Westside PV - 11/08/03

Westside PV

We good group of eight our paddles: Dave, Don, Duane, Eric, George, Jack, Vickie and I. Most of us launched at 10:00, but there were a couple of stragglers who had to catch up.

We did a little surfing at bluff cove, but it was very full of board surfers so we limited ourselves to the north side of the north break. Soon we headed around PV point for more surfing and rock gardening.

PV Point wasn't really surfable on the west side in our long boats. No doubt we could catch the waves (or they would catch us), but because of the low tide the run-out was pretty rocky and scary looking, including the rusting steel remains of the Dominator. On the east side of the point there was a nice right that could be caught, surfed, and exited without rocky carnage. Resort Point was firmly in control of the board surfers, but there was a reef break out a couple of hundred meters that was occasionally going off. It was a short ride of 50-to-100 feet, but it was an exhilarating one during those few seconds.

Several areas around Rest Point had some very fun surge channels and wash-overs. And we used them to full advantage. Over and over and over and......

It was a rare treat to have Dave and Duane along on this paddle. No matter how hard we try, we usually seem to end up paddling on different places or different days. Once we ended up paddling the same place, on the same day, but left at different times.

Duane was choosing the right waves and taking perfect lines through the rocks. Dave...........can hold his breath for a long time! Actually, he was doing a fine job in the rocks as well, but he also gave us our best entertainment of the day.

Adjacent the channel to the rest area at rest point there is a really fun washover. It's fun to ride over, or to play in the splash and current behind it. Today we were mostly riding over. Its fun, but there are pitfalls. There are several ways to get trashed, and many a paddler (including me) has been taught the error of his ways in that spot. Here are some of those:

It has a grabby hole after the drop. If you turn during the drop, you flip. Once you flip...
It has very bad nasties under the water. If you're paddle ends up pointing down deep in the water, one of those nastiest will grab it and keep it. Then you will either hand roll or swim
It's narrow. If you mis-time a wave and get turned, your boat will und up suspended between two sires of rock when the water recedes, leaving you upside-down hanging several feet above the water from the cockpit of your boat. Since a CLEAN removal on the next large wave is by no means a guarantee, your best bet is to leave the boat and swim for you life while trying to cling to some dignity.
It has rocks on the run out that you will end up on if you take too big a wave over. This can hurt.
It has rocks on the left side of the run out, and a strong current pulling you that direction and toward a narrow channel. This was Dave's brand of fun today...

Normal rock garden technique is to turn your hull toward any rock you are about to hit. This is opposite of river technique and is because it is usually a wave which is pushing you into the rock. It will save your bacon. In this particular situation, however, it is a current that is pushing you into the rock. Like in a river, the right thing to do is lean and brace down-stream and into the rock if necessary. None of us ocean weenies seem to do that very often so it usually goes like this:

A fun ride over the wash-over is followed by a sudden current driven left turn towards the rocks. An upstream lean away from the rocks, followed by the inevitable flip, during which your inverted hull is carried halfway onto the rocks. This followed by repeated roll attempts on the side of the boat which is still in the water. They all fail naturally, because success would require rolling your boat uphill onto the rock (never happen!). This is usually followed by a swim and thinly veiled mocking by all your so-called friends. Back to Dave:

After repeated and failed roll attempts on the water side, he switched sides and tried again; this dislodged him from the rocks, but didn't get him up. Then he was under water for a very-very long time. I expected to see his head emerge soon for an exit, but instead I saw his paddle move at some very whacky angles, then ultimately into a setup position followed by a successful roll.

Tenacity pays!

If you have never been upside-down with current and waves pushing you every-which-way while your helmet, body, and boat are bumping and bashing into rocks, you may have a hard time appreciating the accomplishment. We cheered - great job!

FYI: Switch sides, use your paddle to push off the rocks, and then roll on either side, but usually the rock side. Repeated attempts on the rock side tend to push you away from the rocks. This usually works as Dave found out. Try not to drown in the process. It's always better to roll than to swim........but it's always better to swim than to drown (just want to be clear).

After lunch at Rest Point we paddled down to the big pool to take a look. We couldn't get in because of the low tide, but had plenty of fun along the way.

We did a little surfing on the way back, but mostly just paddled. By the end of the day there were a couple of swims (none Dave). One followed by re-entry and roll, and one in a long surf zone followed by an uneventful assist. No boat or body carnage all day.

We got a little strung out on the way back, but all linked up before going home - no paddlers left alone on the water.

A very fun day on the water with good companions!

Steve Brown

Submitted on November 09, 2003