8/27/08 Ken's plan for a Hot Dog Paddle was a rather last minute thing this week, so it's understandable that most of the regulars had other plans on the day. Even the irregulars couldn't make it! So when we left the Secret Beach a bit before 6, we figured it was just me, Barb and Ken. Even so we peeked at the Coast Guard beach to look for any familiar faces, but only saw an unmanned kayak. However, the helmet on the deck suggested to me someone geared for some heavy hot dog eating and sure enough, John Clinton came running down the beach to join us. We head out paddling under the docks with little room to spare with the tide already very high. Barb and Ken had never paddled with John before, so he was in for some intense interrogation under the bright sky. We made quick work of the harbor and with the high tide I headed by Little Arch Rock to see if conditions were right for a rare pass through. In keeping with my intent to be a bit kinder to my boat, I skipped any attempt as the tide was still about a foot low to even hope to make anything like a clean pass. The tide was plenty high to pass in through the back way at BAR though, or so I thought. I made it, but added a new scratch when a wave sucked me high and dry on heretofore submerged rock. I made a couple passes and hurried to catch up the group. The sets rolling on shore at Crystal Cove weren't very big, but a couple were big enough to cause a bit of carnage. John and I head in together and while he landed like a pro, I did my usual groveling in the sand exit. We both head over to help Barb with her landing just as Ken tried to send her in on top of one of the biggest sets coming through. The look on our faces and our frantic signs to stay back stopped her in her tracks and she found a more manageable wave to come in on top of. In no time we had the Hebrew Nationals simmering on the cast iron skillet as the sun bathed the ocean with an orange glow. I got the impression John might be a hot dog eating contestant, as while we all had sodas, he preferred straight water with his dog. At least he didn't soak the bun in the water and eat it separate from the wiener! When we were done, there was one last furter, wrinkled and dejected begging for a home, but found no takers. I can't say what we did with him on this forum; you'll have to attend the next hot dog paddle to find out! The sun was heading down quick, so we all got launched safely and headed home. I took the inside stealth passage, while Barb had the others heading toward Catalina. With the sun quite faded away and me with only my prescription sunglasses, the ocean looked quite dark, but I could still see the three off on my left. After a while, I worried they might not see me, so gave them a flash of my light to let them know I was OK. As I paddle right off the wave line, a dolphin came up and followed me for quite a while. I would come up to breathe right of my bow and didn't try to hurry off. I veered over the others and he followed me along, although he shied of the bigger group. Soon we made our way in through the dark harbor. We said goodbye to John at the CGB and thanked him for joining us. We were expecting a rather sedate affair, but some new blood provided a new ear to hear all our twice told tales. In the end even John had to admit it was the best Hot Dog Paddle he'd ever been on. A nice chat and paddle and most importantly, we all got our minimum daily requirement of vitamin HD! Mark Sanders 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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