Tag: Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond to Windsurfer Beach

Today we had 14 BASK members on the kayak ramp at the Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor ready to launch at 10:30. Our destination today is Windsurfer Beach, a little beach not far from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. A maximum flood current of just under half a knot at 11:44 meant we’d be working against a slight current.

We left the harbor and headed to the Marin Islands, paddling out around the east island before heading south.

Our course took us under the Richmond-San Rafael bridge, around Point San Quentin, and then past the looming structures of San Quentin. It was noon when we landed on Windsurfer Beach, with all fourteen finding a spot to land among the gravel and rocks.

After lunch we were back in our boats at 12:50 retracing our route, although on this leg we made a beeline for Loch Lomond after crossing under the bridge.

We logged 9 miles over the course of our paddle. You can see a map that shows the track of our journey. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Threading Grendel’s Needle

Grendel’s Needle refers to a feature on a small island in San Francisco Bay. That feature is a slot in the rock on the westernmost of The Sisters Islands just off of Point San Pedro. When conditions are right it’s fun to paddle a kayak through the slot, an exercise we call threading Grendel’s Needle.

When we left our house in Albany, we had the windshield wipers going with dark clouds overhead. As we were crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge though, we could see patches of blue sky and sun shining on San Rafael. Harbingers for a good day on the water.

Eight of us were on the water at 10:30, launching from the kayak ramp at the east end of the Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor. There was some discussion about whether wetsuits or drysuits would be the better option. For safety’s sake we like to “dress for immersion,” should we end up in the water. I opted for my drysuit. In hindsight the weather was quite mild and my wetsuit long john would have been more comfortable.

Once we were on the water we paddled out of the harbor and headed east rounding the Marin Islands. We then paddled on to Point San Pedro where we held up for some radio communications. We had a new member in our group who had never paddled through Grendel’s Needle, so we opted to head to The Sisters to thread the needle. With hardly any current going through the slot we had no trouble paddling back and forth through the slot. Trying to exercise some boat control I even paddled through the slot backwards.

After lunch at China Camp, we returned paddling close to shore. We were back at our launch site at about 2:30.

We logged 9 miles over the course of the day on relatively calm water. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Low Tide Kayaking: Journey to Windsurfer Beach

Planning a paddle on a low tide can be a challenge. Many of the put-ins around the Bay are mud at low tide. For today’s paddle our leader, Alan, scoped out a paddle starting at the Loch Lomond boat ramp and paddling to Windsurfer Beach. Both locations are accessible on a low tide. Fourteen of us congregated on the grass next to the boat ramp, ready for a paddle on a glorious day. The plan was to follow the channel out towards the southeast corner of the Marin Islands. From there, once in deep enough water, we headed south under the Richmond-San Rafael bridge and then west to Windsurfer Beach.

Our assembly raised the eyebrows of the harbormaster. While he’s quite sympathetic to kayakers, he did express concern about such a large group of us launching from the boat ramp. He asked us to consider launching from the beach at the north end of the harbor in the future. We’re always careful to minimize our time on the boat ramp, but even so we’ll use the beach for future paddles.

We were on the water at 10:30 with a low tide of -0.55 feet at 11:18. Staying close to the edge of the boating channel we managed to stay out of the mud.

Clear skies and calm waters made for a glorious day. Arriving at Windsurfer we picked our way between rocks to find a few sandy and gravelly spots to land our boats.

After lunch we were back on the water for the return trip. The majority of the group opted to return by paddling around the Marin Islands.

Over the course of the day we logged 9.1 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Loch Lomond to China Camp

Another glorious day to be kayaking. Nine of us, all BASK members, assembled at the boat ramp at Loch Lomond. We were on the water at 10:00. With a morning flood, slack water at noon and afternoon ebb our plan was to take advantage of the current to paddle to China Camp for lunch.

We paddled out past the Marin Islands, where we were able to pick up the tail end of the flood current to carry us up the bay. Making good time, we headed to the Sisters where we were able to thread Grendel’s Needle. You can see in the photo two boats heading through the slot, with rippled water on approaching side where the current was pushing us and flat water on the far side. An easy ride through the slot.

From The Sisters it was an easy paddle over to China Camp where we landed and pulled our boats up the beach to make sure they didn’t drift away on the rising tide.

After lunch we were back on the water taking advantage of the ebbing current to give us a push back to Loch Lomond. More photos are available in an online gallery. We logged 8.4 miles on a perfect day to be paddling.

Roof Rack Failure & Windsurfer

Sometimes it seems that the hardest part about kayaking is getting the boat to the water. Getting the boat on top of the car and getting it off and to the water at the launch site can be a challenge. Today I had an added challenge. As I tugged on one of the straps to cinch the boat into the saddles on the car top carrier the cross bar came loose. On inspection I discovered that the support tower that secures the crossbar to the roof was broken. It would be easy enough to just pack it in, but a little voice in my head was saying, “Treve, if you really want to go paddling you have another vehicle you can use.” The racks for the truck were sitting in the driveway, so I accepted the challenge to see if I could get the kayak on the truck in time to make it to the launch site. Our intended launch time was 10:00 a.m. Google Maps was telling me that it was a 21-minute drive, which meant I might just make it. Sure enough, I was able to get the kayak on the camper and on the road in a timely fashion. It was 10:03 when the six of us pushed off from the beach.

With a constant parade of storms coming our way, we found a weather window with perfect conditions for paddling. Our course took us past San Quentin State Prison, then under the Richmond San Rafael Bridge and on to Loch Lomond Marina. Just for fun we tried squeezing our boats through a narrow gap in the pilings at the end of the Yacht Harbor’s breakwater.

Time for lunch…but in my haste to get on the road after the rooftop debacle, I did not have time to make a lunch. Andy’s Market has a fine selection of deli foods; a bowl of Italian Wedding Soup and a loaf of Judy’s bread hit the spot. And don’t forget the chocolate that seems to be ubiquitous on our paddles.

On our return paddle we had calm water and building clouds. We paddled out around the Marin Islands and then back to our launch site, watching for ferry traffic since Windsurfer Beach is close to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal.

My story starts with car top racks, so it’s only appropriate to end with a photo of my boat on top of my camper after the paddle. We covered 8.5 miles over the course of our paddle. Here’s a map that shows our track.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Gone Paddling x 4

Here are four more paddling adventure which deserve to be documented. I consider this blog to be a diary of my adventures. If I don’t record the adventures, I may forget they ever happened. And for the past few years, as the new year turns over, I have turned my blog entries into a coffee table book.

So here are four paddles: 10/27 Richmond to Albany, 11/03 Eckley Pier, 11/10 Gallenas Creek, and 11/28 Windsurfer.

Richmond to Albany

On October 27 there were just two of us with two wooden Pygmy Boats. We launched from Ferry Point in Richmond, paddled out past the end of the breakwater and then past Brooks Island. We poked into the basin northeast of Caesar Chavez Park thinking we might find a spot to land, but we didn’t see much so we paddled to Albany Beach where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch we returned to our launch site by way of the Richmond waterfront, stopping to admire the Red Oak Victory. We logged 11 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Eckley Pier

November 3. Seven of us gathered at Eckley Pier for a paddle to Martinez. The pilings of several abandoned piers provide an obstacle course to practice boat control. I had my GoPro camera running to capture the action. It remains to be seen when that footage will be available. From Eckley Pier we paddled out towards the shipping channel to take advantage of the flooding current.

Once we reached the Martinez Marina, we hauled our boats up the boat ramp and off to the side to keep the ramp free for boaters. We logged 8.8 miles over the course of the day.

Gallenas Creek

November 10. Up the creek, Gallenas Creek. We launched from China Camp and took advantage of the high tide to paddle up the creek. When we could no longer make forward progress, we returned to the McInnis Canoe and Kayak Dock where we hauled out our boats and had lunch. Our course covered 10 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Windsurfer Beach

November 29. Loch Lomond to Windsurfer Beach. This paddle takes us under the Richmond San Rafael Bridge and past San Quentin State Prison. At lunch on Windsurfer Beach, we watched the ferries and a dredge. We paddled around the Marin Islands on the return leg, a total of 8.2 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Gone Paddling

I can’t seem to keep up with my own adventures. To get current, here are three kayak trips I’d like to share: February 4 from Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor, March 17 Windsurfer to Loch Lomond, and March 22 Loch Lomond to some islands.

Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor

On February 4, five of us launched Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor. The idea was to cover some miles as training for a club event we call the Gonzo, an endurance paddle that visits 15 islands in the Bay. Depending on the route you take, this can be 40 miles. No way am I going to paddle that distance, but I did want to stretch my endurance a bit so I joined this training paddle. Our plan was to paddle between The Brothers, then to an island near the San Rafael Bridge which will remain unnamed, then between the Marin Islands, through The Sisters and back. Our plans changed a bit after we reached the Marin Islands. It became clear that going for The Sisters would put us at a strong disadvantage with the current and wind to make it back to our launch. Just getting back to The Brothers took some effort as the current was starting to build. We managed to cover 9.8 miles with a moving speed of 3.8 mph. Check out more photos in my online gallery.

Windsurfer to Loch Lomond

On March 17 five of us launched from Windsurfer Beach. Our original plan was to paddle on Tomales Bay, but the predicted wind did not bode well for that paddle. My wife and I got an early start with the plan to beat the traffic across the Richmond San Rafael Bridge with a stop at the Bovine Bakery for breakfast. We were already on the road when the call was made to cancel the original plan. With a few quick phone calls, we were able to formulate a plan “B” to launch from Windsurfer Beach. No Bovine Bakery, but we did find Rustic Bakery which also has a delectable selection of goods, so that suited us for breakfast. We logged a healthy 8.3 miles with a moving speed of 3.2 mph. Check out more photos in my online gallery.

Loch Lomond and Islands

On March 22 eight of us gathered at Loch Lomond Marina for a paddle around several islands. Since our route included crossing shipping channels and dealing with currents, we had a briefing to discuss the route. Once on the water we paddled out to the Marin Islands. We found some very shallow water on the way to the islands, barely six inches of water in places. If the tide had been any lower we would not have been able to paddle this route. From the Marin Islands we headed to the island near the San Rafael Bridge that will remain unnamed, and from there it was back to our launch point. We logged 8.9 miles with a moving speed of 3.4 mph. Check out more photos in my online gallery.

Seven Celebrate Seventy

A friend of mine retired recently and he asked me if kayaking was a suitable sport for seniors. I’ll answer that question with a report on a recent paddle. On February 10, seven of us launched our kayaks from Windsurfer Beach, a little beach not far from the Larkspur Landing Ferry Terminal. The youngster in our group was celebrating his 70th birthday. The beach was a bit rocky given the tide, and it’s a short carry down the bank from the road.

We were on the water at 10 a.m. on February 10. The current was ebbing for our time on the water, with maximum ebb a little less than one knot at 11:40 a.m. at Point San Quentin. That meant we would be paddling upstream in the morning. We had a calm, sunny, beautiful day. We paddled out around Point San Quentin and turned north under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Then it was north to the Marin Islands. The islands are part of the Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1992, named after a Coast Miwok man known as Chief Marin. Access to the islands is restricted, so we rounded the bigger of the two islands and headed west for Loch Lomond Marina.

We landed on the boat ramp and immediately moved our boats off the ramp so that we wouldn’t interfere with any boaters. No cake today, but plenty of chocolate treats including those provided by the birthday boy, Steve. After lunch we were back on the water making a direct line to Point San Quentin. The current was with us going back.

Once around the point we paddled back to our launch site passing San Quentin State Prison, the oldest prison in California. We logged 8.3 miles on an unseasonably warm day. Of course, part of the drill is getting the boats off the beach and on top of our cars–a total body workout. Not bad for seven septuagenarians.

Check out more photos in my online gallery.

Loch Lomond to Windsurfer

In the midst of a very busy work season I had two days open up that I had not anticipated. What to do? Go paddling! So on Tuesday, June 15, I found two paddling partners to join me. This is the windy season here in the San Francisco Bay area. As the temperatures warm up inland, the rising air sucks in the air off of the ocean. This often gives rise to foggy mornings and windy afternoons. Wind is no friend to kayakers, so the trick is to plan a paddle that takes advantage of the tidal currents, avoids getting stuck in the mud at low tide, and stays out of the wind. For these reasons, a paddle from Loch Lomond seemed in order.

The boat ramp at Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor is a good spot to launch on a low tide when other locations are exposed mud. Three of us were on the water at 10:10 AM paddling out the harbor on quiet water. After leaving the harbor, we headed east towards the Marin Islands paddling in water that was barely deep enough to get our paddles in the water. And, of course, the breeze picked up coming straight at us. Not enough to deter us, but not the predicted wind. Once at the islands we turned south, passing between them; of course, the wind rounded to the south, so we found ourselves continuing to paddle into the wind towards the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

  • Eoin
  • Olga
  • Treve

We passed under the bridge. As we approached San Quentin Penitentiary, we stopped to take photos of each other with the prison in the background. The lyrics to “Don’t Fence Me In” come to mind.

After lunch we were back on the water, and we found ourselves paddling into the wind again. Once we passed Point San Quentin we set a course for Loch Lomond, and with the wind on our stern quarter we had a mellow paddle with wind and current pushing us along. You can view more photos here.

Four Islands

March 11. Another glorious day on the Bay. Seven of us launched our kayaks from Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor in San Rafael. Our paddle plan included an 11 AM departure to coordinate our paddle with the tides, pushing a little bit against the current paddling out past Point San Pedro and riding the current home. We launched under a blue sky with dramatic clouds on the horizon and calm water. From Loch Lomond we paddled to the Marin Islands, passing between the two Islands and then heading North East to The Sisters where we paddled through the slot called Grendel’s Needle. We found a little bit of turbulence where the current coming at us through the slot was constricted. A few power stokes and a forward bow rudder gave us a bit boat control practice and took us safely through the needle.

  • On the boat ramp
  • Approaching the Marin Islands
  • Approaching The Sisters

From The Sisters we paddled over to China Camp where a part of our group that opted to bypass The Sisters were already spatially distanced and eating lunch at picnic tables.


  • China Camp
  • Calm Water
  • Track of the Paddle

After lunch we were back on the water and we had a quick ride back to our launch site. As we were ready to launch I handed my camera to Alan, one of our paddling buddies, and asked him to take a photo of Joann and me with our boats. The longer boat is a Pygmy Coho built in 1999. The shorter Pygmy Ronan was built in 2017. Too often I’m the one that’s missing from the photos.

Over the course of the day we averaged a little under 3 mph on our way to China Camp, and a fast ride back getting up to 5 mph when we were riding the current. Our course covered 9 miles.

There was some discussion on the water and by email after the paddle regarding tidal predictions which don’t always match the published tide and current tables. Always good to paddle with friends that can temper the predictions with local knowledge. Please view additional photos here and to take a closer look at our track go here.