[Paddlewise] Cabrillo RG Trip Report

If you prefer reading with photos, you can check out this link:
http://www.paddleport.com/forums/threads/blurry-rock-garden-day.739/


Debra, Jack and I set off from the beach at Cabrillo for a short-boat 
rock-garden paddle under a very gray sky on Tuesday. Swell and tide were 
both low, but we managed to have some fun. We slogged close to shore 
through the kelp beds to play in the rocks on our way to Point Fermin. 
The gray skies along with my camera lens having become hydrophilic led 
to some blurry photos that I hope still show the fun on the day!

Although the swell was small, there are a lot of reefs that funnel the 
water in and create enough of a wave to create some motion. On our first 
feature I found myself careening into and over rocks where I was glad I 
didn't have more water pushing me along.

After warming up in the kelp area, we moved on to a nice clearing where 
there was an easy washover to play on. Jack gave Debra some pointers on 
different ways to play on it and she tried a side washover. She wound up 
high and dry and tried to brace with a vertical blade and over she went! 
I could tell she was trying to roll up, but her boat swung around a 
whole 180 degrees. She started to roll up with Jack right beside her, 
but she had a giant hunk of seaweed wrapped around her neck! She 
couldn't grab Jack's boat in time and ended with a swim. I drained her 
boat and she pulled it up on a nearby rock for a nifty seal launch.

We moved on to another feature with a nice slot to ride through and a 
higher washover that took a big wave to get over. I watched Debra make a 
nice ride through the slot, but missed her combat roll after she got hit 
by the following wave. I hunkered down on the far side of the rock 
hoping to get a photo of Jack coming over: he kindly obliged! We 
collided a bit, but nothing life threatening! I didn't want to miss the 
fun, so I caught a big wave for a side washover that was quite a ride! 
When I came up I had to handle what looked to me to be one of the bigger 
waves of the day! It gave me a bit of a jostling, but it just made the 
ride that much more memorable!

We moved again to a neat sloping area and took turns riding the surge up 
the rocks. Pretty green moss covered the rocky cliffs. Finally we hit 
the Point where Jack played King of the Rock
and I had some fun playing in a small smack wall that created a fun wave 
on the ebb.

We decided it was time to head home, but first took advantage of one of 
the bigger swells to ride us back up the slanted rock so we could take a 
short break. Our seal launch came off without hitch and after another 
slog through the kelp we landed tired back at Cabrillo. Maybe the gray 
sky was the cause of the blurry photos, but I like to think we had so 
much fun we couldn't see straight!

Mark Sanders
www.RockGardenKayaking.com <http://www.RockGardenKayaking.com>
www.SandMarks.net <http://www.SandMarks.net>

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