Tag: Olympus TG-5

Last Paddle for the Year

At 9:50 nine of us had our boats on the beach ready to launch. After a short safety talk and a radio check we were on the water at 10:00. Our plan was to paddle out across the shipping channel and then head north towards Red Rock and then on to Point Molate. We would be riding the end of the flood with slack water about 11:00. Alan was appointed our navigator, having set some waypoint on his GPS to help us stay clear of the shipping channels. The instructions were to “follow Alan.”

That said, it seemed like Alan was following the rest of the pod. I seemed to be lagging behind preoccupied with poking at my cameras. I’m using an iPhone 14 in a dive case and my trusty Olympus TG-5, trying to figure out which arrangement I like better. More on that later.

We paddled out to Bouy #6 marking the starboard side of the Richmond shipping channel and turned north towards Red Rock, rounding another Bouy #6 marking the Southampton Shoal Channel. We crossed a couple of eddie lines with some confused water, paddling into a light wind and riding over the wake of a couple of ferries.

From Red Rock we made our way to Point Molate Park landing on the beach at 11:45. With the high tide we didn’t have much beach so we took pains to get our boats well above the waterline. During lunch Evelyn asked for photographic proof that we were enjoying a delicious persimmon bread with bourbon a friend of hers had provided. After lunch we were anxious to get back on the water, since it was a chilly day, despite the sun.

Our return course took us past Castro Rocks where we gave some space to the harbor seals sunning themselves on the rocks. We then paddled past the Chevron wharf and back to our launch site. We were back on the beach at 1:45 having logged 8.4 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Best of Baja

A week in Baja California is not enough. And even a week’s adventures are hard to condense into a few blog posts. But alas, with a new year, it’s time to close the book on 2021 and make way for new adventures.

Of course, one of the things for which Baja is famous is racing. I couldn’t resist this VW bug shell propped up on some giant tires, a tribute to Baja racing. I captured this image with a Sony RX100, my preferred camera for travel when I don’t want to set up a tripod.

And food and local color are also worthy of note. Stopping in roadside cafes, interacting with the local people, and eating delicious home-cooked food is a treat.

We spent two nights at Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. One evening I put my drone in the air to capture some images of our campsite. Here’s one of my favorite drone photos. Close to dusk I flew the drone out over the water and captured this image of our campers on the beach and the mountains in the background. Gonzaga was also our first opportunity to put our boats in the water.

Here’s a photo of Joann on the water with the stark, rugged desert and the calm water reflecting brilliant blue sky and clouds. This was captured with an Olympus TG-5, my preferred camera when I want a waterproof camera on the water. I also captured some footage with a GoPro while paddling. My previous post covered our paddling experiences.

And then there’s the legendary Coco’s Corner. This is located on Highway 5 where we turned off for Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. It now bears a sign Nuevo Coco’s Corner, having been relocated when the new highway went in. Coco invites all visitors to sign his guest book. While this is basically a shack in the middle of nowhere, it draws thousands of adventure seekers from around the globe. It’s all about getting your name in Coco’s book. I invite you to view more photos online. Photos of Coco’s Corner are in the gallery Part 2. Gonzaga. After signing Coco’s book, I had to photograph this truck cab nearby with a dead Christmas tree sticking out of the top. Something about this is uniquely Baja.

The landscape and plant life offer some truly dramatic photo opportunities. The Boojum Trees (called Cirios in Spanish) or Doctor Seuss Trees are otherworldly, and we had some sunsets and sunrises that were stunning. That’s when I pulled out the Nikon D850 and tripod. A few of these images are available as fine art photographs in my art store, store.treve.com.