There was a bunch of CKF'rs joining us on the scenic paddle from Carpinteria to Butterfly Beach this morning. Mischa Potuzak and his wife Colleen, Paynal Ward, Lee Shurie, Mike Condit, Patrick Martin, Chris Wood, Len Goodman, John Peterson, Peter O'Sullivan, and I. The parking was starting to get dicey at 7:45 when I showed up and the late comers had longer walks to the water.

We easily launched into 2 foot surf and started paddling towards Butterfly Beach. We're not really sure how far away that is because my map said about 11 miles, but Patrick turned a GPS on for the return trip and put it in his rear hatch. It said 6 miles. So - somewhere between 6 and 11 miles each way is what we paddled.

There were seals and sea lions galore - but that was the only sea life we saw except for some barking humans in outrigger canoes.

About a mile from Butterfly Beach, Paynal, Peter, Len, John, and I landed on a deserted beach because we thought it would be better than landing with all of the beach goers at Butterfly. The rest of the group continued on.

The gang landing at Butterfly had an uneventful landing and launch at Butterfly, with nobody getting wet. For the rest of us, it was a different story.

I landed first between all of the waves and had nothing higher than about 9 inches. I exited the boat and started watching Len come in. Just after he entered the surf zone, a 2 foot wave started to lift his stern. I wasn't concerned because if Len is going to have trouble in the surf, it is not on his landings. I've never seen him miss one. Of course this was also Len's first surf landing in his new boat since he retired the Fuchsia (he says it was purple), Aquaterra that he used to paddle.

All of a sudden, Len went over and he did not appear to be getting out of his boat. All of the others were still in their boats beyond the surf zone waiting to land. I was dressed in a pair of Chota Mukluks, a rash guard and nylon river shorts - certainly not dressed for immersion. I still had my PFD, tow line, etc on and I just started running into the water and finally got to Len's bow where I was able to rotate the boat enough for Len to get some air. His first words were "Thanks", and his 2nd were "What took you so long"? Len finally got his skirt off and exited the boat and I was able to help him ashore. Meanwhile, Peter had now landed and was in the water helping collect Len's gear and boat.

Although Len's grab loop on his skirt was out, he was unable to find it in the confusion of breaking waves. LESSON LEARNED: Attach a wiffle ball and/or wrap the grab loop in bright colored electrical tape like a bicycle handlebar to add stiffness to it.

Once ashore, and after everyone had caught their breath, Len turned his radio on and found it to be inoperative. This was a submersible radio that he keeps in a PFD pocket turned speaker side in. LESSON LEARNED: If you expect electronics to work when you need them, put them in a dry bag.

Peter then draped Len's boat in a huge pile of kelp for the kelp award of the year. A short while later, we launched, called the remainder of our group and we all linked up for the trip back to Carpinteria. Of course, "Horse to the Barn Syndrome" Len led the pack and I couldn't keep up with him so I gave up and stayed with the other slower paddlers. "I'll Follow You Anywhere" John Peterson and "Wrong Way" O'Sullivan stayed in close to play in the surf on the way back Of course Peter got confused as to where we were supposed to land, and he took John on an unplanned tour of the estuary just before the beach.

Carpinteria City Beach has a designated lane for launching and landing boats that is marked with signs and buoys. Patrick and I noticed almost everyone had landed about 200 yards short of the boat lane. We decided to come in through the lane. After we landed, we found out that it had been full of kids swimming (hello parents--can't you read?) but all of the kids had run down to see the kayaks while Patrick and I were able to come in very easily without any people in the water.

FINAL LESSON LEARNED: When paddling with Len, dress for immersion.

    Steve Holtzman