We started paddling at a good clip, but George and Jake soon left us in the dust. This was planned beforehand and as a result was not a surprise or unexpected. We paddled out to the Power Plant without a break. Well actually there was a short break for a few as I escorted the stragglers into the group. Since the stragglers only lacked some speed and not endurance, we kept paddling 'till we arrived at the power plant. After a 5 minute break, we were all paddling again.

We passed a pod of dolphin going in the opposite direction but they did not stop to play with us. As we approached the Santa Clara River entrance, we noticed that the back side of the waves there were at least 10 feet high. We speculated that the faces must be approaching 20, but none of us really wanted to paddle closer in because the waves were breaking at multiple distances from the shore. There were no safe places except out past them like we were. The "elevator rides" that we were all getting was fun though.

Soon we heard George calling on the radio. Unfortunately, he was having a senior moment and couldn't remember my call sign and the one he was using was Mike Brown's - and he now lives in San Diego. None of us was able to hear Mike answer if he did.

Anyway, George soon remembered who I was, and told us that he and Jake were standing on the breakwater and had us in sight. We had some fun surfing the swells in towards the beach, and all landed safely with the six inch surf.

After a short break, two of our paddlers left as they had set up a shuttle to do only 1/2 the trip. We then launched and paddled back at a little faster pace. All stayed together, except George, who at first was a distant speck on the horizon until we lost site of him completely. We again paddled non-stop to the power plant, paused for a few moments, and continued back to CIH where we found Peter waiting for our return and George sleeping on the beach with his boat completely loaded. Drew and John Petersen decided to paddle real close in and we would watch these 10 foot high waves obliterate them from our view, and just before the wave would break, the two would reappear. Drew has been spending some time at Cabrillo with Steve B and Jack B. Their paddling style is contagious.

During the trip, we had no carnage unless you consider Good Old Mr. Wilson, beating me over the head with his carbon paddle while we were on the beach carnage. Of course then we kept having to hear him talk about whether or not Daddy-O's would deliver to the beach---he was ready to call on a cell phone he could taste the tri-tip so much.

I really liked his new boat - one of the last of the Mariner Coaster II's to be made. It is beautiful and FAST............ In spite of putting the boat into the water before getting in or out, Steve did manage to put a couple of scratches on the bottom of the hull. Must be hard water we paddle in.

I was having a good time comparing my new carbon "paddle like device" GP with my traditional wood GP. I like them both, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would keep the wood. The carbon is a little faster, but there is no flex and it feels a little harder on the joints. Fortunately, I can take both on any paddles I go and switch off.

It was a fun trip today, and I haven't gotten to paddle with Good Old Mr. Wilson in quite some time, so that just added to our enjoyment.

Steve Holtzman