Paddle with the Pros

I recently stumbled across this section of instructional material on the Necky Kayak site. The url is http://www.necky.com/kayaking_adventures/paddle_with_pros/. Topics include: C to C Roll, High Brace, Sculling Draw, Low Brace, Low Brace Lean Turn, Scramble Self-Rescue, and Sculling High Brace. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning

I invited several friends who want to try kayaking to join me at Aqua Adventures for an easy paddle around parts of Mission Bay. For those who are familiar with Mission Bay this would be the standard Tour d'Penguins. Alas, due to unforseen events, only my good friend and former co-worker could make it.

We outfitted him in a nice stable Looksha V, and gently headed out from the docks. We kept the pace nice and slow since he has been nursing a back injury for some time. There was an abudance of water fowl and a seal or two to be spotted as we made our way toward Seaworld. We talk about the changes, or lack thereof at my old job, and how much I am loving my position at Qualcomm.



We had the tide and a little wind gently pushing to toward the penguins. We took a break and slow drifted past them. Geoff had a wedding to get to, so we turn back toward the docks. The sun was slowly trying to burn through the May Gray, as we pulled up to the docks. Geoff exited the boat without a problem. That is always the toughest part of the whole paddle for beginners. I've seen more than one person go splash!

Geoff helped carry my boat up to my car, and then headed out. I think he understood the peacefulness one can find on the water.

San Diego Surf Shindig

I'm stealing the title of this blog post from Mark Sanders.

The San Diego Kayak Club organized another surf day at La Jolla Shores. Since Jane was kind enough to grab a spare helmet from Aqua Adventures, I head down to the boat launch. I unloaded my boat, then parked over in the lot. I quickly changed and headed back down to the beach. I knew I could not stay long since I had a family commitment at 9:30. As I returned, Neil was unloading his boat, and then Mark Sanders (a fellow CKFer from the OC) pulled up. I gave him some info on parking, bathrooms, etc. One other fellow was also launching there in his small boat. I pointed out where the rest were playing, and he headed the 300 yards south.

Once Neil and Mark were back, I pushed off. I saw Jane on the beach, and caught a perfect wave right in. Kept the boat straight the whole ride. I don't think I had ever done that before. We walked up the narrow path by the Marine Room to her car and grabed the helmet.

I headed back out to rejoin the other paddlers. The long boats stayed north of the buoy, while the sport boats enjoyed the waters to the south. Neil caught quite a few nice rides. I saw Mark enjoy some as well. I had a few attempts, but the timing was just a bit off. It is nice to play in the surf and get a feel for moving your boat around when the waters are not flat.

About half way through the day, I was riding a larger wave in (2-3 feet I guess, but I'm not good at estimating wave height). I start to brace into the wave as it begins to break. I think I over reached and rolled over. Crud. However, my paddle was stuck in the sand. I really did not want to break my paddle. So I'm trying to pluck the blade out, and in doing so the other blade now get's stuck in my deck lines. I'm able to free it, but there is not a lot of air left in my lungs. I make a rushed attempt at a roll, but pretty much know that I'm practicing a wet exit.

So I swim my boat back to shore. Jay gave me hand in dumping out the water. Jay had been out a few times, and was sitting out for bit. I paddled back out and began to look for my next wave. I caught one or two more waves before I had to call it a day. I paddled back toward the boat launch area, and caught one last nice wave in. I really need to get a helmet!

Mark took some video from the day with his rig. I think I had already left. View it here, http://sandmarks.vidshadow.com

First Paddle in May

The Saturday morning gang meet at the Aqua Adventures docks. As I waited for the folks to show up, Bob Jones pulls up sans boat. He decided to grab a rental and try out something new. In this case a Romeny. Before too long, Neil and Jim pulled into the parking lot. We had one other paddler, Bill who was also borrowing aboat from Jen's fleet. Once Jay arrived, we quickly launched.



As we drifted into the basin, we began to discuss the the route. Several of us commented on the reports of the high surf, so we decided to head out the channel and examine the conditions.



We paddled along the south side of the channel, slowly feeling the effects of swell and the reflection of the waves. We felt that it would be wiser not to take a risk.



So we turn our boats around and cruised over to Sea World. As we took a break near the penguins, it was about 10:30, so the plan to loop Vacation Island had to be postponed as Bill wanted to get the boat back to the docks. Ah, the life of a renter. I remember it well.

For those who get Jay's after trip photo emails, here is a photo of the man himself.



As we headed back toward the docks, two crews began to race by. Several of us cranked up the speed to see how long we could keep pace.



We pulled back into the docks, relishing another fine day on the water.