Mud Fun

I arrived in Los Osos last night, and the wind was blowing hard. Since today promised more of the same, I got out early to get in a quick paddle before the wind came up. The bay was draining quickly, and the back bay would be a mud flat by noon. I hit the water at 9 am and needed to be off within the hour to have a mud-free landing. On the way back, I took a phone call from my buddy Jim Pappas and talked for a while (I know, you think I'm a jerk for taking my phone, but it's pretty handy, and so much fun to call back east from the kayak and gloat). Jim and I caught up, and by the time I reached shore, my mud-free zone had disappeared, so I stepped out and sunk almost to my knee in the finest back-bay slime. All good. Still had a great sunny, windless paddle. Tomorrow I'll go earlier....
On shore, I met Baywood Navy originator and local salty sailor Jack (originally from Massachusetts)and his friend Eleanor. I have nodded and waved to Jack a few times while we were out on the bay (he sails a Pelican with a red sail)and it was nice to finally meet him and chat a bit. I received some insider info on the location of a hose that could be helpful in de-mudding myself. He left me with the parting words "Boats and men rot on land".