[Paddlewise] Day #46, Meandering del Mar

6/1/08

I arrived at Crescent Bay at 7am to find Ken and Barb already with their
boats on the beach. On the drive down, I had noticed the surf and it looked
rather mild, but Barb was standing on the sand watching as a rather nasty
set came in to mush on the beach. It was going to take a bit of timing to
keep Barb happy today!

Soon we were joined by Duane, Bob and Dennis and a surprise visit from Pete,
who we haven't seen on the water for a while. We had plenty of time on the
sand to chat and to see that aside from the occasional set, launching didn't
look to be too difficult. Bad host that I am, I had us leaving a few minutes
early when Richard from Torrance showed up to join us. He was ready to go
quickly and without any trouble on our launches, we were on our way.

Duane had his Mini Benny today and planned to make the whole trip in the
surf line and around the rocks. The pace on the day could only be described
as meandering, but it let me spend some time investigating rocks and still
keep close to the group. We had soon left Duane in our wake and at times it
was hard to see him still plugging away in the waves. This area has many
rocky reefs spread out and the cliffs are covered in coastal homes. It makes
for a pretty paddle. If the pace was too slow, no one was complaining out
loud. Tide was on the low side, so we didn't get to see the blow hole we'd
found on our last trip. We rounded Treasure Island and headed in to Aliso
Creek to see if there was any chance to make it in, but in less we wanted to
portage our way it was a no go. We figured the water quality inside wouldn't
be so great without any ocean water making its way in so decided to head
back to TI to land and rest.

Treasure Island was an easy stop with only Richard getting wet on his
landing and that mostly because I was shooting video and didn't come to his
aid! We had the place to ourselves and after a bit of chat, Duane headed out
to get a head start for the trip home. Once again, the group about split in
half with some plying the rocky shore and the others out in calmer water.
The sun had come out for our trip home and it was a beautiful day for all.
Back at our landing site, the carnage potential had risen a bit, but with a
little timing things would be no problem. All landed safely and make the
trek up the steep hill to our cars.

It was a fun day on the water, despite the lack of carnage and it was nice
to be joined by Pete and Richard. Denise had to head home San Diego way, but
the rest of us all adjourned to Husky Burger to replenish after our outing.

Mark Sanders
www.sandmarks.net

#
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