Crash and Burned by Kayak.
So yesterday’s beach landing in the kayaks was semi successful. Ours are not the self bailing ocean kayaks that you jump on and sit on top of. Ours are the river style kayaks that you climb down into and sit just off the bottom. However, we made it through the surf without capsizing them but each of us took a breaker over the top, soaking us pretty well. The return trip back out to Desert Vision however, was not so good. We watched and timed past the largest breakers and I waded out with Iris already in her kayak and pushed her out as hard as I could. She took one small wave over the top and in her face and lap. Next it was my turn. I waited and watched until I thought the largest ones were gone and drug my boat into the shallow surf as deep as I could and still get into it. I began paddling as hard and fast as I could but I had too far to go and a large wave broke down on top of me. Well this filled my boat about half full of water but I was still pointed to sea and still floating so I kept paddling as hard as I could. The water filled kayak was too heavy and slow to make it beyond the next wave which broke over me and rolled me in the surf for awhile.
I spent some time in the surf gathering all my belongings that were quickly spreading down the beach. Then I began trying to recover the kayak. I drug the little boat up into the shallow surf but it was full of about 600 pounds of water and I had not the strength left to turn it over to empty it out. When I tried it in the deeper water I would just get knocked down.
Finally a big strong Indian woman came down to me and helped me roll it over. Once it was mostly empty I could drag it up on the sand and empty it completely.
Today we took the kayaks out and explored some water caves in the cliffs out on the point. After our exploration we went to shore again, successfully. We hiked out a couple of miles on the point and then to a small 100 year old store that served the best and most plentiful lunch food so far this trip. They featured Hurst Ranch beef and Hurst Wines.
After a successful beach launch, back to Desert Vision we went for showers and a Steelers Football game.
The photo is of Iris standing in the distance of many rows of hand planted Cypress and Eucalyptus trees about a hundred years old.
Might head south again tomorrow?
Michael