[Paddlewise] Rock Garden Tail

I've been kayaking regularly for about 13 years now. I'll admit 
sometimes it's a bit hard to drag myself down to the beach. And right 
now the home grown tomatoes are ripe and I'm swimming in fresh salsa. 
I've got 72 hours of Olympic coverage recorded to digest--and that's 
just since yesterday! It would be so easy just to veg in front of the 
HDTV and eat chips all day. But I convinced myself getting out for a 
short BAR paddle this morn would assuage my guilt and make those chips 
and salsa taste so much tastier!

It was time to take Knudsen out for an easy RG day, so off to BAR I 
headed. The swell was running at 2 feet, but the 20 sec period could 
still create a bit of trouble. But with just a bit of timing, it was 
easy to avoid any fuss. The Z handled well during my play as I closed in 
on BAR. A bit of time in the arch and then at Brace Alley and it was off 
to TCB hoping to get a couple of easy rides to see how Knudsen handles 
the waves.

The beach at TCB was pretty empty, despite the manned lifeguard station. 
I was bummed when I headed in to find the crunch zone completely filled 
with sea weed that had been mulched by the surf. Still, I planted myself 
inside to punch the bigger waves and broach in the smaller stuff. I'd 
had quite a bit of fun, when a wave came in that I deemed a bit too big 
to broach into. I didn't really think I need to punch through it too 
hard, but found I'd miscalculated. It hit me and sent me back surfing, 
but I was happy at how well the Z handled the churn. I was able to get 
turned around in the white water and was ready to head back out, when I 
realized my skirt had imploded, so I let myself get washed up to shore.

I pulled my boat up on shore and settled down for a bit of a rest. I was 
already a bit tired from my activity on the day, being as I've been such 
a slug of late. One of the best things about being on the beach is 
getting to nosh on some tasty snack, but unfortunately, I hadn't brought 
any! I was happy to find I'd left a small bottle of water in my day 
hatch at least. My breakfast on the morn had consisted of coffee and a 
banana, because I was tired of thinking I needed to fuel up for a silly 
paddle to BAR. All too true, but sometimes things happen.

I'd almost thought with my rather rude landing on the beach, the 
lifeguard might think me in trouble--wouldn't be the first time. But it 
wasn't till I was about to launch again that he walked by checking out 
some kids climbing up on the rocks. On his way back, he kind of 
sheepishly asked me if I had needed help on my initial landing! I told 
him no, that I'd just been playing, but enlisted him to watch the kids 
while I launched. I got off the beach without incident, but noticed a 
bunch of boats congregating out to sea I mile or two. I thought they 
might be sitting on a whale, so tired though I was I started paddling 
out. I figured it was probably a WGC, but if I saw something on the way, 
it might be worth it.

After quite a bit of paddling, I hadn't seemed to close the distance too 
much and hadn't seen anything to give me any hope. Then, as usual, I 
thought I saw a spout on the horizon that turned out to be the typical 
mirage against the haze. But wait, there it was again! Three more spouts 
out past the boats and then the tell-tale tail of a diving Blue. I 
figured I'd never make it out past where the boats were, but thought I 
might get at least one more sight, so I continued on. The boats wandered 
off further out to sea, so I lost my reference point, but just kept 
paddling. Finally, I saw it come up again closer than she'd been before. 
It was enough to keep me going hoping for a better view. The next time 
it came up, I counted 10 spouts before it dived again with a distant but 
distinctive tail shot.

Already happy with my whale encounter, I paddled on slowly hoping for at 
least one more view before heading home. Though I'd seen a lot of 
spouts, I hadn't heard any, so I moved my hat off my ears hoping to hear 
one off in the distance. The distance ended up being about 75 yards off 
my starboard bow! I've held the belief over the years that the Blues 
like kayakers and like to check us out, which seems to me the only 
reason this Blue would show up so close to me when I thought she was so 
far off on the last view. Regardless, she was now moving in a path to 
pass right in front of me. I'm calling it a female, because it didn't 
seem as big as some I've seen in the past, but it's hard to judge seeing 
how close it came to me and how dwarfed I felt! She came by and I could 
easily see her blow holes. I've heard the exhale of many whales, but I 
think this was the first time I could distinguish the sound of an exhale 
from an inhale! As always, it was amazing!

Down she went again, so I figured I'd wait one more time to see her take 
off in the sunset. I figured another 15 minutes and I'd see where she 
was heading on her journey. But her journey once again started right off 
my starboard bow! She was moving at an angle to me, so I paddled up 
hoping to maintain my close distance. She turned a bit and was worried a 
second about whether I was going to be T-Boned by a Blue. But she 
surprised me with how quick she could turn and head in a direction back 
to shore. It was probably closer than I've ever been to a whale and I 
was backing up to give her some clearance. Once again, she dove with a 
wave of her tail.

I was starting to get a bit worried. Though I was floating in the wind 
and the tide, twice this whale had come up right off my side and I 
wondered if next time she might be too close for comfort! But I couldn't 
believe it could happen again and stayed for one more encounter. She 
didn't disappoint and it was a repeat of the last two visits. Once again 
I was surprised as she rose swimming at an angle in front of me and 
turned quickly right in front of me to swim off my beam. And once again 
it was me making sure to keep a respectful, albeit short distance! She 
dove again and I headed home before another visit could make me stay 
even longer.

Man was I tired! The Z is not the boat I would intentionally go hunt 
whales in, but that's where I found myself. The sea had become quite 
choppy and I had a brisk wind to fight on my way home. The wind and tide 
had taken me even further than my paddle out, but there didn't seem to 
be any remedy other than constant paddle strokes! Though I'd launched on 
a pleasant fall morning, I now found myself on a mild summer day with 
the last of my water drunk on the beach. I was in my wetsuit ready for 
RGing, not for a whale chase. It was a long, long paddle home! It was 
when I could finally clearly make out the Red Right Return sign on the 
end of the jetty, when I officially declared myself the hungriest I've 
ever been in a kayak! The closer I came to the jetty, the more it became 
perhaps the busiest day I remember on the water. Boats were flying out, 
not seeming to care about a hungry, fatigued kayaker trying to make his 
way back to the harbor. The combined chop and wakes had me flopping all 
around, but I admit I loved it! The hustle and bustle made me reflect. 
I'd just spent over an hour all by myself, visited by the largest 
creature to ever inhabit our planet. I'd even hoped towards the end that 
another boat would show up to enjoy the show with me! Now all these 
folks heading here and there, did they even know of the amazing 
encounter to be had so close by? Such is our lives! I almost missed one 
of my greatest encounters with these amazing creatures in order to watch 
someone else having a life in jolly ol' England! But I feel old and 
tired, even after replenishing with a large bottle of hard apple cider! 
I guess if I can still kick my lazy self out on the water on occasion, I 
won't be too hard on myself.

Mark
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