Dana Point to Newport Bay & Back
In perpetration for the upcoming Catalina for lunch paddle Steve Wilson,
George Miller and I decided to paddle from Dana Point to Newport Bay and back last
Sunday. We wanted to get an early start so we were on the water at dawn
(6:30am) and started out at a brisk pace of just under 4 knots. Our goal was to
put in about 40 miles so we hugged the coast to increase are mileage. A great
side benefit was the great views we had of the coast as the sun rose over it.
The water and winds were dead calm so we had a fairly easy paddle to Newport.
Once in Newport Harbor George and I ever hungry for achieving our goal of 40
miles decided to paddle Newport's main harbor. Steve had lost his taste for
mega miles and opted out of the circumnavigation. He decided to paddle over
to 15th street on Balboa peninsula where we would all meet up for lunch before
paddling home.
The weather and the seas weren't as cooperative on the return trip. Its was
hot and Steve and I were rolling frequently to keep cool. More importantly we
had picked up a quartering sea on our stern. The seas weren't large but they
did present a weathercocking problem for Steve's skegless and rudderless
Eddyline Falcon. I was even having a bit of trouble getting my skeg dialed in.
George kept smiling smugly at how easily he was able to track his ruddered
Extreme. All in all we still made great time averaging about 3.8 on the way home.
All in all we completed about 35 nautical miles. We were all tired when we
landed but we all completed the paddle fairly comfortably. After the paddle we
shared tall tales over cheeseburgers at the Brig restaurant.
Hope to see you on the water
Dave O'Connor
View
picture of Dana Point Harbor
Submitted on July 4, 2003