During the briefing, Mike Brown and I mentioned that if anybody did not want to paddle at a slower pace with the group, they should then go on their own. Two of our 13 opted to do just that.

After we launched into the 2 inch surf at Kiddie Beach, we paddled over to the Pond to spend an hour practicing wet exits, re-entries, and some of us practiced rolling. I understand from Patrick Martin, that I am just about their. Sure doesn't feel that way when I'm running out of air and having to do a wet exit though. Patrick kept trying to tell me that if I could sweep just 2 feet more with my paddle, I would be completely upright. Oh well, there's always next week to practice again.

We then left the pond and headed East to the Hueneme Buoy. We passed some very playful sea lions that were just frolicking in the water like a bunch of kids. They kept watching us and diving and splashing and just having a good old time.

While we were hanging out near the buoy and watching the sea lions, Susan spotted something white in the water about 300 yards away. To me it almost looked like an overturned boat, so two of us paddled over. We accomplished a rescue of a 4 foot fluorescent light bulb. Fortunately, Bruce's funny looking boat has plenty of storage space, so he carried it back for us.

The wind started to pick up so we headed back so that there would not be any problems with the afternoon winds. We had a completely uneventful trip back and adjourned to Daddy-o's for sandwiches, breakfast, or as two of our newest members did ---milk shakes??

The attached pictures were taken by one of the clubs newest members, Paul Jonason. His pictures are much better than anything I shoot, because this man truly is a professional photographer. Click to see larger image.

    Steve Holtzman

LAUNCH LOCATION:
Kiddie Beach in Channel Islands Harbor. Directions to Kiddie Beach. Exit Victoria South (left) - towards beaches Cross - Channel Islands Blvd, continue south for 1 mile. Kiddie Beach is just past the Coast Guard Station on the right side. Look for the skinny, colorful boats on the beach. View Map.