Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Last Paddle of the Year!


The best way to send off 2008? Paddling in Morro Bay, of course!
I paddled solo from Pasadena Point in Los Osos and headed almost due north into a blustery wind. My rudder cable was stuck, necessitating a quick turn-around to take care of it (stuck pedal cable). The tide was 3 feet and waning, the stiff wind bringing tight waves that made me glad to have a spray skirt on. The waves were breaking in the shallower areas on my way north toward Morro Bay. After a brief rest in the lee of an oyster barge, I headed NW and landed on the sandspit due west from the museum. I took a hike over to the ocean side to watch the breakers for a while; beautiful with the wind spray coming in from the ocean. The trip back was surfing time; some brief adrenaline rushes as I fought to keep the bow from pearling under, since I feared the tight waves would turn the stern and send me swimming! Plenty of ducks out on the bay, a couple of seals and not much else (except wind and waves). This was the kind of day that would have been easy to blow off (windy as it was), but instead turned into the kind of day that was a fitting way to finish off a great year of paddling.
Happy New Year!

*photo taken with iPhone