Assorted Trips
Sunday afternoon 8/12 Vickie and I did some paddling at Bass lake near
Oakhurst. This was very relaxing. No waves. The jet skiers and boater were
generally courteous, and the water was very warm (I'd guess mid 70s). Vickie
made a lot of progress on her roll by practicing it from various positions.
We had time to cover most, but not all of the lake shoreline.
Jet skis are allowed to go anywhere on the lake, but there is a relatively
small designated area where they are allowed to go fast and act crazy. We
almost accidentally went in there. I think the life expectancy of a kayaker
in that area would be about 30 seconds.
One pleasant surprise was the presence of many-many Canadian honkers in the
shallows. They seemed completely unperturbed by our presence. I don't know
exactly how, but waterfowl seem acutely aware of when hunting season is, and
where it is allowed.
This is a good place for paddlers of all levels and a good place to practice
rolling or other in-water technique because of the warm water.
Tuesday 8/14 Vickie and I launched at Spooners cove in Montana De Oro State
park (near Morro Bay). We paddled south to the second headland past point
Buchon and back for a round trip of about 5.5NM. This trip was similar to
SL6 in Rob Mohle's book except we went a little farther. For reference the
San Luis buoy was running about 5 feet.
I think Rob's assessment was accurate. This is an area for advanced
paddlers, or possibly intermediates in calm conditions. I think it was
"calm" on the day of our trip. My opinion is based on the wide variability
of conditions between some protected spots with only gentle surge raising
and lowering the water level, some coves with large areas of breaking water
(5'-6'), and some headlands with large peaky waves (7'-8') that didn't break
(much) and were much larger than the swell (If you're curious how I measure
these wave see the bottom of this e-mail). Also, once you pass the park
boundary you're on your own. I think this is a place to be careful.
Outside of offshore islands, this is probably the most interesting (U.S.)
spot we have paddled into. We paddled inside the reefs / rocks wherever
possible (that's where the fun is) and were able to explore numerous caves,
arches, and tunnels. Most of the caves & arches could be entered safely and
the rough areas we tried could be transitioned with a little care. Mostly it
wasn't as bad as it looked. Since we were alone, and in a remote area, we
were very cautious. Even so, this is a great play area.
We had already seen many birds and a few otters, but we got an unusual surprise...
On the north side of one of the headlands, I think the one just north of
point Buchon, there was what looked like a cave with a collapsed ceiling .
We paddled through the tunnel that opened into a small pool with cliffs on
all sides, except a narrow channel that allowed passage to the west side of
the headland. The exit channel was relatively calm because numerous rocks
farther out were dissipating the energy of the swell. I was admiring what a
cool place we had found when Vickie said "Look, there are two goats". For a
moment I thought they might be the fabled and feared
Atrox-Navisesito-Marisoryx (terrible-boateating-seagoat), but they were just
two goats looking down on us from the cliff about 15' above us.
I have a feeling there is much more fun to be had in this area farther
south, but we ran out of time. I'd like to go back here with a few
additional experienced paddlers and push the limits (and fun) a little more.
An ideal trip would be a one way trip from Spooners cover to Port San Luis
with an overnight stop in between to allow enough time for in depth
exploration. I'm going to get in touch with PG&E to see if shoreline camping
(above mean high tide) is a possibility.
Wednesday 8/15 Vickie & I + My dad & Stepmother (Eddie) did some more
paddling at Cuyucos. Vickie and I launched at Morro Strand and met them at
Cuyucos pier again. Surf at Morro Strand was about 2-4 feet. At Cuyucos surf
was about 1 foot. There are some isolated areas in the "inside passage" with
occasional 2'-3' waves, but in general this seems like good area to
introduce novice paddlers to rock gardening. I suspect locals would say it's
quite challenging during a large swell.
My dad and Eddie got to test their new wet suits when they found one of the
few rough spots. That was their first dumping (except in surf) and they took
it in stride. They seem to like paddling around the rocks, so I'm afraid I
might be a bad influence on them.
On the way back to Morro Strand I tried a little surfing. I caught a few
waves, but missed quit a few that just seemed to outrun me.
When we arrived back at Morro Strand the wave were not particularly big
(2'-4'+), but there were multiple lines of spilling, plunging, and curling
waves. It looked kind of ugly, but Vickie did a good job of getting back in
right side up. I think she has a fairly good handle on her surf zone skills.
Saturday 8/18 Vickie & I and Bob & Ann (new friends from Santa Maria) took
the boat out to Anacapa and did some paddling and a little snorkeling. We
squeezed into just about every nook and cranny (caves, tunnels, arches) of
the east and middle islands, then crossed through to the south side of the
islands for some playing in the rocks.
In the channels that separate the east, middle, and west islands, we spent
some time playing in the small claptis forms from waves coming from both
directions. On the south side of the west island the waves were not too big
(2'-3'), but very easy to catch so we did a little surfing. I didn't go into
any of the caves on the south side (bob did but I was chicken), but we did
have some fun playing in the white water that goes over and around the rocks
and through narrow channels.
For those that haven't been out there, the all day trip with Island Packers
is $42 and includes bringing your kayak along. The loading and unloading is
a little bit of a zoo, but it's worth it to get out to this island.
I have my own system of measuring wave height which is simple and accurate
because it is based on the fact that the top of vickies helmet is about 2.5
feet off the water. Also, we have jointly worked out a simple system of
calling out wave height which is more meaningful than feet. Similar to the
beuford wind scale:
1 head = 2.5 feet --> "a wave"
2 heads = 5 feet --> "a big wave"
3 heads = 7.5 feet --> "ug-oh"
4 heads = 10 feet --> "holy-moly"
5 heads = 12.5 feet --> "silence....." (as you are paralyzed with fear of
what is about to happen)
Steve Brown
Submitted on August 23, 2001