[Paddlewise] Local news

   Here's an excerpt from a story in one of our local papers I thought 
Paddlewise might be interested in.

Scott
So.Cal. 


Kayakers find their way in the fog 

September 25, 2000

By DAVE STREGE
The Orange County Register 



The two sea kayakers were in a cocoon of fog. Hearing became as important as 
seeing, since visibility was measured in yards not miles.

They paddled and listened.

"We were hoping the ships had their fog horns on," Duane Strosaker said.

Strosaker, 36, of Irvine, and Jim Gabriel, 41, of Fontana, were smack dab in 
the middle of shipping lanes between Gaviota (near Point Conception) and San 
Miguel Island. Essentially, they were crossing a highway blindfolded.

Not only that, during this 26-nautical-mile journey Sunday, the pair picked 
up an unwanted hitchhiker. Its name was fear.

The fog was bad enough. Fear made it worse. They feared the conditions would 
worsen, that the weather forecast would prove accurate. 

Strosaker and Gabriel, advanced sea kayakers who have made several channel 
crossings, were on the first day of an eight-day, channel-crossing, 
island-hopping adventure.

They planned to paddle to San Miguel Island to Santa Rosa Island to Santa 
Cruz Island to Anacapa Island to Santa Barbara Island to Catalina Island to 
San Pedro.

The first leg from near Point Conception to San Miguel is the most difficult 
because of unpredictable currents and high winds typical of the area.

Winds whip around Point Conception causing rough seas, the reason it is 
called the Cape Horn of the Pacific. 

The wind blew so hard Saturday, the pair's tent pole bent. Conditions delayed 
their start. But Sunday morning was calm, the wind sleeping like a baby. Yet 
the forecast called for 15- to 20-knot winds and 8-foot swells.

They decided to go anyway, deducing the forecast was off. 

For eight miles it was clear paddling. Then fog seized them and never let go, 
allowing them to see for only 200 yards. 

"The fog depressed us," Strosaker said. "Not being able to see the island, 
our goal, was demoralizing. 

"I was really scared because we were bucking the weather forecast. I was 
worried about conditions getting worse."

The swells were 8 feet and the wind 10 knots, which was bad enough. Luckily, 
conditions never worsened and the shipping lanes were without traffic.

At 6:45 p.m. Sunday, they saw the island and landed an hour later, the 
10-hour paddle, guided by GPS, uneventfully completed.

"I haven't heard of anyone else doing it in quite some time," said Doug 
Schwartz of Southwind Kayak Center in Irvine said of that route to San 
Miguel. "Many people go from Oxnard to Anacapa; that's not commonly done, but 
it's not unusual."

Next, the pair paddled to Santa Rosa Island on Monday and to Santa Cruz 
Island on Tuesday before deciding to forego Santa Barbara and Catalina 
islands. Wednesday, they paddled to Anacapa and on to Oxnard, completing a 
90-nautical-mile trip, one cut short by 71 nautical miles.

"We bit off more than we could chew," Strosaker said. "We were fatigued. 

"As far as I know, only a handful of people have done this and most of them 
had an escort boat. We were very happy with our accomplishment and have no 
regrets about dropping the Santa Barbara portion. It was fun but pretty 
grueling."

Next year, they might try it again, preferably in clearer and calmer 
conditions.
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