[CKF Info] Trip Report: 7/26/08 - Refugio to Gaviota

Mon Jul 28 11:17:17 PDT 2008

Thanks for the great trip report Patrick!
WOW! What a beautiful trip with absolutely wonderful folks! You all make
this hobby the absolute joy it has become for me.
Mike, excellent pics of Carol's brilliant paddling on the Gaviota
launch.  And please don't take this wrong, it was a scream watching
Dumpy get one more over you at the Refugio landing.  Patrick and I may
have had the best view from the water, watching that wave grow over you,
your boat disappearing only to have the stern pop back up so quickly,
the agonizing cant of a kayak diving in, the boiling aftermath, you
handled it all so admirably, especially the kidding on the beach
afterward.  I know, my turn's coming, my only hope is to have such a
supportive group around to enjoy the entertainment.
My other important lessons learned:
1. Stay hydrated and energized.  I was doping with a Clif single shot
and had sense enough to stop and buy a sandwich for our lunch break on
the drive up.
2. Be extra attentive to the decision making process at the end of a
long paddle.  
Thanks for the great time and important lessons.
See you on the water soon.
Regards,
Scott (Rachel) Christie (Enevoldsen)

-----Original Message-----
From: info-bounces at list.ckf.org [mailto:info-bounces at list.ckf.org] On
Behalf Of Mike Bode
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 8:24
To: P Martin
Cc: CKF Discussions
Subject: Re: [CKF Info] Trip Report: 7/26/08 - Refugio to Gaviota

Hi everybody!  Patrick did a great job telling our story.  Check out
some pics at my gallery.  I got lucky and got a pretty good shot of
Carol Aldrich's Gaviota launch.  I'm really looking forward to seeing
Mark's pics.  Here's the link to my gallery:

http://gallery.ckf.org/thumbnails.php?album=283

As for my misadventure in the rocks, I need to say that it was a bad
call on my part.  Although I thought I'd evaluated the situation leading
up to it adequately, I didn't spend enough time watching the sets before
venturing in between the boulders.  And I certainly shouldn't have been
so complacent to do it without a helmet.  My greatest concern once I
found myself in my predicament was that I had placed my co-paddlers in
potential jeopardy.  Thank you to Patrick, Dave, Duane, and Mark for
being there and not letting the Darwin principle run its natural course.
As Patrick said, lessons have been learned.

Anyway, it was nice having our southern friends come up and paddle our
home waters with us.  I understand that the OC beaches aren't as rocky
as our beaches up here, so I plan on venturing down south soon to return
the favor.

Consider yourselves warned.

Mike

P Martin wrote: 

	Trip Report: 7/26/08 - Refugio to Gaviota

	My alarm clock went off at 4 am and I awoke with some hesitancy.
The past week at work had been exhausting, I felt tired, and I wasn't
sure I was up for a 16 nm paddle with an aggressive group of paddlers.
As I dragged myself out of bed I knew once I got out onto the water my
attitude should revive and I should begin to feel like my old self
again.  The rhythm of the ocean and the laughter of friendship could
regenerate my attitude.  I just had to dig deep and make the effort to
show up with a smile to share.

	Mike Bode arrived at my house  right on time and we loaded his
boat and gear onto my truck so that we could carpool from Moorpark to
Refugio.  It was good to see Mike.  He too had survived a difficult week
and had overcome the urge to call it quits and sleep in.  Our ride to
the beach seemed to pass quickly because we had much to talk about.

	The group that assembled included Mike Bode, Duane Strosaker
(who had posted the invitation for this trip), Mark Sanders, Dave
O'Connor, Scott (who's last name eludes me, sorry Scott), and Win and
Carol Aldrich.  Duane, Mark and Dave had spent the night sleeping in
their cars in the Channel Islands Harbor parking lot in Oxnard.  At this
time of year it is impossible to get a camp site at Refugio, El Capitan,
or Gaviota since all the reservations were sold out months ago.  These
guys are a hearty bunch and were in remarkably good spirits in spite of
their less than ideal camping accommodations. 

	It was a beautiful day with warm sunshine, no wind, and surf
that was mostly less than 3-foot.  We launched around 9 o'clock and the
only thrill was the kiss that Dump gave me as I splashed through a wave.
I think Mike referred to my launch as "classic Martin timing".  Everyone
else made it out without the benefit of an exhilarating splash of sea
water in their faces.  But there was something about that splash that
revived me.  From that moment on I was having a wonderful time and could
feel my spirit charging up with every undulation of my boat and every
stroke of my paddle.

	From Refugio we headed west to Gaviota.  Along the way we mixed
it up paddling in groups of two or three and carrying on conversations.
The water was calm and clear and the sunshine afforded us nice views
into the kelp forest with fish darting about.  The wildlife that we saw
included several seals, diving pelicans, squawking sea gulls, cormorants
gulping down bait fish, and possibly a sea otter.  I was surprised that
I did not see any Dolphins.  The water along this stretch of coast was
as clean as I have ever seen it, there were only a few oil spots which
were concentrated in only a couple of places.

	Our landings at Gaviota were perfect.  As we pulled our boats
onto the sandy beach, we tried to blend in with the beautiful beach
people hoping that no one would notice the fashion clash between their
colorful bikinis and our spray skirts, bulging PFDs and funky paddler
hats.  Turns out it was a pretty nice crowd.  Even the life guard was
friendly.  I think he was impressed by the controlled way we landed one
boat at a time with someone on the beach waiting to assist.

	It was a great day to be on the shore in Gaviota State Park.
The beach was alive with the shouts of children playing in the water.
Young people were throwing a ball around.  Someone with an inflatable
raft had loaded it with kids and was giving them a trill bouncing it up
and down in the gentle surf.  Everywhere I looked I saw happy people
having a good time.  Everywhere I looked I saw these amazing bodies
laying on blankets wearing.... maybe some details should be left to your
imagination

	Win and Carol were the first to launch and got a head start back
to Refugio.  Not long after Mike, Scott and I followed.  Duane, Mark,
and Dave wanted to savor life on the beach a little longer and would
paddle fast to catch up with us.  Since the day turned out to be warm
and we were getting hot, Mike, Scott, and I resorted to roto-cooling
from time to time.  I find that rolling not only cools me off and makes
me feel more comfortable, it also helps to keep my muscles from getting
sore.

	For the most part the trip back was rather uneventful.  At least
it went that way until the final quarter mile.  The fact that the swell
had been pretty consistent with no really big waves to surprise us,
afforded Mike the opportunity to paddle close to the shore line.  Mike
likes to paddle in the clapotis where waves are reflected off of sea
walls.  Unfortunately a small rock outcropping captured Mike's
attention.  The Siren call of this little nook tempted him.  But as he
headed into it I saw this wave coming after him.  Dumpy had baited his
trap and Mike had been suckered in.  

	Duane, Dave, Mark and I all cringed when we saw Mike get flipped
over with rocks all around.  Mike was not wearing his helmet; it was
stored in his front hatch.  Dave later commented, not that many people
think to protect their front hatches by putting a helmet in there.  As
his boat bounced into the rocks, Mike wet exited and got to his feet.
He patted his head to tell us he was ok.  What a relief!

	But it was short lived.  Mike decided that he could reenter his
boat and paddle out of the rocky nook.   We were yelling at Mike to swim
his boat out of the rocks, but he couldn't make out what we were saying.
So just as Mike got back into his boat and attached his spray skirt,
Dumpy swept in for round two.  Again Mike got flipped over into the
rocks. 

	I held my breath as I waited for him to wet exit.  We all
dreaded what we might have to do if Mike got hurt in there.  Would we be
able to get to him fast enough if he didn't resurface?  What would be
the best way to get to him, leave my boat and swim in.  I had a first
aid kit in my front hatch, but there might not be time to get it out.
If he was seriously hurt would I be able to call for help on my VHS
radio, or would I need to use my PLB.  My thoughts raced during that
adrenalin charged moment as I waited for Mike to resurface.

	I breathed a big sigh of relief when Mike popped up and patted
his head to tell us he was still OK.  And this time Mike figured it out.
He pushed his boat out of the rock outcropping and swam out.  I paddled
to Mike and told him to grab my bow and wrap his legs around it.  As I
paddled Mike away from the swell and the rocks, Duane got to Mike's boat
and pushed it out to Dave.    A few minutes later we helped Mike back
into his boat and were on our way again.  Amazingly, Mike emerged
without a scratch, and the only losses were his bilge pump and sponge.
His boat and paddles had come through without any damage.  I think Mark
Sanders took get some picture of Mike's rescue.

	When we got back to Refugio things were going smoothly.  Duane,
Dave, Mark, Win and Carol had all done beautiful landings.  In fact,
things were going so well that Mark went back to his vehicle to put away
his camera.  Only Scott , Mike, and I were on the water.  But Dumpy
still had it in for Mike and wasn't yet done with him.  As Mike paddled
in to shore, Dumpy reared up behind him with the biggest wave of the
day.  I wish I had my camera to get a shot of the expression on Mike's
face as he looked over his shoulder into the wave that was welling up to
dump on him.  It was one of those classic Scrat moments with the big
eyes and mouth open in frozen disbelief.  I saw the stern of Mike's boat
pop straight up and rotate briefly as Mike got pitch poled out by the
wave.

	The good news; Mike crawled out of it in great shape, no
bruises, cuts, or scratches.  And his gear was not damaged.  Scott and I
made smooth, picture perfect landings.  As my boat slid up high onto the
beach I think I heard Dave say, "Now this is how it's supposed to be
done, Mike."

	Sitting on the beach all covered in kelp and Sand, Mike's boat
looked sad, as if it wanted to get far away from the ocean.  Mike, on
the other hand, seemed to be in good spirits.  I think he was grateful
that he had made it through so much without getting hurt.  And as he
thought about what had gone wrong, he came up with several lessons good
learned.  Hopefully he will share them with us.

	At the end of the day, with all the boats packed up and ready to
go, we all shared a beer and had a good laugh together.  I'm sure that
Mike can't wait to see what we all have to say in our trip reports.
Fortunately he is a really good sport and can stand up with the best us.

	Yesterday Dumpy had his sights set on Mike.  Next time it could
be me or you.  This sport has a way of keeping us humble.  Days like
these are the ones we remember and will talk about for years to come.

	All the best,

	Patrick Martin

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