Tag: Out the Gate

Out the Gate

10 of us, members of BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers), met at the boat ramp at Horseshoe Bay near the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The plan was to paddle out under the Golden Gate Bridge, along the shore and then to cross over to the south side for lunch at China Beach. Our adventure started with a safety talk where we reviewed our plan and checked our radios. We were on the water at 11 a.m. There was a tongue of fog lingering under the bridge, but that just added to the sense of adventure.

As we passed Lime Point and headed under the bridge, a swirl of water caught me and tried to spin me around, but I had been watching the water and corrected my course. The active water just adds to the fun. Then it was out along the shore towards Point Diablo.

Before crossing to the south side, one of our members contacted Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) to make sure we would be clear of any shipping traffic. With no anticipated ship traffic, we gathered in a tight pod to cross the shipping channel. As we entered the more exposed water, we started to feel the swell moving us up and down. There was enough wave action to so that boats on the opposite side of a wave would disappear out of sight, and the waves seemed to be a bit steep, perhaps due to the wind and the current coming from opposing directions.

The current was apparently taking us further out the gate then we had planned, and we had a couple of paddlers experience some sea sickness. One has to temper the current predictions with the fact that this year there is a tremendous amount of water coming down the river into San Francisco Bay, accentuating the ebb. We put two boats on tow lines to move things along. It was a workout making way to China Beach. It was 2 p.m. when we landed on the beach for lunch.

After a quick lunch, we were back on the water heading for the south tower of the bridge. We gathered in the calm water of an eddy behind the tower. There we contacted VTS again and learned that a container ship was approaching the bridge. We held up for the ship to pass. Then we put our paddles in the water to get across the shipping channel. As the ship passed, we were met with the wake, a steep wave. Punching through the wake felt like punching through surf. Having crossed the bay again we headed for our launch site. Once we were back on the beach, we all agreed that it was an epic adventure. We logged 12.5 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Wind in the Gate

Friday, August 7, three of us met at Horseshoe Bay near the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge with a plan to paddle to Point Bonita and back. These paddles are locally referred to as OTG (out the gate). Predicted conditions looked good since we’d be paddling out on slack water (no current), and riding back in on the afternoon flood. Wind was predicted to be 6 to 8 knots from the south in the morning, with 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon.

We were on the water at 10:35, with the wind blowing from the south, but a bit fresher than we expected. Nevertheless, we decided to peek around Lime Point, the point under the north end of the bridge, to see what was in store for us. Once around the point conditions were favorable and, while we found ourselves paddling into the wind, we opted to continue along the coast.

About halfway to Point Bonita was Point Diablo, the reckoning point for the day’s paddle. Inside the point the water was calm and protected, outside you can catch the full brunt of the wind and waves. I paddled a short distance beyond the point and decided that battling three- to four-foot waves with a 15 knot headwind was not the best plan. We made the unanimous decision to paddle back to Kirby Cove for lunch.

Kirby Cove was quite protected from the day’s wind and waves, so we had an easy landing. We hauled our boats up the beach wary of the rising tide and broke out our lunches. We found a log about 12 feet long that gave us the proper social distancing. After lunch we returned to our boats just as the waves were starting to lap at them. Back on the water it was an easy return paddle, although we did find an eddy under the bridge that was moving counter to the incoming current. You can see Eoin and Michael just inside the tide line of the eddy in the photo below.

I opted to paddle outside the eddy. We were back on the beach shortly after 1 p.m., having completed a very pleasant paddle covering 4.5 miles. I’ve included a map that shows the track of our paddle. I’ve been enjoying using Gaia GPS as my method for tracking activities on and off the water. The phone app synchronizes with the online service, which I find convenient. You’ll note that I am wearing a GoPro camera on my helmet. One of these days I may actually post some footage.