When I went to sleep yesterday it was still raining; but, when I awoke, the sky was clear. The weather gods must have been pleased.

Arriving at the boat launch ramp at Ventura Harbor, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had a total of 11 paddlers. This was in addition to the two other trips that were planned by club members that were going on at the same time.

The participants were Paula Chavez, Len Goodman, Peter O'Sullivan, John Ernst, George Miller, Mike Condit, Kevin Harris, New Member Lee Shurie, Al Maiorano, Paynel Ward, and Steve Holtzman.

We had a totally uneventful launch with those in plastic boats launching off of the concrete ramp and those in glass or Kevlar opting to launch from the finger docks. We then headed out and maintained a fairly comfortable pace for all of about 3 knots according to my GPS. When we factored in the rest times, we actually maintained an overall speed of 2.7 knots.

We paddled about a mile past the Ventura Pier with winds of about 5 10 knots from our back and seas of about 3 - 5' on our bows. We saw several sea lions and pelicans but that was about it in the wildlife department.

This was an extremely good paddle because we had several paddlers who had not been out in conditions like these. Two of the paddlers were brand new to kayaking. One an experienced Naval Officer has been to sea a lot, but not in something this size, another was in a closed deck boat for only the third time and his second time in the ocean outside of harbors and bays. We wound up grouping in groups of 3 or 4 and just paddled and chatted.

At our turn around point, one of the newer paddlers stopped paying attention to the water for a moment and wound up taking a swim. Peter O had worked with this paddler several days ago and had already taught him how to use a paddle float. Peter was right next to him and immediately started showing him how to do an assisted "T" re-entry. In just a matter of moments, paddler and boat were one again without any problems. Everybody in the group said not to worry about it because it happens to everybody at some point.

We then paddled back to the harbor with the 3 - 5 foot seas on our stern being steepened by the slight head wind we were paddling into. Several of the newer paddlers commented that they didn't feel quite as secure with the following seas, but they all handled them without a problem. John Ernst explained that as you paddle in them more, you become more comfortable with them.

Paula put on an exhibition of how fast a kayak can go when you surf the seas and are heading back towards lunch while hungry. She was even ahead of George Miller and John Ernst, our regular speed demons.

It was a fun day with some very interesting and fun people to be paddling with.

Photo's by Paula Chavez click on picture to see larger image
Steve gives briefing	Fearless leaders	John what arrrrre you doing to george?
Len atop a swell	Peter helps Al	Smilin' Len
Peter dumps the water	Wow Look at the swell	The Guys

    Steve Holtzman

View map
View picture of Ventura Harbor

Awakening to a fresh sunny morning after a day and night of cold rain, I set out on the 70 mile drive to Ventura Harbor. It was to be my first kayak adventure with CKF. Mike Condit had graciously offered the use of his Looksha IV since my first kayak was on order and would not arrive for several weeks. The sun sparkled on beads of water on my windshield while wisps of mist began to rise from the pavement as the sun rose in the clear blue sky.

Having only one short lesson and a few rentals under my belt, I was unsure how I'd fit in with a seasoned group. But I knew enough to get back in a boat with a paddle float and since this was a round trip I figured maybe I could cut it short if I couldn't keep up.

Arriving at the launch site I was unsure what to expect. Soon I found a busy group of wet-suit or hydroskin clad folks of all sizes, shapes, and ages. The one thing they all had in common is they wore funny-looking hats! They were busy as bees unloading shiny colorful boats from the top of SUV's. Some had slick rollers to assist with the job, while one was perched atop a big aluminum step ladder. They didn't notice me pulling in because I had no big SUV with mako saddles or hully rollers on top - just a guy in an ordinary car.

After finding Mike, the adventure began. He got me all set up, showed me how to do right some things I had been doing wrong, and shoved me off the concrete launch ramp into the still harbor waters as the folks with fancier boats launched from the docks.

As we paddled past the breakwater I didn't know what to expect. But everyone chatted casually and Mike made sure I felt at ease. The paddle up the coast was a lot of fun - bobbing in the waves, enjoying the salt spray, the view, and the blessed freedom from pager, cell phone, and pressing responsibilities. I enjoyed watching others disappear, appear, and then disappear again behind a swell. They all still wore those funny-looking hats. Soon I realized they looked very comfortable and if I'm going to be at home on the water I'll want one too. I'm told I can't qualify to own a genuine Tilly though until I'm 50, but that's okay: there will be plenty of other kayak goodies to acquire in the meanwhile.

After a somewhat comical break for a snack we headed back. Mike had mentioned hugging the shore on the way back so I headed in that direction. Soon a sleek yellow boat passed inshore of me. I thought it was Mike so I figured everyone else was right behind us. But the yellow boat went on ahead at a pace I could not match. It was then I realized the owner's funny-looking hat wasn't Mike's funny-looking hat. I located the rest of the group farther out to sea and figured I could paddle out to join them (making my journey longer) or take a direct route to the mouth of the harbor, which I did. It was quiet and I missed out on some good companionship, but I got a taste of solitude on the ocean. Well, I wasn't all that far from the group, conditions were mild, and I wasn't on some long open-ocean crossing. But to a beginner it was a new adventure and it gave me a small measure of confidence and independence. The sun glinted flip-flop upon the translucent yellow paddle of the sprinter who had gone ahead - a bright steady beacon.

I met the sprinter at the harbor entrance and paddled on in with him - not knowing that the procedure was for everyone to regroup and count heads (or funny-looking hats) before heading in.

I didn't want to get out of the boat when we got back! The day's adventure was fresh on my mind and it would have been great fun to practice new skills in the quiet harbor. But life's responsibilities beckoned, as I had kids to pick up and other things to take care of. Besides, I was grateful to Mike for the generous loan of his boat and It wouldn't do for me to steal away with it!

As I drove home I thought of the day when my own boat will arrive and I can once again join those friendly people in funny-looking hats for another fine adventure.

    Lee Shurie