figured it must be some snorkel fisherman, but I could see no line to secure it. I headed over thinking, if something unfortunate had happened t