Heal The Bay Cleanup
The following is a brief report of our Heal The Bay (HTB) event held September 15th:

A small, but hearty contingent of paddlers representing CKF met at 7:30AM in the parking lot just north of Santa Monica Pier. The weather was overcast with light fog. The surf conditions were mild.

Our group consisted of: At that early hour there were few cyclers and runners on the paved strand that borders the beach, but it was the wakeup hour for a variety of lost souls that spend there nights sleeping around the pier and on the sand. We stood apart amongst this group, though the gay population felt a kinship , as wandered about in our spray skirts.

The HTB people and the scuba divers started arriving and setting up for the event at 8 AM. We signed waivers, received small red warning flags to be used in event of emergencies, carried our boats to the water's edge and elected Greg to assist in pushing each of us off -- as he was the only paddler of a SOT (and not yet, a CKF member).

This year HTB had a contingent of UCLA students from their dive club and they also brought along their UCLA CHEERLEADERS since there was no football game this day. The lithe, supple, svelt young coeds lined the beach behind our boats - - a loudspeaker boomed the UCLA fight song across the water, the girls cheered, threw their pompoms into the air and and pirouetted up and down the beach as we heroically paddled our kayaks through the huge breaking surf.

NBTR* We all had little difficulty in sculling through the mild breakers. Once on the water we set up paddling zones for each of us to watch. A Harbor Patrol boat stood by in the middle of the HTB clean up zone and a zodiac boat also was in the area to assist in the event divers brought up large amounts of trash from the bottom.

The divers left the beach in small groups of between 2 to 6 divers and slowly swam out - some towards the pier and others dispersed thruout the cleanup area.

After about 2 hours of watching a variety of diver produced bubbles - we surmised that some were air and others "gas" - those divers are a well fed lot - the divers had all returned to the beach and it was our turn to head for the beach.

Len, being the host of the event, volunteered to lead the brave group of kayakers back thru the roaring surf. He wisely guided his nimble craft thru various sets of mountainous waves. The UCLA cheerleaders were dancing on the beach, the loudspeakers again pounding out the UCLA fight song. These nubile nymphets, clad in their blue and gold cheerleader thongs and tanktops brought the crowd to a frenzy. As Len's boat rode the last wave towards the beach his boat broached to the right and he executed a high brace and simoultaneously waved with his left hand. Now this might have been a mistake. His paddle braked and he came out of his boat in a graceful slide into the sand. His boat was dashed upon the beach scattering the blue and gold coeds. Suddenly out of the crowd raced an amazon of a woman. She helped Len to his feet, pulled his boat onto shore and assisted him in dumping out the water. Who was this savior? Where did she come from? As he tried to thank her she embraced him, tenderly removed a piece of kelp from his trunks and disappeared into the crowd. What a day!

NBTR* We all exited thru a mild surf. Len, who was the first to head for the beach, rode a small wave in, broached, braced and unceremoniously slipped out of his boat in a foot of water. All of the others made smooth landings.

Once upon the beach we were asked to join HTB's ceremonies. The divers who had pulled out the most debris from the bottom received small gifts of diving gear. Reporters from the media took pictures and videos for the local stations and newspapers. And then it was our turn. Speeches about how much we meant to the divers. What bravery we displayed in our surf launches and exits. An owner of a local kayak company was on hand. He saluted us and to our amazement broke out bottles of Brut champagne and we were toasted by all of the divers and HTB people. Then we were all - and we were absolutely astounded - awarded - given - bestowed - free fiberglass kayaks from his company. The cheerleaders led the crowd in Hail to the Hearty Kayakers to the tune of the UCLA fight song. The Amazon Lady, shyly waved to me from amidst the crowd. Her name, I later found out, was Leslie Mist, an environmental activist and kelp cultivator. What a day!

*NBTR We all agreed that it was a rewarding day. We made new friends, did our good deed for the environment and had a fun day of sea-time.

*NBTR - Now Back To Reality

    Len Goodman
Submitted on September 17, 2001