We had a bit of carnage at the big arch. The swell was only 4 feet, but the tide was a bit low, which exposed some rocks on the approach to shoot the arch. The problem with the rocks was that once you weaved through them or rode a swell over them, you were committed to the waves and surge going through the arch. Lee and I were able to make clean passes though it.

Then it was Victor's turn. As he was approaching, he was hit by a wave in the rocks, capsized, banged his helmet (head inside) against a rock, wet exited (thank goodness), and lost his paddle but hung onto his kayak. Because he was behind a rock that obscured our view, he blew his whistle for help. I took his kayak from him and had him swim a few feet to shore to look for his paddle. I handed his kayak off to Dublin, who towed it into a safe area nearby. As I was paddling around the rocks looking for Victor's paddle, I noticed it right behind him. He grabbed the paddle, swam to his kayak, and I did a T-rescue with Dublin keeping us in a safe area with the towline.

On down the coast, we landed through the surf for a break. Victor played in the surf but didn't treat us to any more carnage.

We took a look at the big arch on the way back. With the tide even lower, the situation was worse. I took a shot at it, but once I passed the rocks and was committed, I watched a large wave grow and break on me. With the surge, I was washed backwards and over the rocks, all the time wishing I had a helmet on. Fortunately, I was able to pull out backwards. We all ended up doing a detour around the big arch.

Afterwards, it was to Java City for food, drinks and conversation.

Duange Strosaker