Saturday, August 25, 2012

Whales!

Jim and Linda Angelo and I paddled in Morro Bay today. We had considered going to Avila, where the humpback whales have been treating folks for over a week to a spectacular show, but we heard that the whale's popularity has created huge crowds, backed up roads, etc. Instead, I paddled from the Baywood Pier, and met Linda and Jim off their starting point in the Cuesta Inlet. We paddled on a rising tide and into the wind over to the sandspit, about mid-point on its length. We hiked the dunes up to the highest point, where views are 360 degrees of the bay and ocean. We noticed that just off-shore there was a swath of bird floating the was perhaps a mile long. Soon, we noticed a lot of feeding activity off-shore, and we spotted humpback whales! There was a whale-watching boat out there too. We could see the whales breaching and spouting with the naked eye, but were afforded better views with the binoculars. What a treat! We watched until we couldn't focus any more (staring at the ocean is tiring). After a treat of peaches and pistachios, we got back in the boats (the tide had risen considerably) and paddled along the spit, into shark inlet as far as we could go. I "dropped them off" at the Cuesta Inlet and finished my paddle back into Baywood. Wow!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dolphin in Morro Bay August 2012

I didn't plan to kayak today, but needed to go to Morro Bay to get some propane, so I decided to put my boat in at the Tidelands Marina and paddle north to the rock (Morro Rock) and back. It was a gorgeous day on the bay, and the tide was just cresting. Before I even got in the boat, three dolphin were spotted just off the dock, and heading north toward the harbor entrance. They were in no hurry. I paddled near them and took a bit of video, and then paddled up ahead and just sat with my iphone ready to record. I missed the first dolphin as it surfaced only a few feet from the bow of my kayak, and though I couldn't see what I was recording because of the glare, did manage to get a bit of them as they went by. A feel good experience. The rest of my paddle to the harbor entrance and back was very nice, and I spotted the dolphin again near the rock as they headed out toward the ocean.

Scott's first kayaking trip

While my brother Scott was visiting in Los Osos, we hiked the Montana de Oro bluffs walk, played around near Morro Rock, walked the beach and the pier in Cayucos, hiked a portion of the Estero Bluffs trail, and went out for his first kayak paddle. We paddled on a near high tide from the pier in Baywood, and over to the Shark Inlet area. It's about a mile or so, but seems farther when paddling straight into a decent wind, which is what we did. Scott managed well, and was rewarded with calm waters once we reached the sand spit area at Shark Inlet. After a bit of poking around, we paddled north along the spit and climbed up King Dune for the awesome view of the entire area; ocean on one side, bay on the other, with views of Morro Bay, Baywood, and the surrounding hills. The paddle back had a bit of wind help, but not as strong as the way over. I think we hooked another kayaker.

Pender Island July 2012

During our wonderful week in British Columbia, we had the privilege to spend 3 days with old friends John and Ted and (most of) their families. Hosts John and Cindy provided an awesome place to stay, fantastic meals, fun-filled outings and of course, the enduring companionship of great friends (since 1967 for me). One of our outings included kayaking along the shoreline of South Pender Island. The scenery must be experienced to be appreciated. We paddled from a put in spot 2 miles from their waterfront home, and switched paddlers; Ted taking my place as he and John continued for another few miles and back. Later in the day, Ted and I paddled back to the original put in.