Saturday Nov 27th, Pebble Beach to Lanes Cove

[Bill Gwynn]

Six souls decided to mix it up a little and do a one-way trip from Pebble Beach to Lanes Cove with a little side trip out to the Salvages on the way. We met at 9:30 at Pebble Beach, Roger and Ken dropped their gear and boats and then drove over to Lanes Cove to meet up with Walter who was picking them up on his way to Pebble Beach so they could leave their cars there at Lanes. It took a while to get all this done, and then get us all dressed and on the beach ready to launch. This winter paddling is alot of work...so much gear. The launch was interesting, although the seas were not rough, there was still considerable surf dumping on Pebble Beach. It was close to high tide, and the beach is steep with lots of pebbles as the name states. Brad was the smart one, he carried his boat down the beach to a little sandy spot and launched from there. Finally all six of us on the water..time..10:45, not too bad considering all we had to do.

The first leg of the trip we followed close to the coast skirting in and out of the rocks and ledges. There was some swell to make it interesting, but not enough to make it scary. This was my favorite part of the trip. As we approached Straightsmouth Island we decided to follow the Eastern side of the Island and then make the crossing from Straightsmouth Light out to the Dry Salvages. Along the way we saw lots of seals popping up checking us out. Once out at the Salvages we circumnavigated a couple times looking for some wave action, the swells were small with the occasional larger one, it was fun. We were starting to get hungry, especialy knowing that Walter brought his famous roast beef sandwiches for all of us. We were going to go to Rockport to land and eat, but along the way we decided to try to land at Straightsmouth instead. It turned out that it wasn't the best idea, there wasn't any "good" place to land that we could find. We did all manage to get out of our boats, but it was very slippery. Brad took a spill and twisted his knee...he's OK, but still limping a little bit. Lunch was delicious, and we relaxed for a good hour before attempting the precarious launch. Werner was gracious enough to help each of us launch, and left himself last to go. He evaluated the circumstances, and decided the best option was to just send his boat into the water first and then swim in after it. This worked out just fine with Ken helping him with the re-enrty into his boat.

The next leg of the trip was also alot of fun. We decided to head straight across from Straightsmouth Island to Halibut Point. We had a decent 15 knot tail wind and following seas. We all caught some good rides on the way. Brad's GPS said he had a top speed of 6.6 MPH and averaged 5 MPH on the 2.6 mile crossing. Once at Halibut Point we slowed down a little and cut the corner very close to the rocks enjoying the motion and little bit of action caused by all the rocks on the point. We were having fun until a "rogue wave" came in. I saw it just in enough time to get out over it, but Werner was not so lucky and it took him for a bongo ride into the rocks. He and his boat took the beating with narry a scratch, but after the water drained back out, he was left high and dry and had to wet exit. Now for the second time today, Werner had to throw his boat into the water and swim after it. Ken went in and towed him out a little ways and then did a T-rescue, life was good again. I feel bad mostly for the many people on Halibut point that thought poor Werner was dead for sure, they came running from all directions to "help".

The last leg of the trip from Halibut Point to Lanes cove was serene and quiet. Protected from the wind, it afforded us a liesurly paddle to chat about the days events. Can't wait till next weekend!!!

Photo's can be seen at:

[http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/112704_brad]

and

[http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/112704]