Re: [Paddlewise] Successful Catalina Crossings

I guess my original message got stripped of it's attached file for some of
you...
Here is the text.

Catalina Training

By Albert Wang
Quote whatever you want. It's late and this really isn't all that
interesting.

Since moving down to SoCal a little over a year ago, I have rotated thru a
few sports. Lately, kayaking, has consumed much of my time. I haven't really
kayaked that long, but with all that training for the Bay2Bay, polo,
rolling, and concerts, my feet were getting wet an average of over 6 days
per week. BTW, Chris S. and I managed to have the 2nd fastest kayak on the
20 miler in the Bay2Bay. Not bad for a first timer. Since the race, it's
been down to  4x a week. My old body can't take it anymore and my back is
all screwed up with a few strained muscles and knots that feel like golf
balls.

Back to my story. Paddling to Catalina has recently been one of my kayaking dreams. I've only talked about it with the Tuesday Nite group in SD. I've
never been to Catalina at all. The thought of actually paddling there really
intrigues me. I believe my tenative  date for the crossing will be in
September. Of course, the macho guys in the SD Tuesday nite group want to do
the crossing in a storm because they are "bored" with the calm conditions.
So part of all this paddling recently has been to get ready for the longer
distances. I admit my skills are relatively limited. I only learned how to
roll last month. I've learned how to go fast tho. A little training, some
studying, and time on the water gets you a long ways.

Anyway (as I sip my Sapphire-up straight from the freezer) I am dreaming of
the Catalina crossing with its famed currents, distance, sharks, and other
hazards. Recently, local kayakers have participated in a Catalina crossing.
Trip reports are always nice to read as there is much to be learned and of
course the entertainment value.    :)

A while back, I plotted a strategy to conquer the Catalina  crossing. A
"friend" told me there is a three part strategy to prepare for this. Throw
money at the equipment (the Dennis Conner strategy), paddle in the ocean and
paddle around an island. Well, I've thrown more money into kayaking than I
wanted to, paddled enuf in the ocean surfing and chasing whales but haven't
done much of the Island thing.

Well the closest island that I can circumnavigate is Vacation Island in
Mission Bay. What better way to train for an island circumnavigation than an
island circumnavigation.  I ditched my job duties and headed for Mission
bay at 5 am to meet a friend at Bahia Point for the crossing to the Bare
Foot Bar. Neither of us was able to get any sleep the evening before and we
were so pumped up about the trip that sleeping was impossible. It took us 4
hours to rig our boats with sails, GPS, compass, food, radios, sand our
boats, etc,.

While we were "preparing" we met  two young boys who were unloading their
boats. The boy with the carbon fiber K1 with wing paddles, I will refer to
this person as the Young Kayaker (or YK) as I have some unflattering
opinions and observations about him. The other young kayaker was a little
older, about 13 and I will refer to him as YK2..  Initially I was hesitant
to participate this crossing with them, because I had been on two previous
paddles with YK and  YK2 shortly after each paddle he published articles on
various internet bulletin board sites that were very critical of everyone
else involved and very self serving for themselves.  Overall I felt that I
could put up with minor inconveniences for the security of a larger group
crossing.  YK assured us that he had an excellent compass and a GPS unit. I
have my own submersible VHF radio so I felt we were covered.  I contacted my
paddle buddy, Jay, and he was as ready as I was for the trip.  We're ready,
so let's launch!

The crossing isn't all that exciting. It's about a half a mile to the
island. Jay and I almost came to blows with YK and YK2 deciding on the best
route during max ebb. We made it over arguing the whole way. I should  have
looked at my landmarks while heading over for the trip back. My mistake.

By the time we got to the Bare Foot bar it was lunch time. We chowed down,
drank (water in their case) and got ready to go back . After all the beers
Jay and I had, we had a hard time figuring how to get back. We trusted all
our electronics to get us home safely. YK and YK2, who only drank water,
were whining, something about Jay and I being incompetent kayakers, etc. I
told them to shut-up and I would buy  them an ice cream when we got back.
Well they decided to put it in gear and paddle back fast in their own
direction. This put us in danger as we split up and were almost hit by
powerboats trying to avoid a long train of kayakers. Oh well youth.

We caught back up to them as we approached the shore. I was so pissed at
them that I pushed them over. They had to swim to shore. Serves them right.
I hate kids. Lesson learned: Don' t paddle with babies.

This trip was enjoyable and I would do it again, without YK and YK2. I will
certainly not invite YK and YK2 on my Catalina trip. I don't want to be put
at risk, and listen to all that whining. It seems like there are bigger
hazards than the currents, winds, storms and sharks on the Catalina crossing

It's getting late, I've run out of Saphire and I still have to make the
Catalina crossing. Sorry to utilize all your bandwidth, but I was "inspired". 
It looks like the ocean isn't big enuf for all of us

Just thought I'd throw my kayak into the "pissing pond".

Live long and paddle. See you on the water.

albert




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