1/31/08 With Ken out of action, I was lucky to snag Duane for a paddle this noon from the secret beach. It was my tenth time out on the new year, but with the weather we've been having, my paddles have been pretty short. We decided to head for El Moro beach--a good distance considering our rust. It is hard to find a better word to describe this paddle day than perfect. Little wind, a bright sky and 30 mile visibility made for a great paddle. We hugged the shore heading through Corona del Mar and were treated to a pod of dolphins that seemed to be hunting in the kelp. They seemed perfectly happy to ignore us as they leisurely scouted the area. We headed south past BAR and actually got a little warm while we paddled. There was no need for rubber today, so we were just in t-shirts which was plenty under the bright sun. The ocean was calm and we had no trouble landing at El Moro, where we took a short break to enjoy the view of the coast and out to Catalina. I had some trouble launching in the tiny surf when I got held up on a sand bar as the one foot waves crashed on my immobile boat. I got broached, but found enough water to get turned around in time to straighten out into one of the larger waves hitting the beach. While the sun was still warm, the cold water was its own version of bracing! We paddled home close to shore and inside Reef Point, were challenged by the small but confusing waves that were backed up by a couple more larger ones looking to do us harm. The tide was low, so the rocks were close, so finding a line with enough water wasn't so easy. Of course, we're here to write the tale, so things must have turned out alright. We had another sneaker set surprise us as we paddle home side by side with me, of course, right next to the sucking rock that seemed to appear out of nowhere--just enough to put some fun in a mostly placid sea. So we once again marveled at how lucky we are to kayak in place where a winter's day can be so perfect. After my slow start on the year, I was able to squeak in 10 paddles on the month, not a bad haul. As I paddled home, I thought of the year ahead with hopes of salty adventures and more paddles with assorted kayaking friends. Let's hope everyone stays healthy! Mark www.sandmarks.net *************************************************************************** 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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