Good Water Days
After the Haskell's to El Capitan paddle (5/27/01-14 mi.). I was looking for a
longer run along the coast. Two days later, Cathy seemed to be ready for more
also so she and I ran S.B. to Goleta (5/29/01-20 mi.). We had flat water again
as we weaved through the kelp beads and at time found ourselves in such thick
kelp that a fork would have worked much better than our paddles/spoons.
Although this stretch of scenery was similar to the El Cap. run it was just as
enjoyable. Cathy had a good laugh when I made an ever so slight groan,
revealing the muscle ache at the end of that paddle and in the same breath
thought of running a longer, multiday trip.
The full moon paddle (6/2/01-2 hour) along with a morning run that same day
was a change of pace from the last weekend with a leisurely day on the water
as a few of us kicked around Channel Islands to Ventura Harbors from sun up to past sun set.
The Ventura Harbor to Faria paddle and BBQ (6/9/01-14mi.) was so fun we forgot
to cook the chicken... ... Okay, okay, I'll spill it, I... forgot the grill
for the barbecue, after I lit the coals. (a real blockhead move [''] ) I'm
glad we brought enough side dishes to eat. The morning water was nice and
flat as we made our way west, staying to the inside of the kelp beds. After
the BBQ cooled down (it's only purpose served was being our main heat source
as the sun only broke through the overcast sky for 10 minutes the entire day)
we launched in to choppier water as we followed the outside line of the kelp
on the return. Before we reached the harbor we had deep swells and a few
whitecaps on our quarter keeping us on our toes but staying well within the
"play water" rating, making it a rather fun return trip. Judging by the
amount of debris we gathered on the return trip, I was half expecting to later
hear of a trash truck that ran off of PCH the night before but I suspect all
our efforts were thanks to the contributions of many.
The last few weekends have been good water days, though the gatherings have
been small, I'm glad I keep meeting a few more paddlers each time out, and
although I can't honestly quote Will Rogers, I do look forward to seeing more
new paddlers with each outing.
Ralph Pierson
Submitted on June 13, 2001