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Islas de Todos Santos - August 18-22 - 2002

Todos Santos Islands are located about 3.5NM Northwest of Punta Banda in the Bahia De Todos Santos. Punta Banda is about 10NM south of Ensenada in Baja, about 2 hours south of Tijuana.

Last year Vickie and I made this trip on our own and had a good time, but there were some things missing we wanted to return with: Friends, more time, and plastic boats.

We wanted to bring plastic boats because this area is rich in rock gardening opportunities. It can be done in a glass boat, but you have to hold back considerably if you want to keep you craft intact.

We wanted enough time to be able to do some exploring along the South side of the Punta Banda peninsula with unloaded boats. Rock gardening in unload boats is much safer and more fun.

Kayaking is always more fun and safe with friends, and this one turned out to be no exception. We had a very friendly group on this trip. Ages were spread out in between the early 30s and early 60s, and that added to the diversity and fun of the trip. There was hardly a moment without action, and when there was, it wasn't dull, it was relaxing.

The Plan

Every trip must have an official plan, and this was no exception:

Be sure to click the date headings below as you read this report for more pictures and more details of our activities on that day.

How to read this trip report:

On this page is the condensed readers digest version of the entire trip. You don't have to leave this page. On the other hand, if you want to read what others have written, click on their name in the table of participants. If you want to read more details and see more pictures, then click the date headings below.

Enjoy!

Sunday 08/18/02 - Run for the border:

Our plan was to meet a couple of miles north of the boarder at San Ysidro Chevron and then caravan for the two hour drive to La Jolla. That plan worked, more or less, and we all ended up at the camp just before dark.

We took the HWY 1 scenic route. This has three toll stations that cost $2.30 each, but is well worth the cost. Speed limits are high (up to 70MPH), the traffic is light, and it is scenic. It follows the coastline all the way to Ensenada.

Security is always a concern when you are leaving vehicles unattended for a multi-day trip so it was encouraging to see a uniformed, armed cop monitoring the entry gate to the La Jolla camp ground. Camping at La Jolla was $9.00 per night, but Mike negotiated us a deal to leave our cars behind the office for $3.00 per night on the days when we were out on the water.

Facilities were a little sparse by US standards, but not too bad. It has toilets that flush (including toilet paper) and showers. The hot showers are not very close to the campground so you have to walk a bit. There are cold showers right next to camp.

Last time we were here (May 01) the camp was very deserted and we got a good spot right on the water. No such luck this time. We were several rows back, making it impractical for us to load out boats Sunday night. That was a disappointment to Vickie and I because we always seem to have too much stuff, and be a little disorganized and behind others in packing. It didn't seem to phase the others.

It was also much noisier than last time. People setting off fireworks, and obnoxious dogs barking. Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, the umpteenth time I was awaked by a barking dog, I began to wonder if Dog tasted like chicken?? Lucky for the dog I was too tired to get up.

Monday 08/19/02 - Island Crossing ~12NM:

Predictably, the Brown's (Steve & Vickie) were the last ones in the water, but we made it off by about 8:30 anyway. We took our time exploring the shore line, entering calm little coves and a few caves. As we approached the point, the shoreline became increasingly featured and the water more agitated. Caves, rocks, washovers, reefs, and crevasses of every sort.

We searched diligently for a camp near the point. In fact, we were considering setting up a base camp there, and doing everything else as day trips with unloaded boats. We did find some places with decent landings and access to the bluff top, but none with "comfortable" camp sites. Some other places looked a little better, but were very exposed in terms of security as there were  a lot of boats near the point. Concerns ranged from comfort, to security, but the consensus was that we would be better off on the Island.

All this exploration ended up adding about 3.5NM to this days paddle, but it was worth it because it ended up sparing us a lot of uncertainty for day three.

I had some concerns (bordering on paranoia) about making the crossing in fog. All in the group had maps and compasses, several of us had GPS units & VHF radios. We were ready for anything, but anything didn't happen.

We were treated to perfect weather for the crossing. Overcast, but unlimited visibility under the clouds. We stayed close together for the crossing, and reached the island in just over an hour.

After setting up camp, George and I did a little exploring on foot. We were able to find some nice breaks on the Southwest side of the channel between the two islands. One of them was a little too nice. Click the link above for pictures of it. We were harassed by many-many birds, but they were not nearly as aggressive as when nesting.

We had dinner back at camp and Jonathan treated us to some delicious dessert he cooked up. We found that on top of being a skilled paddler, he is also a skilled cook. Most of us old people try to use trips like this to shed some poundage, but Jonathan's deserts were irresistible. This combination earned Jonathan a temporary (but well deserved) title as "The Devil".

Tuesday 08/20/02 - Circumnavigation ~5.3NM:

For some reason we circumnavigated the islands in a figure eight. On the way around George and I tried out the break on the southern tip of Norte. Waves were 3-to-5 feet with nice shape. The only draw back is that you had to make sure you turned out to the right so as to avoid being ran into the rocks on the left. We caught a few, but then decided to move on and live.

A short time after starting down the back side of Sur, Vickie and Margo decided to split off and take a more direct route around Sur, while George, Jonathan, Mike, and myself took our time playing in nearly every spot.

Beautiful weather again, but the swell was up a little. It's hard to estimate the height, because it was a mixed swell, and the most powerful elements were very long wave length (>15 seconds), but not very tall. They just carried massive amounts of water and energy. In most places it just made for awesome washovers and surge channels. In a few spots near the northwest tip of Sur, waves were crashing against rocks creating "death zones" on the seaward side of the rocks. We stayed clear of the "death zones" and had a great time behind the rocks, and in areas with less danger.

Surprisingly, we didn't really have any carnage on this "dangerous" side of the island, but we did have some on the easy side.

Many more pictures and fun, but you'll have to click the link above to see it.

Wednesday 08/21/02 - Mainland crossing 7.2NM-to-11.7NM

Again we were treated to clear weather and no winds for the crossing. We landed on a steep cobble pocket beach at Cabo Banda to assess our plans for the day and take a pee break. This was one of several challenging landings we did that required team work to keep the loaded boats and their drivers from sliding back into the breaking water.

Consensus was to paddle all the way to La Bufadora, set up camp, and explore for the rest of the day. We also decided to shuttle for the vehicles at La Bufadora before going out to play.

George, Jonathan, and I ended up catching a cab for $20. Probably more than we had to pay, but it was quick and simple.

Once we set up camp, the men went back out to play toward Cabo Banda, while the women stayed at camp to rest. Reason number 647 that women are smarter than men.

We really didn't go far, only about 4.5NM round trip, but we had loads of fun. We were able to explore some hidden coves and interesting, sometimes frightening caves. We found another play spot similar to the one on Sur, that I call the Royal Flush. Click the link above to find out why.

By the time we got back we were in an exhausted state of euphoria.

Thursday 08/22/02 - Arbolitos ~8.7NM

For me our last paddling day was in many ways the most eventful. Although I had tried many things I hadn't tried before, this was the first day I would be covering completely new territory. Unfortunately, I was exhausted from the combined effort of the trip, but especially from Wednesday's afternoon play time. This was most evident in that in the first hour I did more combat rolls than in the previous 3 days combined. I think it was 5 or 6. None were because of difficult conditions. Just poor timing, tripping over the paddle, etc. I flipped, got tangled in some kelp, and took a little beating on the rocks rounding one of the headlands on the way to Arbolitos. Ouch!

One of the coolest spots along this route was the long sandy beach in Bahia Puerto Escondido. After days of rocks and cobble beaches, the sand was striking. Over toward the south east end of the bay there is a huge stack with narrow slot between it and the main bluff. Margo was pointing out that slot as a possible future camp site. I surfed in and found a huge cave to my right. I called for everyone to come into the pocket beach and check out the cave. This ended up being a bad idea, because the waves were really peaking up in that narrow slot on some sets.

One of our group miss timed it, and ended up "kissing the blarney stone" on the way through. A bloody nose resulted. We were more careful on the way out. We hauled some of the boats out from behind the stack to the main beach where the waves were smaller. Some of us launched (carefully) through the slot. George can be seen nicking over a 5 footer on the way out.

Somehow I got lucky and ended up going out on almost flat water.

That cave and another one fairly close by were the best of the trip. More on that by clicking the link.

After returning to La Bufadora Jonathan and Margo headed home first. George and I went back out on the water for a few minutes, but our hearts weren't in it. We were just too tired to have any more fun.

The four of us hung out in town for a while, then headed for the boarder.

I was very-very tired, but it was a great trip with great people. I'm looking forward to doing it again.