White's Point, Palos Verdes, CA http://www.sandmarks.net/Freaks/Freaks1.html My car covered in rain this morn didn't daunt me as the sky showed hope of clearing and there is nothing more pretty then a cloudy sky on the ocean with the sun streaking through! I was looking forward to returning to White's Point, the scene of my first RG outing back in '06. I remembered it having some interesting features and some varying conditions for different skill levels. But today was like that episode of Seifeld, "Two Face" and this time I got the ugly side! But enough of the drama, we all got out alive and with the aid of modern pharmacology, I may be able to get out of bed tomorrow! I started out the day with such naches, as when Lenora realized her drain plug had gone missing, it was I who was prepared with an emergency roll of duct tape to set her ship-shape! We each made seal launches of varying heights and were instantly greeted by Dave and Steve who were returning from their ungodly early paddle! After a short chat, they headed home and we got to business. Right next to our launch was a nice little smack wall to warm up for the day, but just south of it, there was a submerged rock that was kicking up a fuss right before the wall. Lenora was already in close and I started to mosey in when I heard Jack issuing a warning. Behind me was a wave about to break and Lenora and I had to scramble to avoid being fly swatted against the rocks! He mentioned he never plays in there and we suggested it might have been nice to know that just a tad earlier! At the end of the same reef we found a really nice washover that kept us busy for quite a while. It had a pretty deep finish, so you could play in it with either the bigger or smaller swells. We didn't always bother waiting our turn, so we'd occasionally be bumping together and I ended up rolling a couple times. We continued south to a feature I remember being a big pool with some neat washovers, but today the tide had it mostly washed out. It was here where it seemed the rocks seemed rather mean looking with ugly jagged bits projecting everywhere. There are other mean looking rocks around, but these seemed mean with intent and we didn't end up playing here too long! Back at our original washover, the tide and swell had risen making for a more energetic ride. I rode a big one over, turned to get a photo of Jack on the next big one and found myself shooting for the shallows. That had us ready to land back where we started for a bit of a break. Heading out for our final session, we all move up to a higher notch on the seal launch level. I made a nice dive and we all went north. Jack kept close to the rocky beach dodging the waves while paddling to the next reef. It seemed a fun, rather benign feature with a slanted ramp to run up and over. Bigger waves were better as there was less chance of being left high and dry. Jack and Lenora were working on the last section, so I decided to tackle the middle. I wandered in on a medium wave which left me on the rocks waiting for something bigger to come wash me off. I knew it wasn't good when the water started to ebb and my stern sank into a deep hole. I was now almost straight up and down with my body pretty much at rock level. The hull of my bow was now teed up facing the larger wave now making it's way in. It hit me and somersaulted me backwards over the rocks. My PFD and helmet seemed to protect me from the sharpies, but I was wondering if the lower half of my body was still attached! I guess the pain was a good sign that my nerves were all still functioning! I was worried that the next wave was going to finish the job, but I'd lost my paddle and was hardly able to move. I was lucky I'd ended up upright and that a gentle wash took me off the reef. I called for help and Jack was right there to let me hold on while Lenora fetched my paddle. After a couple minutes, the pain seemed to subside and I rested while the others played on. After a bit I decided I'd better call it a day and get back before my back cramped up for good. It was a painful paddle back, but I was mostly worried about whether I was going to be able to get out of my boat! Thankfully, leaning forward seemed to ease the pain and I got out OK. Jack and Lenora helped me get my gear back in and on my car. Lenora dosed me with Advil and I did pretty good till I got home and hobbled out of my car! So really we had a great time and someday when the pain subsides, I may again have fond memories of White's Point. It was a rather freak accident, but then it seems freak accidents are always just one rock away when you're rock gardening! 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/ ***************************************************************************
Evil endos....!!!! White's Point, Palos Verdes, CA http://www.sandmarks.net/Freaks/Freaks1.html My car covered in rain this morn didn't daunt me as the sky showed hope of clearing and there is nothing more pretty then a cloudy sky on the ocean with the sun streaking through! I was looking forward to returning to White's Point, the scene of my first RG outing back in '06. I remembered it having some interesting features and some varying conditions for different skill levels. But today was like that episode of Seifeld, "Two Face" and this time I got the ugly side! But enough of the drama, we all got out alive and with the aid of modern pharmacology, I may be able to get out of bed tomorrow! I started out the day with such naches, as when Lenora realized her drain plug had gone missing, it was I who was prepared with an emergency roll of duct tape to set her ship-shape! We each made seal launches of varying heights and were instantly greeted by Dave and Steve who were returning from their ungodly early paddle! After a short chat, they headed home and we got to business. Right next to our launch was a nice little smack wall to warm up for the day, but just south of it, there was a submerged rock that was kicking up a fuss right before the wall. Lenora was already in close and I started to mosey in when I heard Jack issuing a warning. Behind me was a wave about to break and Lenora and I had to scramble to avoid being fly swatted against the rocks! He mentioned he never plays in there and we suggested it might have been nice to know that just a tad earlier! At the end of the same reef we found a really nice washover that kept us busy for quite a while. It had a pretty deep finish, so you could play in it with either the bigger or smaller swells. We didn't always bother waiting our turn, so we'd occasionally be bumping together and I ended up rolling a couple times. We continued south to a feature I remember being a big pool with some neat washovers, but today the tide had it mostly washed out. It was here where it seemed the rocks seemed rather mean looking with ugly jagged bits projecting everywhere. There are other mean looking rocks around, but these seemed mean with intent and we didn't end up playing here too long! Back at our original washover, the tide and swell had risen making for a more energetic ride. I rode a big one over, turned to get a photo of Jack on the next big one and found myself shooting for the shallows. That had us ready to land back where we started for a bit of a break. Heading out for our final session, we all move up to a higher notch on the seal launch level. I made a nice dive and we all went north. Jack kept close to the rocky beach dodging the waves while paddling to the next reef. It seemed a fun, rather benign feature with a slanted ramp to run up and over. Bigger waves were better as there was less chance of being left high and dry. Jack and Lenora were working on the last section, so I decided to tackle the middle. I wandered in on a medium wave which left me on the rocks waiting for something bigger to come wash me off. I knew it wasn't good when the water started to ebb and my stern sank into a deep hole. I was now almost straight up and down with my body pretty much at rock level. The hull of my bow was now teed up facing the larger wave now making it's way in. It hit me and somersaulted me backwards over the rocks. My PFD and helmet seemed to protect me from the sharpies, but I was wondering if the lower half of my body was still attached! I guess the pain was a good sign that my nerves were all still functioning! I was worried that the next wave was going to finish the job, but I'd lost my paddle and was hardly able to move. I was lucky I'd ended up upright and that a gentle wash took me off the reef. I called for help and Jack was right there to let me hold on while Lenora fetched my paddle. After a couple minutes, the pain seemed to subside and I rested while the others played on. After a bit I decided I'd better call it a day and get back before my back cramped up for good. It was a painful paddle back, but I was mostly worried about whether I was going to be able to get out of my boat! Thankfully, leaning forward seemed to ease the pain and I got out OK. Jack and Lenora helped me get my gear back in and on my car. Lenora dosed me with Advil and I did pretty good till I got home and hobbled out of my car! So really we had a great time and someday when the pain subsides, I may again have fond memories of White's Point. It was a rather freak accident, but then it seems freak accidents are always just one rock away when you're rock gardening! 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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