We launched at 8:00 a.m. sharp from Alamitos Bay and paddled out to sea headed south to Edith. Paddlers included Henry & Kathy Pilcher, Ken Fry & Barb Tomita, Duane Strosaker, Brian Lopez, Lee Shurie, and Bob McMurray. We followed Duane's group crossing procedures which keeps the group together and allows for everyone to take the lead.

Each person takes a one-hour shift as the point to steer by compass and set the pace. Other paddlers follow behind the point's stern. The point looks back every few minutes to check on the other paddlers to adjust the pace if need be. The other paddlers watch for boat and ship traffic leaving the point to maintain the pace and adhere to the compass heading. At the top of each hour is a five-minute break to drink and eat and at the bottom of each hour is a one-minute break to drink. Visit Duane's website at rollordrown.com for further information on group crossing procedures.

Time sped by easily and we reached Platform Edith at 11:00 a.m. Numerous sea lions lounged on the lower sections of the platform having staked out their spots earlier in the day. We paddled around the platform and felt the heat from the flame of the gas burn-off boom.

Following a 15 minute break we headed north to Alamitos Bay. Land was not visible for the first hour or so but was a welcome sight when we first spied the coastline. On our return we caught a glimpse of a whale, a seal who had snatched a halibut from a boat's fishing net, and numerous dolphins.

We returned to Alamitos Bay at 2:10 p.m., quickly loaded our boats and gear, and headed for Enrique's Mexican Food (Thanks, Bob, for the suggestion). Bob's wife, Meri, joined us for food, drink, and conversation.

On a personal note, this was the longest paddle in a day and the furthest out to sea for Henry & Kathy and Ken & Barb. It was quite an accomplishment for us senior citizens. Henry & I celebrated with a carton of Starbucks Java Chip ice cream. Thank you, Duane, for a great paddle!

Kathy Pilcher

I think that whale we saw today was a minke. It had a dorsel fin, like a dolphin, but the body was disporportionally larger and more forward of the fin, as well as black. It was a small whale, but much too large to be a dolphin. I hadn't seen a whale like this one before.

Because of a Catalina eddy circulating, we were lucky and didn't have the usual 15-20 knot winds in the afternoon.

I varnished the first Point Bennett I built, and after loving the red paint on the second one, I decided to paint the first one white. I took the white one out for the first time today. Some of the group was teasing me that I could choose which kayak to paddle based on my mood: the red when I'm feeling evil and white when I'm feeling nice. Fortunately, I was in my white kayak when someone who secretly had a %^$#@*# GPS on read to someone else how many more miles to Edith. I did call the person on it, though.

A personal tradition I have on Edith crossings is to get out my kayak and take a swim at the oil rig. There are two reasons for doing this. One is to demonstrate that taking a short swim in Southern California without immersion gear isn't going to kill you. The second reason is that getting out and then back in a kayak 8 NM offshore is a good confidence booster.

Everyone in the group did a great job today. It's awesome watching the group crossing procedures work so well and having everyone contribute to the group effort. This was the first time the other seven had crossed to Edith. The crossing is a Southern California classic and excellent training for crossings to the islands.

Photos I took of the crossing are at: duane.smugmug.com