Kayakers,

For the third annual Catalina for Lunch, we had seven sea kayakers, our largest group yet, and our first woman, a fifty-six-year-old nonetheless. The group was Henry and Kathy Pilcher, Dave Houser, Bob McMurray, Jake Stachovak, Dublin Dave O'Connor and I. Henry, Kathy, and Dave H. were crossing to Catalina Island for the first time. Bob, Jake and Dublin Dave were repeat Catalina for Lunch participants.

We launched through the surf in the dark at 5:35 a.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2005. The surf at Cabrillo Beach was mostly two feet with some three foot sets. With the darkness, it was hard to see the waves coming to try to time paddling out between them, and some of us ended up punching a few waves on the way out.

As we began the crossing, our bow wakes and paddle strokes produced bright bioluminescence in the water.

Daylight came a half hour after launching. Catalina Island was already visible. The water was smooth, and the wind, calm. It was going to be a good day, but we had no idea just how good it was going to be.

During one of our early breaks, we could hear constant splashing in the distance. At first we didn't know what it was, which made it a bit scary. Then far on the horizon we could see hundreds of dolphins jumping straight up out of the water, more than a body length high. It was like they were trying to catch birds rather than fish.

Better yet, we spotted blue whales, not just once but three different times, between 6-9 miles into the crossing. First, one surfaced and showed it's fluke a quarter mile in front of us. A while later, we heard one blow to our left and saw it surface several times about a quarter mile away. Once again a while later, we heard a blow to our right about 80 yards away, and we saw one or two of them surface several times before one of them slowly and gracefully raised it's fluke and dived. I was able to get photos this time, and two of them are the first photos in the photo gallery. After you select the photos, be sure to select original size below the photos to see more detail. The link to the photo gallery is:

http://duane.smugmug.com/gallery/764240

About three miles from the island, friends of Henry and Kathy's were able to find us in their boat. They chatted for a couple of minutes, while the rest of us took a break. Then in Two Harbors, people in a powered inflatable pulled up to us, and they were friends of Dave H. It's a small world.

During the crossing over we had calm weather until the last half hour, when there was a headwind coming through the isthmus. It slowed us down a bit. We arrived at Catalina Island at 11:25 a.m.

After posing for the traditional group photo, we enjoyed lunch on the island. Back with our kayaks on the beach, we were getting a lot of questions about kayaks and the crossing from people visiting the island.

We launched for the crossing back to the mainland at 1:00 p.m. During the first couple of hours, there was some wind and choppy water with breaking waves, but it wasn't bad. Then by 3:00 p.m. the conditions turned rather calm for an afternoon in the channel.

Even with the good conditions, 38 NM is a long distance to paddle in one day. Four or five hours into the crossing back, most of us, including myself, were asking ourselves why they heck were we doing this. But when we landed at 7:20 p.m., I saw nothing but smiles and a lot of pride.

I've always said that ninety percent of leadership in sea kayaking is choosing the right people. This group was awesome. Not only were they skilled sea kayakers and physically fit from a lot of hard training, but they also worked hard to maintain a group effort. They all have my respect.

Duane
www.rollordrown.com