Today was a glorious day for a paddle on San Francisco Bay. We have had several days of stormy wet weather, so it was nice to have some relief from the rain. A low tide meant that some of our favorite launch sites would be muddy, so we opted to launch from Ferry Point. Google Maps refers to this spot as the Point Richmond Pier, part of the Miller Knox Regional Shoreline.
Seven of us were on the water at 10:30. We had flat calm as we paddled out to the end of the jetty, with a little wave action from the wake of passing boats. This was my first day paddling with a Greenland Paddle. You can see the paddle hanging out of the cockpit of my wooden boat.
Once we were out past the jetty we headed east, rounding Brooks Island and then making our way to Point Isabel. I couldn’t resist capturing photos. The blue sky and clouds were dramatic. Every time I take a photo though, I have to stop paddling, and if I’m not paddling, I’m not going anywhere. Meantime, my paddling buddies keep their cadence, so I’m always playing catch-up.
As we passed Bird Rock, we kept our distance, so as not to disturb the harbor seals that were basking on the rocks. We landed at Point Isabel one boat at a time. The tide and rocks didn’t afford us much beach, but it didn’t take much time to get all the boats off the water.
While we were eating lunch the wind picked up, kicking up some wind waves and making work for us as we slogged into the wind and towards Brooks Island. We paddled to the north of Brooks Island, using the island and the breakwater to cut the wind.
As we paddled up the Richmond Channel, we passed the ferry, and we had a bit of rain. Over the course of the day, we logged 8.28 miles. The Greenland Paddle served me well. It felt a bit awkward for the first 20 minutes, but by the end of the day I had grown accustomed to it. I’m also finding that my iPhone 14 in a dive case seems to provide excellent quality photos. More photos are available in an online gallery.
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