Paddlewise(folks) me again from florida.... wife found this place... any comments? thanks, steve http://www.adventuresbythesea.com/kayaking.html ? our hotel offers a 20% discount for these folks. They are 1.2 miles from our hotel. ? I belive that would be $24 each for as long as we want the kayaks. http://www.adventuresbythesea.com/kayaking.html ? our hotel offers a 20% discount for these folks. They are 1.2 miles from our hotel. ? I belive that would be $24 each for as long as we want the kayaks. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 3:41 AM, <nole4ever_at_aol.com> wrote: > Paddlewise(folks) > > me again from florida.... wife found this place... any comments? > > http://www.adventuresbythesea.com/kayaking.html > > our hotel offers a 20% discount for these folks. They are 1.2 miles from > our hotel. > > I belive that would be $24 each for as long as we want the kayaks. > Steve... this is in Monterey not San Francisco and, technically, not the "Bay Area"; I understand that when you're in Florida it could all look like the same place. If you are going to Monterey then let me just say this: DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT KAYAKING!!! There are few places like this in the world, much less the USA. As far as renting from Adventures by the Sea is concerned, I have no idea; I don't know this store. Their "Lover's Point" area is at the westernmost end of the Bay and offers some really nice rock garden paddling. Last time I was there was in a raging NW'ly storm and the water was awesome.... but I only looked down at it. My Mariner Coaster stayed on the roof of my car. Seems to me $24 a day is a good price but you'll be on SOT (sit-on-top) kayaks. There is another, rather well-known, kayak shop just east of the city's marina: Monterey Bay Kayaks (www.montereybaykayaks.com/index.lasso) which is the only kayak shop I personally have visited in that area. Depending upon just how demanding you are about your kayak this one might offer more performance-oriented boats (e.g.: decked sea kayaks.) It is one of the areas frequented by serious paddlers and some of the old Tsunami Rangers. You can park right there and get a boat and just carry it to the beach (protected by the marina just to the west). Rentals for decked kayaks appear to be $40 a day and SOTs for $30. You could ask about discounts. I would expect that drysuits or wetsuits would be necessary for safety as the water temp is probably in the 50s. I do know that Monterey Bay Kayaks has full gear available and expect that the Adventures outfit would, too. I use a drysuit. Monterey Bay Kayaks has some of the most experienced and expert kayakers in the world as their clients so may simply accept what you say is your experience as the truth and simply offer a casual warning if things are nasty. I showed up with an Express and a Coaster on my car and the gal running the place simply said, "It might get a little rough out there today." as a caution. It was seriously rough out there. Know your own limits. The area from the marina to the point is wonderful paddling as long as the winds are down. It can get seriously nasty in NW'ly winds (the area is wide open to the NW with the next landfall to the west being Japan) so be sure to watch the forecasts. Fortunately there is another excellent protected area to paddle called Elkhorn Slough which is about 15 miles east of town along the water. A marina community called Moss Landing is one end of the slough and there are launch points inland involving an interesting drive through farm country. I have launched at both places. Monterey Bay Kayaks has a small facility at Moss Landing but I've never visited that. The launch at Moss Landing is excellent and well protected but you do have a short area to get into Elkhorn Slough that is open to the NW. Last time I was there I had incredibly delicious swells entering the marina area through the opening in the breakwater offering fun surfing. Elkhorn Slough has a large colony of sea otters and sea lions. These are especially concentrated at the Moss Landing end of the slough and seem pretty well used to people in kayaks. Sea otters are cute and cuddly. Sea lions are kinda cute but not at all cuddly. They concentrate in a colony near the bridge that you must go under to get into the slough. I always give it a wide berth. Elkhorn Slough is the place to go if it's too rough to kayak the waters in front of Cannery Row. Do both (and Lover's Point) if you have time and the weather cooperates. Highly recommended!!! Monterey is the northern terminus of the Big Sur highway which is an incredibly beautiful drive. I would love to do this on a crotch-rocket; fortunately I've never had access to a crotch-rocket (my son won't let me ride his) so I'm still alive. Don't miss it. Even in a car it's great. The Aquarium is excellent. I missed it last time I was there (kayaking took precedence) but you shouldn't. I'm envious. Wish I could be there too. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.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/ ***************************************************************************
Let me add some comments to Craig's excellent analysis... On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 8:17 AM, Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com> wrote: > On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 3:41 AM, <nole4ever_at_aol.com> wrote: > > > Paddlewise(folks) > > > > me again from florida.... wife found this place... any comments? > > > > http://www.adventuresbythesea.com/kayaking.html > > > > Steve... this is in Monterey not San Francisco and, technically, not the > "Bay Area"; I understand that when you're in Florida it could all look like > the same place. If you are going to Monterey then let me just say this: DO > NOT LEAVE WITHOUT KAYAKING!!! There are few places like this in the world, > much less the USA. > The Cannery Row paddle is what got me hooked on sea kayaking over 20 years ago, so I echo Craig's comment here. > > As far as renting from Adventures by the Sea is concerned, I have no idea; > I > don't know this store. > I don't know their store either, but the impression I have is that tourists rent from AbtS and kayakers rent from Monterey Bay Kayaks (where I bought my first kayak oh so many years ago). On the paddle from MBK along Cannery Row to Lovers Point you will see sea lions, seals and probably otters as well as scuba divers and whatever critters you can find in the kelp. I wouldn't call this a prime rock gardening area, although there are some rocks. I think the Tsunami Rangers preferred the rock gardening on the (even more) exposed side of the coast near Point Lobos which, depending on swell and wind conditions, can be anything from a bathtub (very infrequently) to an unapproachable morass of swirling vortices and crashing white water. Elkhorn Slough will normally offer flat water, although there can be a strong tidal current and a strong WNW wind trying to keep you from getting back to the WSK store at Moss Landing. (This is one advantage of the Lovers Point paddle - the wind tends to push you back to the store) Late September is a period of weather transition in the Bay Area and Monterey. The summer is dominated by the afternoon seabreeze (probably the NW wind to which Craig referred) which, in combination with the cold Pacific water makes San Francisco so cold in the summer. You will probably experience some windless days and some high wind days. You should always be aware of the possibility of strong afternoon W to NW winds. The winter is storm season with occasional rain, high winds and high surf but usually quite pleasant (moderate temperature, low wind) weather between the storms. You may get to experience an early season storm. The water in the Pacific is cold. Don't paddle without either a wetsuit, a drysuit, serious skills or a safety boat. There are two active kayaking clubs: BASK <http://bask.org> (of which I am not a member), and WSK <http://westernseakayakers.org> (of which I am a member) You may be able to hook up for a paddle with one or the other (or both). Some other kayak stores that I would recommend (from north to south): Sea Trek <http://www.seatrek.com/> in Sausalito for paddling in San Francisco Bay. They also have trips and, on the right day, might take you out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Kayaking <http://www.ggkayak.com/> (run by a buddy of mine) - will take you to Yellow Bluff, the best known tide race in the bay area. In fact, they'll probably take you anywhere you want to go in the bay area :) California Canoe and Kayak <http://www.calkayak.com/> in Half Moon Bay, the site of the Mavericks big wave surf break (which probably won't be breaking while you are there) Kayak Connection <http://www.kayakconnection.com/> in Santa Cruz for paddling in the northern part of Monterey Bay and along the famous Steamer's Lane surf spot. Monterey Bay Kayaks <http://www.montereybaykayaks.com/> (again) in Monterey and Elkhorn Slough. Another thing to keep in mind when you are paddling with marine mammals in California is the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which basically says (among other things) that kayakers should not bother marine mammals by paddling too close to them. This website has some additional information: http://montereybay.noaa.gov/educate/to/welcome.html If you have any more specific questions, please let me know. Thanks, Mark *************************************************************************** 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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