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From: John Somers <somers_at_radonc17.ucsf.EDU> subject: Re: [Paddlewise] unexpected rescue--was Not Enough Rescue Practice Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 14:31:34 -0400 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:14 PDT

At 11:36 AM 5/24/00 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 23:25:43 -0700
>From: Doug Lloyd <dlloyd_at_telus.net>
>Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Not Enough Rescue Practice
>
>Peter Treby said:
>
><snip>
>>>So, you've had this experience too? I have mistakenly practiced a few
>rolls
>and rescues 300 m off a bayside beach here during a children's surf
>carnival. I didn't think I'd be noticed, but as I was righting the boat
>for
>a float rescue, 2 Zodiacs with outboards rushed out to me, full of surf
>lifesavers eager to give assistance. Should've found a more discreet
>place
>to practise.>> <snip>

A Day with the Tsonoma Rangers
                copyright Y2000           John Somers

        A fine Saturday morning, and I was off to the upper end of Tomales Bay
for a coastal paddle.  This was a day-paddle from Dillon Beach, across the
mouth of Tomales Bay and down the coast to Bird Rock.  Stopping on a highway
overlook, I  ran onto  the “Tsonoma Rangers”, Mike Higgins and Roger Lamb.  We
surveyed the breaks on the many sandbars at the mouth of the bay.  This looked
interesting enough, and we’re the entire group, so off we go.
        We launched into the 2-foot nearshore surf, Mike on his lounge-on-top
Scupper Pro, Roger in his Coaster, me in a plastic Looksha Sport and fully
fortified with a double latte from one of the too-cute breakfast shoppes in
Tomales.  
With tidal currents near slack and beginning to ebb, we expected some outflow
from the bay.  And at 8 to 9 feet with mostly spilling break on top, the
incoming swells looked even more interesting from water level.  Undaunted, I
hung with the Rangers (Dangers?), as we picked our way out and through the
sandbars.  Timing, timing and timing proved to be the essential factors again
and again.  We could relax and hang directly in front of a sandbar breakpoint
and just watch the very regular breaks, wait for a low period in the incoming
swells, then paddle briskly past the bar.  Then hang in the swells between
sandbars, and work our way past the next one.  Crossing the mouth north to
south and moving oceanward in this way, we played for most of an hour.
Finally we were free of the point at the south end of the mouth and rounded it
on the swells, outside any breaking waves.  Throughout this adventure of course
we were within the  notorious “Red Triangle” of great white shark territory and
just at the reputed nursery for great whites.  But the Tsonoma Rangers don’t
pale at dangers, so we cleared the mouth and headed south, down the coast
toward Bird Rock.
Bird Rock is massive, about 200 feet across, and rises 30 feet or more from the
water, 100 yards off the beach.  Adjacent rocks funnel  the water and form a
couple of good blowholes, spouting geyserlike with each sizable swell.  We
paddled past Bird Rock, then circled behind it into the wave shadow of calmer
water, headed for a lunch break on shore.
Suddenly overhead there was the chop-chop-chop of a circling helicopter.  It
dipped in a tight semi-circle, clearly checking us out. We proceeded with our
casual landing, then looked out to see a Coast Guard ship and a Coast Guard
airplane moving briskly along offshore.  Wondering what the occasion was, we
stared as the helicopter landed on the beach 40 yards from us, whipping up its
own wind waves in the shallow waters.  Out popped a commando-dressed rescue
swimmer, complete with wetsuit, radio-equipped helmet, and rescue clips and
lines.
Well, Sheriff Bob of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department greeted us with
queries about our safety.  Upon finding us unconcerned, he radioed for the
Coast Guard rescue units to stand down.  It seems someone had called in,
reporting “three kayakers in distress at the mouth of Tomales Bay”!  And not
realizing we were in distress, we had paddled on for another 45 minutes or so
until our would-be rescuers showed up, much to our amazement.   Sheriff Bob
told us he rescues abalone divers along that coastal area several times a year,
sometimes following attacks by great white sharks.  “This is said to be a
nursery, but I’ve never seen a little one.  They’re all big!” he said with a
knowing look.  When the chopper returned and lowered another sheriff on a long
line, Sheriff Bob clipped himself onto the skyhook and went soaring off  to
practice rescue techniques above the cliffs behind us.  Practice was over about
the time we finished lunch.  The chopper dipped its blades toward us, sounded
its whistle, and the sheriffs waved as they zoomed away.  
Better an available rescue, albeit unnecessary, than no rescue when you might
need one!
Our return trip included surfing the swells, rolling in the soup zone, and
generally playing in the sunny, beautiful mouth of Tomales Bay.
The Tsonoma Rangers cheated the great white sharks and other hazards again this
time!

Interesting shark information available at
http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/sharks.html
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