Dan Blocker Beach
Eight paddlers arrived in a timely manner for a 09:00 AM launch.
After a brief discussion of direction of travel we all made almost perfect launches
through the 2-4' surf. As we paddled out behind the breakers paddler #9 announced
his arrival on VHF so we puttered around until all 9 of us were together.
The sun was shining, there was a moderate breeze with small white caps and
rolling swells as we paddled at about 230 degrees toward Point Dume. As we
paddled the winds increased to what I estimate to be 15-18 knots but nothing
that was out of control. We ran into occasional seals and a huge sea lion.
Along the way we tried out a towing rig on one of our slower paddlers to
augment his own power. It worked fine and the paddler was soon able to keep
up, mostly, on his own once he set his rhythm.
We arrived at Point Dume in about 1 1/4 hours. There was quite a bit of chop
around the point itself. Westward Beach was our goal but the surf was rather
high, the beach was crowded and low tide made the beach very steep. We
elected to paddle back to the sandy beach east of the point and we all landed successfully.
We talked, snacked, evaluated some of the native fauna and generally kicked
back for about 1/2 hour.
We launched without incident and paddled back to Dan Blocker with a short stop
for rolling practice and looking at the underwater scenery upside down from
inside a kayak. Very interesting.
I have discovered a personal flaw that maybe somebody can explain. When I try
to set up my screw roll after being upside down while looking at the set up
with a dive mask I fail. If I close my eyes or just take off the mask with
eyes open I can complete the roll without problem. Open to discussion.
Back to the trip report.
Before launching I met with the local life guard; not the same one as last
week. He told us that he would clear the beach for us when he saw us coming
in. As our first boat approached the life guard came out and motioned him
about 50' up the coast. The then cleared people as the approached and kept
the area clear while all 9 boats safely landed using different techniques.
All in all, we traveled 10.2 miles as the crow flies, slightly more as the
kayak paddles, in 4 hours with breaks for snacks and breaks for play along the
way. We did 18 launches and 18 landings without incident. The sun was out
most of the time, the water was warm and clear and the company fantastic.
Another great day on the water. But, then again, any day on the water beats
any kind of day at work, right?
Mike Brown
Mike was very gracious in his report by not mentioning "the weakest
link". Me. As we left I fell behind and noticed the group stopping a
couple of times about 100 yards ahead of me. In my simple minded
thoughts, I supposed the were just resting after their aggressive
paddling. Upon reaching the group each time, I would paddle on wishing
to stay with the group. The third time they stopped it finally occurred
to me (duh) that they we waiting for me. When I inquired if that were
the case, I was told it was. I promptly said that I would turn around
and avoid delaying the paddle. Pat Martin offered to tow me. I was of
course embarrassed to accept his offer. Pat kept insisting that it was
no problem and Steve also offered. Well after driving 60 miles to get
there, I reluctantly accepted.
Pat hooked me up and Steve advised that I
should also paddle. (a duh for Steve.) We took off. My objective was to
paddle like hell and keep slack in the line if I could since it was tied
to Pat's waist. I think I succeeded in doing that about 90% of the time.
as far as I could see we stayed at the front of the pack for about an
hour. Because of the slack in the tow line when we reached the point,
the curved line picked up some kelp and Pat decided it was time for us
to unhitch. For the rest of the trip I was untethered.
I mention all this for a variety of reasons. first of all, Pat was so
willing and successful to convince me that there was no shame in what we
did. He also was very good at towing. the rest of the group was very
pleasant in making me feel comfortable in continuing by offering ways of
improving my stroke technique.
Perhaps there is a need for mention to be
made of the intended speed of the trip. I know this presents a problem
when the leader is not sure who will show up (I remember a couple of
trips when Ellen Linder and I rode up together and she ran off and left
some of these very same paddelers, for whatever that's worth.) Of course
Mike's trip report would have shown a much faster completion time if I
hadn't delayed them. My feeling is that I was perfectly comfortable
tagging along in the rear. I was always in sight of the destination, the
shore, and the paddlers. Also, I backed out of Steve Nestle's trip
around PV because I felt it was beyond my abilities and received advice
to that affect from Steve Brown.
Denny Bean
Denny,
There is no need to feel embarrassed for taking advantage of some help. I
prefer to not call it being towed. Towing is what you do with a barge or
incapacitated paddler. What Patrick did was to offer you a "boost". You didn't
need to be dragged along, what you needed was another 10% of efficiency in
your paddling. Patrick provided that 10% and that is why I mentioned that you
still needed to paddle. If Patrick had been towing you, the two of you would
have been at the back of the group and not at the front. While the two of you
were combining your strokes, the group did not slow it's paddling speed down.
As far as the group having a faster completion time is concerned, that is
really not an issue in my opinion. If speed were the end all be all, we'd all
have power boats instead of kayaks. Part of the problem in my opinion, lies
with the group dynamics. Of the 9 paddlers on the trip, six of us regularly
paddle together and we have just developed a feel for the group speed. We need
to be more cognizant of the group speed, because we do paddle at an aggressive
speed normally.
Additionally, the speed of a kayak is greatly influenced by its length.
Generally, the longer the boat, the faster it will be. I used to find that
when I paddled my SOT which was just under 15' in length, I was always having
a great deal of trouble keeping up. Now that I am in a longer and narrower
boat, I can keep up with the group although I still am not able to paddle as
fast as the longer boats can go. So it was not all your fault!! Some of it is
due to the fact that you are paddling a shorter and wider boat.
In any event, I was glad to paddle with you and hope you join us again.
Steve Holtzman
Hi Denny,
Thanks for taking the time and the guts relate your story about being
towed. I can tell you that the hardest job when leading a group is
keeping them together. I believe tow ropes should be used more often
instead of waiting until there is exhaustion or an overuse injury.
A few years ago I wrote an article for Sea Kayaker Magazine called Team Towing.
If you haven't read it please visit my web site at www.useakayak.org.
Go to the Library page and then check out the sections on Articles. The article
tries to change our view of the tow rope and when it should be used.
Thanks again for sharing your experience with all of us.
Wayne Horodowich
Submitted on September 2, 2001