Paddling Batiquitos Lagoon
On September 16th, Guided Adventures in Nature (GAIN) sponsored a kayak cleanup of Batiquitos Lagoon--with all proceeds of this paid adventure going to the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation. Here is the Google Map of the lagoon.
I decided to join in the fun and have a rare chance to paddle a protected lagoon. My wife and I used to live just a few blocks away, many years ago. More recently, we have explored the lovely trail with the twins earlier this year, so having a chance to see it from the water was exciting.
My elbow was still a bit sore, but I did not think that the pace would be of any concern. I pulled into the Park and Ride and carried my boat a long way down to the water's edge. Why did I buy a kayak cart and leave it at home?! Ugh!
There was quite a turn out. I opted for a 10am launch, just in case there was some morning fog. After a brief instruction from Marie, she split the paddlers into two groups. One group headed west under I-5 and the others toward the east end of the lagoon. I had paddled with Marie before. I re-introduced myself and she was glad to have another experienced paddler on the water with her. Most of the other folks were in SOTs.
Armed with a plastic bag and gloves, we crossed over toward the north shore and worked our way eastward. The earlier group had done a great job. I was acting as sweep, as there was very little trash left for me.
The view was wonderful. A wide variety of birds could be seen along the entire shoreline.
I had to take the standard face shot with my disposable camera. I really wish I had a good water proof digital. Where's Mike Franklin when you need him.
As we neared the east end of the lagoon, fish began to leap from the water. I tried to grab a photo, but no luck...
When we finally landed, Marie thanked me for helping out and said if I wanted to do the other side of the lagoon, feel free. Who could pass up a chance to keep paddling. I had a quick granola bar and some water and waited to head out with the next group.
I ran sweep again. It gave me the chance to have some peace and quiet on the water.
We paddled through the sea grass as we headed under I-5. The water turned a brillant blue in contrast to the green on the east side.
As we paddled along the south shore, but the earlier groups had picked most of the trash. We paddled under the railroad trestle to the western most portion of the lagoon. Here we first landed on a beach on the north side of the lagoon. As we walk along the sand, we found more trash here. After about 10 minutes or so, we pushed back into the water.
Highway 101 and the now open channel to the Pacific Ocean.
We then headed to a sandy region to the south. The sand was very soft and we would sink down about a foot with each step. I wondered if we should even been on this sand. The launching beach was always crowded with kayaks, so I opted to end my paddle a bit early and beat the crowd.
After a long walk with my boat back to my car, I had wonderful time. Marie mentioned to me that this might become an annual event. I have since learned that it was a very profitable fund raiser for the Foundation. If it happens again next year, take the time and paddle the lagoon. [Update: They will hold the paddle in 2007]
I decided to join in the fun and have a rare chance to paddle a protected lagoon. My wife and I used to live just a few blocks away, many years ago. More recently, we have explored the lovely trail with the twins earlier this year, so having a chance to see it from the water was exciting.
My elbow was still a bit sore, but I did not think that the pace would be of any concern. I pulled into the Park and Ride and carried my boat a long way down to the water's edge. Why did I buy a kayak cart and leave it at home?! Ugh!
There was quite a turn out. I opted for a 10am launch, just in case there was some morning fog. After a brief instruction from Marie, she split the paddlers into two groups. One group headed west under I-5 and the others toward the east end of the lagoon. I had paddled with Marie before. I re-introduced myself and she was glad to have another experienced paddler on the water with her. Most of the other folks were in SOTs.
Armed with a plastic bag and gloves, we crossed over toward the north shore and worked our way eastward. The earlier group had done a great job. I was acting as sweep, as there was very little trash left for me.
The view was wonderful. A wide variety of birds could be seen along the entire shoreline.
I had to take the standard face shot with my disposable camera. I really wish I had a good water proof digital. Where's Mike Franklin when you need him.
As we neared the east end of the lagoon, fish began to leap from the water. I tried to grab a photo, but no luck...
When we finally landed, Marie thanked me for helping out and said if I wanted to do the other side of the lagoon, feel free. Who could pass up a chance to keep paddling. I had a quick granola bar and some water and waited to head out with the next group.
I ran sweep again. It gave me the chance to have some peace and quiet on the water.
We paddled through the sea grass as we headed under I-5. The water turned a brillant blue in contrast to the green on the east side.
As we paddled along the south shore, but the earlier groups had picked most of the trash. We paddled under the railroad trestle to the western most portion of the lagoon. Here we first landed on a beach on the north side of the lagoon. As we walk along the sand, we found more trash here. After about 10 minutes or so, we pushed back into the water.
Highway 101 and the now open channel to the Pacific Ocean.
We then headed to a sandy region to the south. The sand was very soft and we would sink down about a foot with each step. I wondered if we should even been on this sand. The launching beach was always crowded with kayaks, so I opted to end my paddle a bit early and beat the crowd.
After a long walk with my boat back to my car, I had wonderful time. Marie mentioned to me that this might become an annual event. I have since learned that it was a very profitable fund raiser for the Foundation. If it happens again next year, take the time and paddle the lagoon. [Update: They will hold the paddle in 2007]
posted by Chris Griffith at
2:43 PM
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