Solo to Shark Inlet

I went out for a solo paddle on a rising tide on Saturday evening, July 14, 2012. I left the Baywood pier at 5:30 pm and paddled southwest  into the wind and across the back bay to the Shark Inlet area, which was in the lee of the sand spit dunes. It was a good, brisk paddle over, and the wind provided a pretty decent workout for me. I investigated little nooks and channels in the far corner, and found a nice place to just chill for a few minutes.
On the way back, I called my best bud Doug on the occasion of his birthday (also Bastille Day).

Two paddle day

Mike and his new Necky Manitou 14 with skeg

One day, paddling twice, very nice.

This morning (July 13, 2012) buddy Mike and I paddled from the Tidelands Marina to take his new Necky Manitou 14 out on its maiden voyage. We paddled on a receding tide to the sand spit and south past Grassy Island, with just enough water to make it through. We continued on south to the channel and then over to Baywood at Pasadena Point. From there we paddled just outside the estuary area and over to show Mike the new launch point at the State Park Marina. Paddling past the museum, we continued up the east side and back to the marina. Mike loved the new boat, and we were in the boats for about 2 1/2 hours. Much easier on his back than the scrambler. Faster too, as well as drier and quieter. Good stuff.

At 5 pm, Ron, Lorelei and I paddled into the wind from the Baywood Pier across to King Dune, where we took out and hiked to the top to enjoy a dinner of Noi's yellow curry with an ocean view. The scenery, food, company and paddle were all top notch. The tide was high, plenty of water everywhere, and Ron got to test out his boat with the rudder that he added to keep from blowing sideways all the time. It worked! 

Morro Bay June 30, 2012

Mike and I paddled from the Tidelands Marina on an approaching low tide. We correctly estimated that we would have just enough water to cross at the north end of the sand spit and follow it south, knowing that the area near grassy island would be very shallow. We only hit bottom a couple of times, but would have had a more difficult time 15minutes later. The weather alternated between partly sunny and almost completely gray, with a slight breeze. We stopped to climb the sand spit for a look at the ocean, and were surprised to see the smallest waves I can recall. Back in the boats, we continued south to the place where the channel wraps around to meet the sand spit. From there, we followed the channel back across toward Los Osos, staying with the channel on the east side, past the museum area and returned to the marina. In all, we were out just shy of 3 hours; time well spent.