Conditions were near perfect for rock gardening. For future reference:
Don named the big sharp offshore rock between Long Point & Point Vicente, "Shark Rock". Once he said it, it was obvious to me that it looked like a sharks tooth. A few of us paddled behind the rock. This can lead to excessive excitement because waves refract around from both sides + there is an underwater (high tide) bridge that's easy to get hung up on. This day things went fine though.
We did a little surfing just north of point Vicente in some nicely shaped 2 foot waves that broke over a small reef.
On the way out we made a brief stop at our usual rest stop then went on to the dominator wreck. Our rest stop is very well protected behind a multi-layered reef. Although the exact landing spot changes with tide level, it is accessible and safe for all tide levels. Even in a moderate swell there is good enough protection for skilled paddlers to get in and out fairly easily. Using the visual method it is the second headland south of resort point. On GPS I think it is: 33* 45' 37" x 118* 25' 06".
On the way out of our rest stop, there was a small group of pelicans resting on the farthest seaward extend of the reef which is separated to form a little rock islet. We know there was a whale about a half mile out because we could see the whale watching boat full of people standing off. Unfortunately, we knew the whale would be long gone by the time we got out there so we moved on. Water was so clear that at several points we just stopped to look into the clear water. You could see some fish, but mainly it was amazing just to see the water that clear.
A seal was resting on an exposed piece of the wreck when we arrived. She jumped into the water when we got there and hung out with us until we got ready to leave. We got a few pictures of Jack trying to do a seal landing on that protruding piece. After several tries with little success he gave up on it. Once we started to leave that little seal gave us a demonstration of how it was done as she reclaimed her rest spot with little apparent effort.
On the way back we stopped at our rest spot again for an extended lunch break. By the time we set out again the tide was about -1 foot. The tide was lower than any other time I have been in that area and it was transformed. This made the return trip very enjoyable as the low tide uncovered many little surge channels and washovers to explore and play in that we didn't even know existed.
On returning we heard load drums near our launch site. There were a couple of guys in a large diameter cave (above water line) at the east end of the launch site who were just pounding away on their bongos. I thought it was kind of catchy, but Vickie said it was giving her a headache. I guess there's no accounting for taste.
We landed after a little rolling practice and the two energetic whitewater paddlers, Hugh and Scott, immediately started the "portage" up to the vehicles. Right after they left, the four of us remaining saw a huge pod of dolphin off shore. It was visible as a half mile (or more) long black streak in the water. Those with good eyes (or glasses) could see some of them jumping out of the water. Someone on the beach had binoculars so we got a good show. A note to Hugh and Scott: sometimes being lazy pays off.
Very fun paddle with a good group of skilled & friendly paddlers!
Steve Brown