Alone & Unsupervised
The sun broke through at 8:30 this morning in mid town Ventura. By 9:30 I
was in my car and heading towards the beach area 5 minutes away. The fog
monster still had the beach area engulfed in it's heavy mist. I parked at the
end of Seaward Ave. and gazed out on the water or what little of it I could
see. The visibility was about 50 yards and that was it. As I sat there a
Crime Crusher in a three wheel scooter drove up and told me to move it or
he'd give me a $55.00 parking ticket. "Yes Sir, Yes Sir, I'm outta here" I
replied as I put it in gear and drove off. This is not going to be a good
day I thought to myself.
I drove down to Channel Islands Harbor and it was just as socked in as the
Ventura area was. I sat at Kidde Beach watching the harbor and I could
barely see across to the other side. I had just sold my Looksha IV and gave
the compass away with the sale. I needed a compass and felt like I was nude
in public without one. It's 10:45 by now and I have time to kill before I
can put in.
I headed for Big Daddy-O's to have breakfast. I'm not a coffee drinker and I
swear it's on the menu, I ordered a breakfast and a "Big Ass Drink". I
promise you, it's on the menu and I'm not trying to convey my mood at the time.
11:45 and the fog still has it's tight grip along the coast line. What the
hell I think, and I head for Santa Barbara to pick up a strap on deck compass
from Paddle Sports.
I hit Monticeto and the sun is out bright and shining as I drive on into
Santa Barbara. It's high tide and the water looked very flat as I drove
through Summerland.
I picked up the compass and headed back towards Monticeto to Butterfly
Beach. Wooooo hooooo, 6" surf and it's flat on the outside. I now have a tear in
my eye I so happy.
I launched from Butterfly Beach and headed towards Summerland and on down
towards Carpenteria State Beach. The water was so unbelievably flat and
calm. What a great way to build up time in my new Current Design Extreme and
get use to the different hull design. I did a surf landing at Santa Claus
Lane and took a 15 to 25 minute break there. I had paddle approximately 5 to
6 miles along some of my favorite coast line. I knew that it's normally an
uphill paddle back to Butterfly Beach but wasn't really worried as the
conditions were so calm. My lack of concern was justified as I had a very
easy paddle back to Butterfly Beach. Along the way I saw three Sea Lions and
two Dolphins I named Fred and Ethel. Fred and Ethel stayed with me for quite
some time as I paddled past the multimillion dollar homes that caress the
private beaches along the way.
When I landed back at Butterfly Beach and climbed out of my boat, a tourist
came up and started talking to me. I exhaled a large sigh and he asked me if
I was tired. " No, life is once again good" I replied.
Gregg
Submitted on May 23, 2001