Category: kayaking

BASK Skills Clinic 2017: Day 6

 

BASK Skills Clinic 2017
BASK Skills Clinic 2017
BASK Skills Clinic 2017

Today marked our third weekend and day six of our BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) skills clinic. The amount of information the instructors and coordinators have packed into the clinic is amazing and almost overwhelming. A great experience to be learning from some very skilled instructors and volunteers. Today, the eight students broke into two pods of four paddlers. Each group of four students was accompanied by four instructors. Our assignment was to prepare a float plan to paddle from McNears Beach to Point San Pablo. With the prediction for light winds in the morning and a flood current, we formulated a plan to paddle out to The Sisters, two rocks just off of McNears Beach, assess the wind and current conditions there and then set a course for The Brothers Light House, which would angle us into the wind and current with the expectation that our true course would be towards our destination. At that point the wind was blowing more than we expected, but a survey of the group indicated that the consensus was to follow through with our plan. As we made our way across the Bay though, it became apparent that the wind and current were setting us back and we decided to abandon our plan and return to McNears Beach.  The wind and current had set us well north into San Pablo Bay, and we were now continuing to struggle into the wind and current. With some paddlers starting to tire,  tow ropes were put into service to tow the tired paddlers, and we broke into two groups of four paddlers. Four of us managed to paddle to China Camp, not too far from our original launch point,  and four hitched a ride on a police boat back to our point of origin. One of the lesson I learned from this experience was the importance of good communications. From the use of handheld VHS radios, to paddle signals and hand signals. A tiring day. Four hours of constant paddling into the wind and current without event a break for a snack bar. To stop paddling, even for a moment, would mean loosing ground against the wind and current. You can see a track and stats for our paddle here.

Gray Day on the Bay

Thursday paddle from China Camp to Brickyard and back.
Treve at our lunch stop
Danny at our lunch stop
Thursday paddle from China Camp to Brickyard and back.
Rock art on China Camp beach.

There were just two of us today, Danny and myself, for the BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle.  We launched from China Camp State Park Beach in a light rain with little wind, and headed south around Point San Pedro, past the quarry, paddling inside the pilings to avoid the stronger incoming current  further out.  We ended up at a little beach just off of San Pedro Road near the brick kilns. There we found a couple chairs and a table and broke our our lunches. A cool breeze and the overcast created a bit of a chill, so we were happy to get back in our boats to paddle back to our launch point. Back on the beach we were intrigued by a couple of guys that were arranging pebbles in various locations and taking photographs of them; reminiscent of an Andy Goldsworthy installation.  You can follow a track of our paddle here and more photos here.

Wind in the Rigging

Ready to launch from Ferry Point. BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle March 30, 2017.
Radio check. BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle March 30, 2017.
On the water. BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle March 30, 2017.
Admining the iew od San Francisco and the Golden Gate after roudning Brooks Island. BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle March 30, 2017.
Old tug.

Being a sea kayak, my boat doesn’t have much rigging, just a few deck lines. And today as we rounded Brooks Island a gust of wind hit, creating a howling sound as it raced over the deck. Earlier, at our appointed time of 10:30 the five of us were contemplating the weather. Small craft warnings (isn’t a kayak a small craft?), steady wind of 17 knots with gusts to 25. We decided we’d launch at Ferry Point and paddle along the Richmond waterfront, protected from the northwest wind. With the wind at our backs we paddled up the shipping channel, and across to Brooks Island where we followed the shore. We rounded brooks Island, and it became clear that we had two options, paddle back to the Richmond waterfront against a strong wind, or paddle along the south side of Brooks Island and the breakwater hoping to find a little protection from the wind. Paddling along Brooks Island was a chore, but not too intimidating. We eyed several beaches hoping for a place to stop for lunch, but Brooks Island being a nature reserve, is off limits to visitors, so we continued paddling. After rounding the jetty we headed for fellow kayaker’s house in Brickyard cove, having lunch on Gordon’s new deck, overlooking the yacht harbor.  As we were finishing lunch we noticed that one of our boats had taken off on adventure of it’s own, so we promptly jumped back in our boats, rounded up the rogue boat and paddled back to our launch point. Overall we paddled seven miles, starting out with a wind which eased up a bit as the day went on. More photos here and you can view a track of our paddle here.

Gone Paddling

BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle 3/16/17
BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle 3/16/17
BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle 3/16/17

A welcome opportunity to get away today. The last three weeks have been quite intense with clients working hard to meet a deadline for a local design competition, but with the deadline come and gone I strapped my boat on the top of the car and joined a few fellow BASK members (Bay Area Sea Kayakers), and headed for the Coast Guard Station at Horseshoe Bay, just inside the Golden Gate. Paddling out the gate is not something you do without paying attention to the wind, the tides and the current. We had good conditions with light winds and a slack tide in late morning and an incoming current in the afternoon. We paddled out past Point Diablo and then returned to Kirby Cove for lunch. Back on the water after lunch we had a fast ride with the current and wind with us for our return. I returned feeling refreshed and restored from the trials of the past few weeks. Nothing seems to charge my batteries, so to speak, more than getting out in nature. You can view more photos here and view a track of our trip here.

Thursday Lunch Break

About to luanch from China Camp Beach
On the water
On the water with Mt Tamalpais in the background
On the water with the Sisters in the background

The weather prediction for today was 100% chance of rain, so we were expecting to get wet on our paddle; our Thursday BASK lunch paddle.  The rain held off though and we had a very pleasant paddle, launching from China Camp Beach in Marin and paddling along the shore past the quarry. Our original destination was Dynamite Beach, although we decided to change plans and paddle around the Marin Islands before finding a beach near Point San Pedro, near the quarry for lunch. There were three of us on the paddle, Danny, Susan and myself. More picture here and you can view the track of our paddle here

Plan B: Heart’s Desire Beach

Ready to launch from Heart’s Desire Beach on Tomales Bay
Lone Tree. Tomales Bay.
Native American huts. Indian Beach.

With clear skies, calm wind and a mid-day high tide we decided to head for Drake’s Estero, one of our favorite places to kayak. We loaded the kayaks on the car, and headed for the Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station where we had breakfast. The Morning Bun Coffee Cake is something you won’t want to miss.

After a quick breakfast we headed to the Estero, only to find the gate was closed and locked. Drakes Estero is undergoing habitat restoration while the National Park Service removes the remains of the oyster farm; some seven miles of wooden racks.

So Plan B was Heart’s Desire Beach. The beach was deserted, save for a park maintenance truck. It was almost surreal having the whole park to ourselves. Without delay we launched our boats and paddled towards the ocean, stopping at a little beach for lunch, and then continuing to Marshall Beach, exploring some of the side passages that are not normally accessible at lower tides. Our journey covered six miles. You can view the track log here, and view more photos here. My wife Joann tells me that paddling a kayak on Tomales Bay is something everybody should have on there bucket list.

Grendel’s Needle

Threading Grindel’s Needle and the Sister’s Islands. San Francisco Bay.
Paddling along the waterfront near Point San Pablo.
Kayakers on San Francisco Bay.
Landing for lunch.

On Thursday, January 5, I managed to join my BASK friends for another Thursday BASK Lunch Paddle.  We were a group of eight,  launching from China Camp and paddling across the bay on calm water. Our route took us out to two rocks called The Sisters,  where we found a strong ebb current that helped carry us towards Richmond. We landed at a beach just south of Point San Pablo where we had lunch. The paddle back  was a bit more work since we were paddling against the current. As we approached The Sisters on the return route, one of the gang suggested we “thread Grendel’s Needle,” which turns out to be a slot in the rock. Not something I would want to attempt on a windy, choppy day, but fun with the calm water. Our paddle covered 7.3 miles. You can view the track of our route here, and see additional pictures here.

 

 

Lost in the Fog

Quiet day on Tomales Bay
Boat on the beach. Avila Beach.
Time to pack up and head for home.
Paddling Tomales Bay in the fog.
White Gultch

On Friday, December 9, four of us, Brett, Mark, Nick and I, launched our kayaks from Nick’s Cove and paddled to Avila beach near the entrance to Tomales Bay where we set up camp for the night. Calm water and occasional rain prevailed over the course of the trip. We were careful to set up camp high on the beach with a high tide of 6 ft predicted for 7:40 in the morning. After setting up camp we explored the beach and tide pools. A hearty pot of soup was a welcome dinner in the cool damp environment of the Point Reyes peninsula. Over the night the rain came in and dumped on us,  letting up in the morning. The biggest challenge of the morning was getting started without a pot of hot coffee. Seems somebody left the coffee in the car; which was motivation to break camp and head for the Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station.

Back on the water we found ourselves working hard to paddle up the bay against the ebbing current and with the fog down on the deck our visibility was about a half-mile. We paddled close to shore for the sake of visibility, and once we were within sight of Hog Island we make our break to cross the Bay and head back to our launch point. Not quite lost in the fog, but cautious about our navigation. We did prove that with the right equipment to stay warm and dry you can even have fun kayak camping in the fog and rain in the middle of December on Tomales Bay. Next time it’s every man for himself when it comes to the coffee. You can see additional photos from the trip here and an approximation of our route here.

 

BASK Rescue Clinic

BASK Rescue Clinic. December 4, 2016
BASK Rescue Clinic. December 4, 2016
BASK Rescue Clinic. December 4, 2016
BASK Rescue Clinic. December 4, 2016
BASK Rescue Clinic. December 4, 2016

“There is nothing–absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

So two dozen of us or so found ourselves in the South Sailing Basin at the Berkeley Marina practicing rescue techniques. Calm day, and the water was a bit chilly, but with dry suits and the proper layers underneath, we had a fun day. Some of the techniques we practiced include the cowboy scramble, T-rescues, paddle floats and a variety of others. Put on by BASK, the Bay Area Sea Kayakers, we had plenty of volunteer instructors and those eager to learn.

Paddling Paradise

BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle. December 1, 2016.

Thursday, December 1 turned out to be a perfect day for paddling. There were two of us on the BASK Thursday Lunch Paddle, Danny and myself. Seemed like we had the entire bay to ourselves with nary another boat in site. We launched from Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor, paddled out around the Marin Islands in perfect paddling conditions, nearly flat calm, and then headed to China Camp where we stopped for lunch.  Our paddle covered 8.5 miles. You can view more photos here. And view the track log here.