As I crested the Camarillo Grade on the freeway, I looked down and saw an absolutely beautiful heavy blanket of fog sitting in the valley. Everything except the top of one hill and a water tank on it were totally invisible.

I kept driving to the put in and Chris called to see if the trip was still on. By this time, I was at the fwy off ramp and the fog was thinning out. After I arrived at Kiddie Beach, Peter and I decided that since we didn't have any beginners with us on this trip, that we could use it as a navigation exercise and paddle by compass only. All were agreeable but those with GPS units did carry them.

As luck would have it, the fog thinned just enough as we launched that we could just glimpse Gina so there went our grand plan for a navigation problem.. The red tide that Peter reported as gone the other day, came back. There was very little wildlife besides some birds to look at. No sharks, dolphin, whales, or anything else for that matter.

We were joined on this trip with some old friends, Colleen and Misha, who have not paddled with us for a very long time. We all set out and just had a good time paddling. We didn't set any speed records, nobody capsized, nobody broke a boat, and nobody got injured or killed.

But as Patrick did say, we had 13 paddlers who had a great time together. We took a break at the platform, scarfed some snacks, and paddled back. Again we started by compass heading only, but it wasn't long before we could see the breakwater. The only excitement was when the CG announced that all boaters should look for a 15' outboard runabout that was adrift between Anacapa and Channel Islands Harbor with 4 people on board. We were all commenting that that boat is smaller than any of our kayaks.

We did not see it and we didn't hear anymore about it, so I hope they were found.

Everybody in our group arrived back at pretty much the same time and then almost all of us went to Daddio's for the obligatory lunch.

By far, this was not the most difficult or challenging paddle--but it ranks right up there on the How to Have a Great Sunday Meter.

As one of the newer paddlers to the group remarked - "Thirteen paddlers and not a jerk amongst us."

    Steve Holtzman

View Map
View picture of Channel Islands Harbor
Platform Gina Nav map

First of all I want to thank Steve and Peter for volunteering to coordinate today's trip. Thanks to their generosity 13 people had a good time today.

By some people's standards today's trip wasn't a big deal. The ocean was calm, the wind didn't blow hard, there wasn't any carnage, nothing went wrong, and there was nothing embarrassing to report. But I see it as a big deal just the same. I saw 13 people who had the gumption to buy a boat and gear, get up early in the morning, and head out onto the ocean with the hopes of having a good time, learning a little more about paddling, and maybe meeting some new friends.

Today's trip had a lot to offer. For those who wanted to work on their techniques, there was an opportunity to practice. For those who wanted to talk, there were interesting people with stories to share. For those who needed to destress, there was solitude and an undulating ocean on which to work through their issues. And for those of us who get hungry, Big Daddy'Os was there with a big table for all us at the end of the day.

Today's adventure may have been low keyed, but I had a wonderful time with some wonderful people. My thanks to everyone who showed up today and had fun.

Can't wait to paddle with you all again.

    Patrick Martin