Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico
After our frustration, due to job problems, for not being able to
accompany CKF in the magnificent San Luis Obispo Paddle organized by Gregg
Remer, the crew from Querétaro accepted an invitation by the Port of
Veracruz kayakers to visit the Port and meet each other and paddle together
and compare boats, styles, etc.
We got to know them because I have been doing something similar to Gregg's efforts
to promote the sport in Mexico. I schedule events and then submit a trip report
in Spanish to a list called "The cayucos". Cayuco is the term that the fishermen
in Baja gave to kayaks and so I was baptized by some beginners who took some lessons
with us and Andree Hurley (My ACA instructor trainer), "the cayuco chief".
The cayucos list has been growing and we have members from Baja, Can-Cun,
Veracruz, and the plains and deserts in Mexico. One remarkable group of
these is "The Cocoons" which I have mentioned already in past reports, and
who had planned to come to the failed California Trip.
Any way, one guy from Veracruz saw our web page and joined the list and
invited us for a weekend paddling. We gathered a team of 6 kayakers, all of
them using our Xel-Ha (Shell-Ha) kayaks. To our surprise, when we got there
we were received by a seasoned nice well organized club. They have a house
by the river, close to the river delta in which they keep competition
K1,K2, sea kayaks, river kayaks and other types of lake kayaks. They were
eager to meet the crazy guys (us) coming from the Continental Divide,
equidistant from both oceans, who claim that they know something about sea
kayaking. We were eager to know who they were because we had been kayaking
in Veracruz several times and had never seen them.
On Saturday morning we met their elder and most respected kayaker almost 75 years
old, his sons and grand sons and daughters as well as other kayakers, most of
them physicians. We paddled up river to a semifresh lagoon, bathed by the sea
when tide rises and also by fresh water coming from southern springs.
Of course competition kayaks moved always faster and these kids paddle very
hard with airfoil type competition paddles.
A very enjoyable up river paddle, dinner and back trip with sunny, excellent weather,
lots of interesting conversations about boats, paddles, stability, speed, endurance,
etc. took place. We measured the skills of the people that were going out to the
sea next day. We paddled 7.8 km (4.9 miles) up and the same going back. Juan Luis
and I had to go 1 mile farther to the town of Mandinga to meet my wife who was
waiting for us there. There were some bracing practices and some rolls. Juan Luis
showed off by sculling for a while in the water and then coming back up with a
quick hip-snap. He did it few times for the joy of the locals who paddle very
fast but have not spent any time in braces, rolls or any of those necessary maneuvers.
Amazing enough the 75 year old fellow was always leading the group. He had
a nice narrower plastic Dagger and he had very powerful strokes well
spaced. He would recover slowly and then pull very strongly to take time
again to enter the paddle on the other side. He was pretty effective. His
two sons paddle like champions with beautiful style.
On the second day we went out to an Island about 6 miles away crossing the
channel. I remembered all the scary comments in the CKF e-mails about the
ship risks in Anacapa crossings. I was curious to see what it was like to
see a ship in the channel but ships started moving in and out after we were
back. Waves were at about 1 to 1.5 feet. Wind picked up coming back and it
was just nice to let first timers have a feeling of the constant water motion.
Going to the island we gathered 14 kayaks. Of those there was one double sit on
top, two lagoon type kayaks, some slalom type kayaks and 8 sea kayaks. Groups
formed. The faster guys parted. Our host Julio and I stayed behind looking at
all the slower paddles and making sure they were OK and happy. Only one very good
sportswoman from Florida who lives in Mexico City for a while felt a little sea
sick on the way back. Probably she took some salt water on the exercises or a
little dehydration due to the hot weather or probably the permanent sea motion.
Amazingly she kept on going until the end.
Going to the island dolphins came to one side and swam with each group for
a little while. They looked big and the group was of 8 or 10. Sun was
shining and the island had a nice solitary beach in which we rested and
some of us exchanged boats to compare. We practiced some rolls and braces
and helped others with basics of hip snaps, eskimo rescues, etc..
On our way back waves came form our back right side and helped us moving
in, picking up some waves for a nice surf on approaching the protected
beach. The reason being that 150 feet before the shore there are some
underwater reefs 3 feet deep in which waves accelerate and die without
braking, picking you up nicely and taking you in until they die in the long
shallow section.
We enjoyed the company very much and felt that we have new places to go,
new friends to kayak with and of course these places are ready to receive
any time anybody from CKF.
At the end of the trip I told all the outsiders that we should thank the
locals and governor for such a tremendous planning which consisted in
taking rain away, stopping the ships in the channel for us to cross,
sending some well trained friendly dolphins, keeping the islands empty
until our departure, sending waves of just the right size, etc..
Of course at night we went to the CAFE DE LA PARROQUIA to see the folk dances,
drink the excellent local coffee and listen to the marimba and the song of LA
BAMBA, and to see old Veracruz couples dance DANZON in the public square, at the
sound of the marimba while children run around, buy ice-cream and scream and play,
in the warm tropical nice evening.
Best Regards to all and hope to make it next time to the Big California
paddling event.
Rafael Mier Maza
Submitted on June 29, 2001