Out of the dark came a surprise wave that tried it's best to swamp George Miller as we launched from Dan Blocker beach at 6:10 AM this morning. Though the wave broke completely over him with no warning, George punched right on through and kept going as though it was part of his usual routine. We welcomed the overcast skies and cool temperatures in the morning hours as we paddled through areas of red tide, jellyfish, and kelp beds on our way to Sycamore Beach and back, a distance of 30 NM or so. We chatted and admired the expensive homes along the Malibu coastline. Somewhere beyond Point Dume the water temp dropped noticeably, the red tide disappeared, and we were treated to crystal clear water. We could see way down into the kelp beds. At several places we could see all the way to the bottom - a patchwork of sand, eel grass, and dark colored rocks. 

 

At Leo Carrillo State Beach we landed through dumping surf for a brief bathroom and water break, then headed off to our destination. We arrived at Sycamore Beach shortly before 11, having covered the distance in a little less than 5 hours. There we enjoyed a 40 minute break strolling along the shoreline and stretching our legs.

 

At 11:40 we decided to get underway. George got out clean from a steep section of the beach through dumping surf, but I blew the launch. Oh well, a quick roll, I scooped up my hat which the waves had tried to steal from me, and I headed on out to join him. The sun had broken through a few times on the trip out, but now it came out in full force and with just a light breeze at our backs the afternoon grew very warm. We paddled through more crystal water, saw dolphins, seals, more jellyfish, and made good progress toward a beach just west of Point Dume, where we landed briefly for another bathroom and water break. Today we had a lot of practice landing and launching on steep beaches through dumping surf! We both got in and out cleanly and enjoyed the rest of the trip back to Dan Blocker. Landing at 4:00, we had taken 4 hours 20 minutes for the return leg.

 

By this time our appetites had peaked so we stopped at the Malibu Deli for some welcome sustenance. It had been a great day out on the water, we agreed.

 

Lee Shurie