Paddlewisers, One of the aspects of surf kayaking that I enjoy is watching others get thrashed. Of course, when I am out there, I am fair game and occasionally take a thrashing too. Anyhow, Joe Kramp and I were surf kayaking at San Onofre today. The surf was small, so there wasn't any thrashing to be seen, or so I thought. After a couple of hours of surfing, Joe and I were back on the beach, and as if he knew something was going to happen, he told me to watch this guy land his whitewater (more specifically, rodeo) kayak. Although the main break was about 150 yards off the beach, there was also a beach break, which was running about 3 feet today. This guy paddled straight toward the beach and was picked up by a beach break. As you would expect when you point a kayak straight down a steep beach break, the bow of his kayak plowed under the water and the stern was lifted by the wave. Of course, this guy leaned back onto his back deck, but by then he was to the point of no return. This was going to be one of those thrashings, especially since the water in front of him was only 6 inches deep, and to make matters worse, the guy wasn't wearing a helmet. With the tide where it was at, the beach was sandy with a 4 inch rock every few feet. I really thought this guy was going to get hurt. Anyhow, the face plant was the most beautifully executed one I ever saw, albeit accidental. Fortunately, the guy didn't get hurt or even bail out. He rolled in a few inches of water and came on in just fine. With everything being OK, Joe and I couldn't help but laugh for about 5 minutes. That face plant made my day! Duane Strosaker Sea Kayaking in Southern California with an Attitude for Adventure! <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/pirateseakayaker/index.html">Pirate Sea Kayaker</A> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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