Tag: paddling

Exploring Onancock Creek: A Kayaking Adventure

While visiting the Eastern Shore of Virginia we had signed up to paddle the Barrier Islands. A few days ahead of our scheduled tour the outfitter, Burnham Guides Paddling Adventures, advised us that high winds might be an issue and they suggested an alternate tour, paddling on Onancock Creek where we would have some protection from the wind.

With that in mind we made our way to the outfitters facility in Onancock.

Onancock Creek is a tidal estuary that drains into Chesapeake Bay. As we left the dock we passed a tug boat and a barge loaded with gravel. It seems that with most of the eastern shore being sand, there is a need for aggregate. Our guide, Bill, explained how the the business of importing gravel was an important part of the local economy.

Our track led us along the shore and up into a tributary, passing a number of houses and estates. Many of the homeowners have docks and we noted that it was common to store boats on boat lifts with the boats out of the water.

When we reached a little beach near Bailey Point we landed and Bill broke out lunch. We ate lunch and explored the local beach and marsh with periwinkle snails and fiddler crabs scurrying away as we approached. Over the course of the day we saw a number of birds including eagles, osprey, and a number of other shore birds.

On the return trip we passed some oyster castles, structures made from interlocking concrete blocks. These structures are designed to provide a substrate for oysters and to protect the shoreline from erosion. We did have a bit of wind on our return trip so we where happy to be on protected waters rather than out on the outer banks. We logged seven miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Discover Lake Superior’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Last year when we were paddling in the Apostle Islands we learned about Pictured Rocks. This year, since we had a reason to once again explore Lake Superior, we headed to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We booked the Ultimate Kayak Tour with Pictured Rocks Kayaking out of Munising, MI. The tour starts with a 45 minute boat ride to a location that gives you easy access to the cliffs. These boats are especially equipped with kayak slips. To launch, the crew slide a kayak into the slips. You simply step into the kayak, grab a paddle and push off into the water. Quite a novel arrangement.

Many of the cliffs are streaked with color, the result of minerals leaching out of the rocks: yellow, brown, read, orange, ochre, and blue. There are also a few caves and arches to explore and the color of the water is astounding.

We were in a pod with several boats and our guide led us along the shore pointing out features and giving us some of the history of the area.

After exploring about five miles of the shore we returned to the mother boat for the ride back to Munising. I’ve included a map that shows the track of our trip, including the the portion we explored by kayak. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Unforgettable Six-Day Kayaking Adventure in Loreto

Our six-day kayaking adventure begins on the morning of March 22 when our guide picks us up at our hotel and takes us to our launch site, a beach, Playa El Quemado south of Loreto. Actually, we had met our guide the evening before for a briefing and to provide us with bags for our gear. We booked our trip through Paddling South/SeaTrek.

We were surprised to find that we were the only two guests on this trip, which meant we had rather personalized support with our guide Jorge and the boat driver Adrian. We had opted for a skiff supported trip, which meant that our gear went by panga and we had cold beer and fresh food.

At 10:15 AM on March 22 we were on the water. It’s about a three-mile paddle to Isla Danzante where we made a stop at Honeymoon Beach (Playa Luna de Miel). A gorgeous beach with clear turquoise water. We did a short hike here to a panoramic vantage point. We then returned to our boats and paddled to a beach further south, Playa Arenas, where we set up camp.

We spent two nights camped at Playa Arenas. On the second day of the trip we paddled to Isla del Carmen where we had lunch, put our wetsuits on and got in the water to do some snorkeling. Whenever we stopped, up went the tent to provide us shade from the sun and, of course, a cooler with cold drinks. Paddling to and from Isla del Carmen and snorkeling made for a long day. It was 5:30 when we returned to camp. Having logged 12 miles, we were feeling a bit tired.

I must say that the food that Jorge and Adrian prepared was excellent. We had fresh fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, and of course tortillas and beans. We were well fed.

The trip was billed as a kayaking, snorkeling and hiking trip. We had several opportunities to get in the water and marvel at the coral and tropical fish as well as a couple of opportunities for short hikes to explore the plant and animal life. For photography I had my recently purchased iPhone 17 which I kept in a dive case whenever we were on or in the water.

I had a few issues with the camera, seemingly having a mind of its own and changing modes on me. It took me a couple of days to get the hang of getting the camera to behave, but in the end, I was quite happy with the results.

On the third day we broke camp and paddled to a beach on the peninsula where we stopped for lunch. The intent was to camp there, but Jorge decided that the beach was not suitable, so we put the kayaks on top of the panga and motored to another beach, Playa Aquililla, a few miles south. Our last two nights were spent on a lovely beach four miles further south and our final takeout was at Playa San Cosme.

Here’s a map of our track over the six days with color segments representing different days. Over the course of trip, we did not see any other kayakers, and only an occasional fishing boat off the coast. It was a week of paddling and camping on remote and secluded beaches with amazing sunsets and sunrises. We did not spot any whales or turtles, but we did spot several pods of Pacific Bottlenosed Dolphins as well as a variety of birds. Overall, it was an adventure of peace and tranquility and an opportunity to be close to nature. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Windsurfer to Paradise

It was 9:05 when I parked my car at Windsurfer Beach. Early! Way Early! I got across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in record time. It was a 20-minute drive when I allowed for 45. As I climbed out of the car, I was hit by a chilly breeze with clouds overhead. I climbed back in the car to wait for my fellow paddlers. It wasn’t until later, when I suited up, that I realized I had left my duffel bag with my lunch and camera case at home. I wouldn’t be using my iPhone for photography today; however, I did have my Olympus TG-5 which I usually carry as a backup camera.

It wasn’t long until my fellow paddlers showed up. Nine of us were on the water at 10:30 paddling out the channel and past San Quentin. We were anticipating a very light ebb current with slack at 1:00, meaning we would be paddling against this slight current. We had a chilly northwest wind pushing us along as we headed towards Paradise Cay. Once we approached the Cay, three of our paddlers decided to turn around. The prospect of a slog into the wind on the return from Paradise was something to consider. Six of us continued on to Paradise Beach.

At noon we landed at Paradise Beach. With the wind and the fetch coming from the north, we had a little bit of a surf landing. We hiked up the short trail to the picnic tables for lunch. Having arrived without my lunch I was able to bum cookies, candies, and an energy bar off of my fellow paddlers. No shortage of sugar to keep my energy up on the return leg. With a temperature a chilly 45-degrees we didn’t dally long over lunch. We wanted to get back on the water and paddle and warm up.

It was a bit of a slog paddling into the chilly north wind with whitecaps and chop. When every stroke into the wind is an effort it’s hard to stop paddling, pick up my camera, and capture photos. Best to keep the cadence and the forward progress. Once past Paradise Cay, we veered east and found a little protection from the wind.

Shortly after 1:00, the sun started to tease us, which felt really nice. At 2:30, we were back on the beach having logged 9 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Exploring Carquinez Strait: A Kayaking Experience

This week our usual Thursday paddle turned into a Saturday paddle. This afforded the opportunity for a few people who normally work on Thursday to join us. With a club membership of some 700 people (BASK: Bay Area Sea Kayakers), there’s no shortage of people looking for opportunities to paddle. Ten of us were on the water at 10:00 launching from the gravel beach at Eckley Pier on the Carquinez Strait. We were launching on a fairly high tide, high tide being 5.9 feet at 10:00. We would be riding the tail end of the flood current.

The plan was to stay close to shore to avoid any shipping traffic in the channel. Staying close to shore though, we found that an eddy was hindering our progress, so a few of us moved out of the eddy closer to the shipping channel where we found a more favorable current. We landed at the Martinez Marina at 11:20.

We broke out our lunches and as is our tradition several varieties of chocolate were shared. After lunch several of us decided to paddle into the marsh at the Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline. We paddled well up into the Alhambra Creek and under Embarcadero Street before turning around.

On the return leg I was looking forward to paddling through the pilings near Port Costa. They provide some interesting photo opportunities as well as an opportunity to practice boat control. As fate would have it though, my iPhone battery went dead so I was without a camera for the last half mile or so. I need to make a note to keep my Olympus TG-5 available, so I have a camera handy when my iPhone battery goes dead.

On our return to Eckley Pier, we noted that the tide had receded and what had been gravel on our launch was now broken bricks. This proved to be a bit treacherous for walking and carrying boats. We logged 10 miles over the course of the day.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Dunphy Park to Bayfront Park

With the high tide many of the beaches we like to visit were under water, so we opted for a paddle from Dunphy Park to Bayfront Park, both locations work for high water. A high tide of 4.8 feet was predicted for 12:22.

Seven of us were on the water at 10:30 with three of us launching from the kayak dock just west of the Sausalito Cruising Club and four launching from the beach. I opted to launch from the kayak dock using the slipway with rollers. This worked fine for getting on the water. Simply climb in the boat and slide down into the water. It didn’t work so well getting the boat out of the water. I tried using the roller struts as handles to pull the boat up the ramp, but the rollers would pop out of their sockets, leaving nothing to give any purchase.

We paddled up Richardson Bay, under the Highway 101 bridge and then continued up Pickleweed Inlet as far as E Blithedale Avenue, as far as one could possibly paddle. Then it was back to Bayfront Park where we landed on the bank and pulled out our lunches. As is our tradition, an abundance of chocolate treats were passed around.

After lunch we were back on the water retracing our path back to Dunphy Park. We were back at the dock at 1:30 having logged 7.3 miles. We had flat calm for our paddle, with sightings of a few harbor seals, pelicans and cormorants.

I’ve inlcuded a few photos of the kayak ramp. One has David trying to pull me up the slip with rollers. That wasn’t working so I tried the slip without rollers and that worked. This slip has slots in which you can place the paddle to pull yourself up out of the water. More photos are available in an online gallery.

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.

Emeryville to Clipper Cove

Nine of us were on the boat ramp at Emeryville Marina at 10:20 ready to launch with 10 minutes to spare for the posted 10:30 OTW (on the water). I noted that club members tend to be early, to which somebody replied, “time and tide wait for no man.” We were on the water at 10:25 with no wind and flat calm water. About an hour later we were paddling into a gentle breeze with wind ripples starting to appear on the water. Rather than set a course for our destination we pointed our boats to the north end of Treasure Island using a ferry angle to compensate for the flooding current that would carry us south towards our intended destination. The BASK trip planner showed a 1 knot current moving south during our crossing.

As we approached Treasure Island we paddled around a barge, and the flooding current was quite evident as we rounded the mooring buoy. After rounding the buoy, we turned towards our destination and make quick time for the beach at Clipper Cove.

The beach is a fine sand beach with a spectacular view to the east including a view of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. It’s hard to imagine that in the middle of the greater Bay Area with over 7.5 million people one can find a beautiful peaceful secluded beach. After lunch we were back on the water, following the bridge for a way, again accounting for the current and eventually heading back to the marina.

Paddling along the bridge offered some dramatic photo opportunities, but the battery on my iPhone was dead at that point, so I didn’t capture any photos on the return leg. As we crossed the bay, we begin to feel the effects of wind coming from the northwest, which was starting to raise wind waves, enough to have some of our boats require additional effort to manage the quartering waves and wind.

I did capture the track of the paddle with my Garmin InReach which logged 9.1 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Point San Pablo to Point Pinole

Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor always feels to me like a place that time left behind, not far from the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area, but also quiet and isolated. The gravel beach makes a fine spot for launching kayaks. Eight of us were on the water at 10:25. Riding the tail end of the flood gave us a bit of a boost, but with slack water at 11:44 we found ourselves bucking a slight current when we reached Point Pinole.

We had pelicans flying overhead and a few curious harbor seals giving us the eye. Arriving at Point Pinole, we paddled around the point and under the fishing pier landing on the beach at 12:25.

Eight of us made a cozy fit around the picnic table just above the beach. True to form, several varieties of chocolate candies were passed around. We were back on the water at 1:15. With the current with us all the way we made good time on the return.

As we passed Riviera de Garbage (otherwise known as the landfill near North Richmond) Alan took pride in claiming the name. You can see him pointing to the Riviera above. We were back at our launch site at 2:45 having logged 9.9 miles. 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.