[Paddlewise] Solo Trip Report

Many of my friends have been following my trials and tribulations with my
garage and boats. Just before Christmas, Robin and I made the decision to
replace our old one piece wooden doors on our garage with the more modern
sectional roll-up. This of course necessitated cleaning out our garage. Then
I found out that we would be losing some overhead space and I might not be
able to hang all of our kayaks.

 

I naively suggested that we could keep our SOT's in the backyard or along
the side of the house next to Robin's roses. That idea was quickly shot down
and I then suggested that Robin's car could stay on the drive next to mine.
She informed me that we hadn't spent "X" number of dollars on doors for a
BOAT HOUSE. So two weeks ago, I reluctantly sold our two almost new
condition Necky Dolphins. At least they went to a good home with a very
active paddler in Santa Maria. I then figured out a way (with some help from
Robin) that I could double deck my surf boat and my Shadow and still be able
to walk under them.

 

Finally I realized that I probably wouldn't paddle my Gulfstream even though
it was my first kayak love because it is very similar in purpose to my
Shadow. I did start to think that maybe I could sell/trade it and get a
plastic Brit style boat. Well it sold very quickly to another CKF'r and Jon
Brindle contacted me and said he had a P&H Capella RM 166 that he would sell
me. He had the same problem in his garage-too many boats.

 

Today I met Jon, and bought the boat. I then took it to Channel Islands
Harbor to see how it paddled. Knowing how my wife feels about me paddling
solo, I decided on a few extra precautions for what I thought would be a
harbor paddle. I brought my SPOT and stuck it in a drybag under the front
bungees, shoved my VHF into my pocket, put on a tow belt in case I needed to
tether the boat to me and also attached a "Roll-Up" back-up device to my
deck lines. My pump, signal and repair kit, and paddle float rounded out the
rest of my precautions. 

 

I got into the boat and launched and tried a few edged turns and sculls to
find the boats primary and secondary stability limits. Then I started out
and turned SOUTH towards the open ocean. I headed out to the pond against a
15 knot wind.  Since the wind wasn't completely head on, the boat started to
weathercock a little, but the skeg stopped that. I kept telling myself that
I was going to The Pond to avoid paddling against a 15 knot wind that was
building when I was on the home stretch in the harbor and probably getting
tired.

 

At the pond, I surfed a lot of swells coming in and found the boat surfs
nicely. Not quite as good as my 18' Shadow, but almost. I also found that
although the Gulfstream doesn't surf as nicely as the Capella, it was easier
to turn when on edge. This is a maneuverable boat, but not as nimble as the
GS. I was impressed with its speed though. I did not have a GPS with me to
measure speed, but it felt faster than my GS but slower than my Shadow.

 

All too soon, it was time to head back in. I surfed the swells coming in as
a sail boat came within 4 feet of me from the rear. The guy wanted to talk
about kayaking!

 

After I landed, I took a seat on the Len Goodman Bench and had a
conversation with my old friend. This was the first solo paddling I've done
since he died almost a year ago and although I enjoyed it, I did promise my
wife that I would only do very safe solo paddles because I know she would
prefer that I not do any. I'm trying to uphold her wishes - but getting a
new boat was just too much.

 

Anyway see you all on the water soon,

 

Steve
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