Tsunami that wasn't
(Jonathan)
Wow, what a weekend! So many months in the making, I can’t believe it has passed already. I almost didn’t go. About an hour and a half north of San Diego, Cate and I realized that we could have taken a shorter drive to Baja and had warmer water in which to paddle. In addition, I hardly knew my paddling and camping companions. But we were already moving north, and I am glad we kept going.
I think the fire was the best. It was where we ate, hung out, talked,
laughed, guessed each other’s ages, and invented the Rogue Wavers. (That last
part definitely happened after bedtime.) It was where we met some of our
followers, where we compared our fire to that of our college student neighbors,
where we burned a large amount of wood (and a small amount of clothing).
Steve’s step-mom was definitely the funniest. (Thanks for bringing her along.)
And thanks to everyone for sharing food and drink, campsites, stoves,
mattresses, etc.
Oh, yeah…the paddling. Once I realized that everyone was a competent ocean paddler I relaxed and enjoyed myself. It was a fun coastline to explore, with pour-overs and rocky surf zones and surfy rock gardens, caves and arches, kelp beds and bird nests. We had a swimmer here and there, but did not get ourselves into anything we could not get out of. I missed the opportunity that the class would have given me to swim in rock gardens and try more new and scary things, but I was also OK not to swim in the 52 degree water.
Some memories: being last off the beach because someone left the car wide open; watching everyone swoop in to practice rescues when someone came out of their boat; surfing in the rocks; working with Don to get a water-filled propane tank out of the kelp; iridescent seaweed; an otter; a sea lion jumping out of the water a few feet off my bow; knowing I was not the only one counting boats on the water; seeing the vertical green wall with white trim in front of me and knowing I was not going to make it over; really wanting not to miss my roll; George recovering my paddlefloat and reattaching my spare paddle (thanks!); Steve and Jack going where I had no desire to follow; longs days that ended at 3:00 PM; a wedding on the beach; a big ass fire.
Thank you all for contributing to a memorable weekend. I look forward to our next paddle together.
Jonathan Weingast
Rogue Waver, Charter Member