[Paddlewise] Day #34, Cracking the Whip?

From: Mark Sanders <sandmarks_at_ca.rr.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:45:14 -0700
4/15/08

Ken and Barb suggested it was time we put a few more miles into one of our
paddle. I couldn't argue with that, we've been a tad lazy lately and coming
off a 90 degree weekend it seemed the right time for a bit of a work out. So
while I was up for anything, Team KB decided for a harbor paddle when we
found rather unexpected wind and waves upon our launch from the Coast Guard
beach.

Barb would have been happy to never leave the harbor, but I always say
you've got to at least stick your nose out to see what conditions are really
like. But the constant head wind was a bad sign and when we hit the outer
water conditions could only be described as FUN!!! So to make someone happy,
we decided to put our miles in in the harbor.

Turning back into the harbor, we could at least have a bit of fun trying to
catch the swells rolling in. We hugged the west side of the jetty trying to
ameliorate the wind a bit. I paddled close by the jetty to satisfy my
jonesing for big rocks, but paid the price with a grinding cross-over of a
barely submerged rock. I continued to add texture to my pristine boat by
paddling next to the sea wall and through the private dock pilings. Pretty
pathetic that most of the scratches on my boat now come from a harbor
paddle!

With the wind at our backs, we got a bit warm as we paddled down around Lido
Isle. Still it was a pretty day with the occasional sun battling the
threatening clouds. On the long haul back against the wind we could at least
blame Barb for our predicament-had we gone even for just a BAR paddle, we'd
have the wind helping us home! But at least the chat made up for the mundane
scenery.

Right past Kevin Costner's house we zaggeg past the dredging barge for the
final paddle back behind Balboa Island. Ken's long mileage resolve was
ebbing in front of the continued winds and the decision was to head back to
the CG beach. Barb went right for the beach, but Ken and I put in an extra
.2 of a mile to bring us to an impressive 8 miles on the day! Not as far as
we'd hoped, but we had to save our energy for the carry back to the parking
lot!

Perhaps we had better intentions on the start of the day, but we still
managed to have a nice day on the water. Having cut our paddle shorter than
we'd planned, we realized we didn't manage to fit in all our chat and so
reassembled at a local regal burger joint to fit it all in.

Mark Sanders
www.sandmarks.net
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Received on Tue Apr 15 2008 - 19:45:20 PDT

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