The rental issues got us off to a late start. First we had Carol come racing up hoping that she had not missed us. It turns out she lives right there in Newport and just paddled over to meet us. Next we had Norm who had floated by once or twice while the rental fun was working its way out. Then Kevin, our leader who came all the way down from up North with the hopes of paddling with his Brother from new York. And me, Wayne.
We headed out the main channel and cruised along at a comfortable pace towards the break water. Kevin wanted to stop at a beach near the break water and Carol who had never been in the open ocean asked us to assist in some stability testing. She was a bit concerned about the open ocean even though she has been paddling for years. We tried to scare her, but she wouldn't have any of it, and soon we were heading out into the ocean. A slight tail wind out the current made this a very easy paddle out of the harbor.
I think Carol was happy to see the ocean conditions were very calm, and hardly any boat traffic at all. This was going to be a nice day. We headed South and I paddled along the rocks while the rest stayed out a bit further. Norm, the quickest of the group did paddle over to see what I was up to, then headed back to join the others. Rumor has it that Norm is in his 70's but I refuse to believe it as he was always out in the front and pulling away.
We went down the coast a little way and slowly the gentle tail wind got a bit stronger and we decided we better head back towards the harbor before the wind got to strong. So we spin around and I think Carol really started to enjoy the paddle as we had a small swell and the head wind to contend with. Great little conditions for a first ocean trip. We spread out a bit during the paddle back, but always stayed in sight of one another. We made quick work of the return trip and played around on a small beach. Norm and Carol needed to head back and we wished them well.
Kevin and I stayed at the beach and enjoyed a little back recovery time and chatted while I tried out his new Tarpon 160. Nice boat. Sadly in the little chop on the return trip I discovered that my new SOT is not a very good open ocean kayak as it has almost no rocker, and a rather blunt bow. The Tarpon seemed to be a much better designed hull for this type of use. Eventually we headed back to the PCH bridge via some of the side canals and just enjoyed a slow pace.
This was my first planned trip with others and I was very happy that I was able to keep up with the pack. Sure the glass sit in kayaks were quicker all day, but I think we all had a great time. I'm sure we will do some more of these. I think Carol is interested in putting together some full moon paddles at Newport, and that sounds great!
You all have a great Xmas!
-Wayne
Wayne did a thorough job in his trip report, but I'll add that this was such a nice group of paddlers and such a great paddling location that I sometimes wish I lived closer. Ventura County is not without its nice paddlers and locales, but 1.5 hours each way is pretty far from Newport. It will not stop me from making the trek in the future.
I think we were all surprised by the nice weather (lack of wind), and it made for a great outgoing paddle. Once in the ocean, the wind picked up continually, and made for a good workout and fun, choppy seas coming back North to the Harbor mouth.
I will add that this was a good opportunity to see in real time the differences in speed between decked boats and SOTs. As expected, the decked boats are considerably faster, but especially in the high winds. In today's paddle, it mattered not, and as Wayne mentioned, we were always within sight of each other.
Thanks again to Carol, Norm and Wayne. While there's no Daddios in Newport, Wayne and I managed to wolf down some Burger King after the paddle. Amazing how, when hungry enough, anything tastes like heaven.