After completing the shuttling of cars, ten of us launched from the Coast Guard beach a few minutes before 10:00 a.m. The gang consisted of Dublin Dave, Brian Lopez, Mike Brown, Tony, Dave H., myself and two couples: Cathy and Henry, and Barbara and Ken.

Fortunately, we hit the weather window just right. The sky was partly to mostly cloudy, with some dark clouds following us for a while. Occasionally, the water surface was a bit choppy, but mostly it wasn't too bad. There was a 4-6 foot swell, which made for some beautiful scenes of waves crashing over rocks. With the tide being high, a few of us made a run through the arch rock at Corona Del Mar.

Off Crystal Cove, we stopped to chat with part-time Southwind instructor/guide George, and his friend. They were paddling back after launching from Newport earlier in the morning.

We landed through four-foot-surf at Laguna Main Beach for a lunch break. Most of the group landed just fine. But there was some trepidation from the last three. From the beach, there was coaxing and waving to come on in, and repeated yells of "It's not that bad" and "Just time the waves." Laguna Main Beach is a popular tourist spot, especially on this holiday, and people were gathering on the boardwalk to watch.

Cathy and Barbara began to come in at the same time but about 30 yards apart. A wave broke behind them. Cathy managed to back paddle over it, but it surfed and broached Barbara, carrying her in front of Cathy. Barbara ended up capsized and did a wet-exit, with her kayak washing in closer to shore. With only Barbara's head sticking above the water, Cathy was hit by another breaking wave, which caused her to side surf directly towards Barbara, who fortunately ducked her head under the water just in time to avoid being hit. We all waded out to help, and as we came back up the beach, we couldn't believe that around a hundred people had stopped and watched the carnage.

Like I always say, there's nothing like a surf landing to spice up a coastal paddle. Being the good sports they are, Cathy and Barbara took the whole thing well. At least I think so. We'll have to see if they ever come again. Barbara did joke that she wanted a dollar from each spectator on the boardwalk.

Of course, nicknames have to come from incidents like this. Cathy became "The Guillotine," and Barbara, "Marie Antoinette," (but only temporarily). You know that you are a part of the regular gang when you get a nickname, and it really is an honor. Like I said, we'll have to see if they ever come again.

Our kayaks were quite the fascination on the beach. A lot of people walking around stopped and asked questions about them. A few referrals were made to the CKF website.

After a half hour lunch, everyone launched just fine, and a crowd had gathered to watch that too. Dublin Dave did a spectacular punch through a large wave that just broke.

Although dotted with houses, the coastline between Newport and Dana Point is quite beautiful. There are many cliffs, rock features, beaches and green hills. I think only a half dozen boats passed us along the whole way.

We arrived at Dana Point at about 3:30 p.m., and all agreed that there should definitely be a Second Annual New Year's Day Newport to Dana Point Paddle.

A group photo taken by me on the water can be seen at: www.rollordrown.com/images/thegang.jpg

Duane Strosaker