Happy New Year! Paddle #1

One of my goals this year is to paddle my age. So, to start things off right I join several members of the San Diego Kayak Club at La Jolla Shores for an easy paddle along the coast. A total of seven paddlers launched into the cool and foggy Pacific Ocean. We estimated that we had about 50 feet of visibility. We successfully found the Scripps Pier and continued northward, guided by our compasses. After about an hour, my elbow was feeling a bit a tight, and there was not a lot of sight seeing to be had, so we turned back toward La Jolla. Mike and Pete opted to continue northward for a bit. As we turned southward, the fog slow started to lift.

We landed without incident. In fact some took the opportunity to play in the surf. I caught a nice wave into the shore. I had to head home to get ready to take the family up to Disneyland to celebrate the twins 8th birthday.

We learned later that Dom Lemarie had taped our launch. Here is the video on YouTube. I'm the first one launching.

Forty paddles to go....

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