Travel

GoPro, Pelicans, & Paddling

~ tomadaonline ~ 3 Comments

The surf in Pacifica was Labor-Day-weekend crowded with a bit of west wind wandering our way. So we put in at Princeton Harbor for some exercise, after a solid breakfast at 3-Zero Cafe.  I spent a bit of time setting up my new GoPro Hero 4 Silver for its maiden SUP voyage.

The harbor was jammed with tourists, but the water was calm and bright blue. Boat flags flew, so the wind was a matter of minutes from getting us.  We paddled through the lovely calm in front of Half Moon Bay Kayak, then turned around a jetty toward the pier where the west wind hit.  It was just enough to chop up the surface, but not enough to thwart the scent of a few hundred Brown Pelicans lining the jetty.  During our trip to the pier we were visited by harbor seals, sea lions, and plenty of folks on paddle boards and kayaks.  We met a stand up catamaran guy who had paddled up to Moss Beach and back.  It’s pretty much into the wind all the way there.

We chatted up some folks visiting from the city who’d built tall slender rock sculptures.  We paddled back toward the pier and then down wind to our put in location.

The GoPro captured our journey and gave us feedback on our paddling form.

Still New Brighton

~ tomadaonline ~ 5 Comments

With Donna’s new VESL SUP from Gordie at Primitive Surf and Sup lashed to the roof we stopped by Covewater Paddle Surf  to check out a rental board for me.  They had a nice Paddle Surf Hawaii 10-6 that I tried for the afternoon.

We drove straight to New Brighton. It was still, not a breath of wind and no waves. Not a wrinkle graced the surface. A torrent of birds flew in all directions. The sky held smoke from distant fires and blurred the horizon so we paddled toward the pier, a good mile away. Below there were thousands of anchovies. Slippery little slivers of life, dozens of whom skittered across the surface, made me wonder what predator lurked below.

There were two towhead surfers, maybe 10 or 11 years old, grooving on their short boards with fishing rods propped against gear boxes strapped to the front of their boards. One of them signaled it was time to move. The other pulled out a stringer of two or three nice little fish and plopped them into his box, then they paddled out toward the kelp bed. The shore was painted with bright-colored umbrellas against the pastels of Capitola’s coastal architecture. Beach bodies were wall to wall making the sound of late summer pleasure; splashing in the surf, sipping drinks, walking hand in hand.

We paddled past the jetty toward the pier where a band playing guitars and drums included a female singer who sang a tune that seemed to blend with the salt and cool water. We passed under the pier, gliding over the deep green water toward the tall ochre cliffs as a lone swimmer passed behind us swimming the length of the pier. We turned around and headed toward the kelp.

Happy Birthday Donna

~ tomadaonline ~ 3 Comments

Yesterday was Donna’s birthday.  Donna is my wife of almost 29 years.  We’d gotten her a VESL 11 foot SUP, carbon paddle, and a leash for her birthday.  I mean, she was the one who got this ball rolling.  Seemed only fitting to get her a board.  And she loves to paddle.  She looks great on the VESL.  Color and all.  It’s so Donna.

We wanted to paddle in the sun, so we headed to Marin.  There was wind on the water in Sausalito so we continued to San Rafael where we’d heard about 101 Surf Sports.  We stopped at a cool little diner for breakfast.  Our boards were on my RAV4 roof.  Donna’s was in the VESL bag but my new F-One Manawa was getting hot in direct sun and I worried that it could delaminate or explode.  I’d heard these horror stories about boards overheating.  So I called 101 Surf Sports and a friendly voice told me I’d be ok at this temperature for a while but that I should consider a board bag to protect my precious Manawa.

So after breakfast we showed up at 101 Surf Sports.  I’d expected a small kiosk with a few rental boards, maybe a dozen or so flatwater boards and some T shirts.  If I’d visited their web site I’d have been more prepared for the football field sized facility with dock, more boards than I’d ever seen in one place, and a staff of informed, friendly folks that wanted to make life more enjoyable.

By the end of an hour paddle through the marina to the bay and back they had installed a new set of lockable Thule racks on the RAV4.  I dried my Manawa, stuffed it into my new FCS board bag, and Cort Larned showed us the ins and outs of loading the boards and locking them down.

It was a great afternoon.  We will return.