Ventura Sunday Paddle
Paula Chavez organized a paddle from Ventura Harbor today.
Both Paula and myself are CKF Ventura County Coordinators. We had
never met much less paddled together before. One thing I can assure you all
of, if we organize a trip together, your going to have one hell of a good time!
Just watch out for rolling your boat due to excessive laughing. I'm sure that
this is the reason Paula handed out a CKF Disclaimer for all to sign.
We all met at Ventura Harbor boat launch at 8:30 with a scheduled launch time
of 9:00. Paula Chavez, Jude Conroy, Melissa, Gordon Henry, Pete O'Sullivan,
Mike Kory, Diane, Sheila Kennedy, Len Goodman, and myself, Gregg Remer.
As we started to paddle out, two beginner paddlers started to join us. Both
were from New York and hit it off right away with Pete, Len and Jude. All of
them were from NY and there was a lot of "you tawking to me here" going on.
I wondered how many of them were in the State of California legally. The two
beginner paddlers veered off when they saw an INS boat coming into the harbor.
Just kidding, they elected not to go out of the harbor with us I assume.
We hit the end of the breakwater and saw the predicted 5 to 6 foot swells. One
thing I liked and appreciated about the way Paula ran the paddle was she knew
the exact number of paddlers she had, and warned everyone that they were responsible
for they're own safety. This was a fun social paddle as we were only going the
3 miles to the Ventura Pier. Paula was always aware of the number of paddlers
we had and the conditions. We all agreed to swing wide and avoid the large surf
breaking against the end of the breakwater. One thing we had going in our favor
was the time between the sets rolling in. There was a good two minute to a two
and a half minutes between the sets. We made our run for the safety of the seward
side of the sets and everyone made it out in great shape. I'd like to point
out that Diane has only been paddling for one month, Melissa for four months
and Sheila is a new paddler as well. These ladies all have a natural athletic
ability and handled the conditions like Pros. Way to go ladies, we all noticed
and were so proud of you. Keep paddling with us, gain experience and you'll
all be accomplished paddlers in no time.
The three mile paddle to the Pier was an easy paddle with five foot swells the
first mile and a half. They mellowed out to flat water and we had a great time
along the way. Everyone broke off into smaller groups and talked amongst themselves.
We would then trade paddle chat partners and get to know the rest of the group.
Len Goodman, you nasty dirty ole man, you had us all cracking up and laughing
so hard the entire way.
We arrived at the pier and all decide to shoot through the pillions. We rested
for a few minutes and paddled the three miles back to the harbor. We again had
the larger swells and chop on the way back into the breakwater. I was right
behind Melissa and Gordon coming through the chop and swells into the safety
of the breakwater. Your a natural Melissa!
We all landed at the boat launch and loaded our gear. Mike, Pete, Diane and
Len all had to head home for other activities. The rest of us headed for Dukes
in Ventura for food and drinks. More kayaking stories and laughs were exchanged
for an hour or so.
Paula, what are the odds of setting up a paddle and getting 10 social deviates
all on the same paddle? I have no idea, but you accomplished it today. There
couldn't have been a better mesh of personalities on the water together. Way
to go lady and I'll paddle with any of you anytime. Thanks for asking me to
write the trip report Paula...
Gregg Remer
Submitted on November 26, 2000