While the crew unloaded the kayaks (three plastic and one composite), the foursome gathered their camping and kayak gear and headed down the pier to the beach. The crew daisy-chained all the kayaks together and one unlucky crew member paddled the lead boat with 10 to 20 kayaks in tow. There was some small surf and a few of the boats were towed in upside down. This resulted in two CKF’ers cleaning about one pound of sand from their kayaks. Before departing to the campgrounds, which was a ¼ mile up the road, the resident ranger gave a talk to the campers. His emphasis was safety and the $6000 helicopter trip to the mainland hospital at your expense.
After the talk, the foursome headed up the road and picked 2 of the 44 campsites to set up their tents. The sites were close to potable water and the toilet (but, not too close). Eager to kayak, Dave suggested a west heading to explore all the caves between Scorpion and Potato Harbor. The water was clear, smooth, and the sun was shining. Seals, gulls, pelicans, and cormorants were common sights. At Potato Harbor the group took a lunch break and headed back to Scorpion to finish the day. The round trip was approximately 8 nautical miles hugging the coastline.
Friday night at the campsite, Dave and Ken listened to channel 3 on the VHF radio and decided that an early start in the morning was a good idea. The winds were forecast to pick up in the afternoon with small craft warnings posted. On Saturday morning, the group head east to Smugglers Cove exploring all the caves along the way. Dave had borrowed a book that had all of the detail on caves on Santa Cruz Island. When the group got to Smugglers, the seas and surf were still benign. After lunch on the beach, everyone hiked up the path to check out the old ranch house. While the kayakers were busy checking out Smugglers Cove, “Mother Nature” brought the low down the coast to greet the kayakers on the other side of San Pedro point. As a result, the trip back to camp was against 15 to 20 knot winds. Just before Scorpion Bay, Lee spotted the mother of all blowholes at Scorpion Arch. The tide was perfect to compress the sea and eject a mammoth water jet. Lee couldn’t sit back and watch, he got as close as he could while Ken was taking pictures. Lee got a little too close as a jet of water knocked him over. Ken, Brian, and Dave were in awe when Lee rolled back up. Everyone took a turn getting blasted by the water jet before heading back to camp.
By the time the kayakers got back to camp, it started to rain and the winds were 25 knots with peaks to 32 knots. Kayaking was over for the day, so the foursome did a loop hike up to an oil well drilled in the 1900s. According to the ranger, oil was never found but supplied water instead. Upon return to the campsite, Ken’s tent was capsizing in the wind and had to be rotated 90 degrees. Dinner was a hassle, as food and drinks and everything else that wasn’t nailed down was flying. By morning, the winds had died down but the seas were still mixed. Around 10:00 a.m., the group launched and headed west with the intent of doing some more cave exploring but about a mile westbound, Dave suggested we turn and head back. Everyone agreed it was a good choice. The group headed back to Scorpion Arch and played in some two-way surf. After a while, Dave headed back to the bay to practice some rolls before landing and finishing the trip. Dave knocked off a few rolls. Brian did a roll that the others had never seen. It looked like a C to C backwards and somehow worked. Lee convinced Ken that he could roll without a spray skirt and it worked. For the grand finale, Lee showed off a sculling-up roll and had a fifty percent success rate. One out of two, not bad.
The time had come to get ready for the 4:00 p.m. boat back to Ventura. The foursome emptied their kayaks and broke camp. Great trip with a little rough water practice to hone skills.
Ken Fry