Kiddee Beach
It was cold, wet and the rain was coming down but 5 of us still were
undaunted and launched from Kiddee Beach at 9:00.
There were 4 to 5 foot swells and the ocean wasn't at all calm. We had a south
east wind blowing and it tried to carry us further out into the open ocean as we
paddled.
- Mike Kory
- Tim Werner
- Pete O' Sullivan
- John Ernst
- Gregg Remer
I was with 4 strong paddlers and none of us had worries about the others. We
paddled out of Channel Islands Harbor and headed for the Breakwater. As our
skills have increased together, we now tend to pause and play a few feet from
the end of the break and allow the waves and swells to crash over us as we
paddle in the soup and foam.
We headed out without a real paddle plan and discussed waiting for the tall
sailing ships that are still visiting the harbor to make their exit. Pete
and John wanted to paddle towards Port Hueneme Harbor, Mike wanted to head
out towards Gina and Tim and I wanted to wait for the perfect picture of the
tall sailing ships. We all separated and headed our own directions and
paddled and played in the large swells rolling in. We had talked with the
crew of one of the two tall sailing ships and they had planned a 10:00
departure. 10:30 rolled around and we couldn't see them coming out of the
harbor. I was beginning to wonder if the sail was canceled as the swells
were growing and the winds were picking up.
Tim and I were together and trying to keep and eye on Pete and John. We were
also concerned about Mike as he had headed further out towards Gina alone.
It was actually pretty darn cold today and my toes were even getting cold
inside the deck of my closed deck boat. I wore a long Farmer John,
tee-shirt, long sleeve tee-shirt, paddle jacket and booties and I was still
getting cold.
We spotted the Tall Sailing Ships coming our way and we headed for them
trying not to be run over as they were under full sail. I managed to
maneuver close to them to get some great pictures. Tim took a couple of
great shots of me broad side of the Hawaiian Chieftain. "Give me my camera
back and I'll take a couple of shots of you Tim". "Ahhhhhh Gregg, either
your camera is hemorrhaging or the automatic motor is rewinding the film" he
replied. I had reached the end of the roll and poor Tim never did get his
picture taken.
We had all came back together now and were paddling around these two ships.
We headed back in towards the breakwater and played in the large swells and
chop at the end of it. We were 5 to 10 feet away from the rocks and I could
tell the wind and currents were trying to take me into the rocks. It's time
to get out of here I thought and we headed back in. Mike had decided to head
back out and watch the Tall Sailing ships engage in mock battle. This made
us a little nervous thinking of Mike being out there alone. Mike is good and
often paddles alone so I tried to put my concerns aside.
We loaded our gear and tried to warm up a little by changing back into our
street clothes. Pete headed home for the shower and Tim, John and I headed
for a small "Hole in the Wall" beach bar. We all shared stories and thoughts
of past and future paddles together.
It was cold and the rain was lightly pouring down on us today. Oh my God, we
had a blast together. Like five children stomping in mud puddles, we were 5
good paddlers doing our thing on the water. Just out there enjoying life and
kicking a few good swells and chop.
Gregg Remer
Submitted on February 25, 2001