The youngsters took off at about 0845 and we followed at 0900 toward Gina in what seemed like nice flat seas in clear, calm weather. We paddled out of the harbor and found the swell just enough to keep things interesting. George and I, I put George first because he is there first, passed the two early launchers and reached Gina in about 50 minutes at a "nice easy pace." The others came in about 5-10 minutes behind.

We hung around watching the service boat come in and the local seal population then headed back. There was a significant swell off the left rear but the current still seemed to be pushing us west up the coast. Good day to improve on ferry angle and tracking skills. We seemed to separate into the 3 groups. Two of the groups headed towards the east entrance and the other to the west entrance to the harbor.

The seas had picked up a little and the breeze had come up a little when we hit the beach at about 1130.

Nothing really exiting, today. Just a few guys getting together into what's turning out to be a male bonding sport. Good companionship, good conversation, some good photos by Steve. Maybe with the perceived warmer weather coming we will again be welcoming some new faces to our paddles.

As the saying goes: "any day on the water is better than the worst day at...."

    Mike Brown

Actually there was something exciting. While we were paddling back to Channel Islands, Patrick stayed with the two young "kids", Jake Stachovak and Jeff (I don't know his last name). This was Jeff's 2nd time on the water and he has already completed paddling 3 1/2 NM off shore to the closest oil platform at very fast pace for a beginner. As Peter and I passed them as we headed for the east side of the breakwater, they called us over to where they were just milling about.

It seems that there was an ocean sunfish there. Although I had never seen one before, I had heard of them. I thought this was a pretty big fish - about 4 feet around but Peter told me this was a small one. They can get up to about 1,000 lbs. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture of it.

Peter also mentioned that sometimes people will see the fin of one of these and think it's a shark. To me it doesn't look anything like a shark's dorsal fin, but if you have never seen a shark, it could scare you. We watched the fish for about 15 minutes and then started paddling back. John, George, and Mike in the fast group heading back - didn't get to see it.

Pictures taken by Steve Holtzman using his new digital camera (see his review of the camera on the Reviews Page).

Click on picture to see a larger image

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