I have two suggestions. For flat water, how about Morro Bay? I've heard it compares favorably to Elkhorn Slough (to which I've never been.) I'd suggest renting boats at Morro Bay State Park's marina. They rent sit-on-tops and canoes. I think the sit-on-tops are Ocean Kayaks - either Scramblers or Scuppers or Malibu Twos. From the State Park's marina you're right next to the estuary, which is an interesting place, especially if you like birds. However, check out the tides before you come and make sure you start your exploration an hour or two BEFORE high tide, and that you start heading out of any potential shallow-water strandings before the tide starts to go out. Much of that part of the bay is very shallow. There are some deeper water channels, but they can be tricky to find. If you have found one and gone upstream, it's pretty easy to find your way out. You can see them. But if you're in the shallows - just a few inches of water - and the tide starts to go out, and you don't know where a channel is, it's really easy to get stranded. It happens to people all the time, and there's no good way out. Usually the person has to sit and wait for the tide to change, which could be 12 hours! If you launch at the right time (while the tide is still coming in) the man at the rental place can tell you where to paddle and what to look for, and you shouldn't have a problem. But once the tide starts to turn, get out of the shallows! If this sounds daunting, another good place to go from the marina is across the bay to the sand spit. It's a beautiful spot. I like to parallel the shore by the sand spit and paddle south to the end of the bay. It's common to see lots of birds, seals, even deer once in awhile. Another excellent paddle on the central coast is around the caves at Shell Beach. There are a couple of caves you can paddle in if the tide is right, and lots of interesting rock formations. Central Coast Kayaks (http://centralcoastkayaks.com/) will rent kayaks and drive you to the launch site - which is only a few blocks from their store. The rentals I've seen launching there have been sit-on-tops, but they may have sit-insides too. There are also kayak rental places along the Embarcadero in Morro Bay. From there you can paddle around the moored boats, across to the sand spit, along the Embarcadero, and out to the harbor mouth. You'll see seals, sea lions (a few), probably an otter or two (there are a couple that seem to live down past the power plant), and, of course, lots of birds. Some of these rental places have "recreational" boats (like Pungos) which I would stay away from, but you might be able to get a good sit-on-top or a more serious sit-inside too. My 2 cents. Gordon Snapp Los Osos *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Gee, this is only one block from "home" in the seventies - I've stopped in a few times on various trips and they seem like great folks. When I was growing up, surfing was the only thing going in this area! (But we used to have major road trips to Yosemite for backpacking). Montana de Oro, near Morro Bay, is one of my favorite spots. You don't see large green sea anemonies like that every day. Late night email browsing on google for anemonis in Shell Beach: http://www.santangelodesign.com/poems/shell.html (http://centralcoastkayaks.com/) will rent kayaks and drive you to the launch site - which is only a few blocks from their store. The rentals I've seen launching there have been sit-on-tops, but they may have sit-insides too. Andree Andree Hurley Kayak Instruction Excellence http://www.onwatersports.com Port Townsend, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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