Petaluma Paddlers

Policy dictates that the new kid has got to write the trip report.  After reading an entire book of BASKer John Boeschen’s Thursday Night Paddle reports as well as viewing his comix, I’m well prepared to take on the task.  I understand fully the types of information required for the report, and have no fear of fiction.

Location and Participants:  The Petaluma Paddler’s Drake’s Bay paddle started at the Oyster Farm in Point Reyes, and was led by Ray, who is a testament, nay, an entire monument to PP’s eating and drinking practices.  Joining him for the day were 14 cheerful souls.

Itinerary and Events:  After lunch and intermediate destinations were discussed, various clusters of paddlers headed west across the oyster beds, seaweed, and shifting sands of the bay and headed for Dinosaur Point.  Newbie Liz parked on one of the oyster frames and was kindly tugged backwards off the frame by Ray the Rescuer.  A few rusty-colored jellyfish were spotted as we approached the southern side of the bay, and then we swung over to the north shore to avoid the shallow waters in which the egrets were standing.  At Dinosaur Beach at the mouth of the bay, we landed to see the fossilized whale bones. Several large concretions, about 3 to 5 feet across, were perched in the eroding cliffs, and others had fallen onto the beach and were in various states of disrepair.  One irregularly split boulder displayed a whale bone on  one side and the mold on the other part. When we wandered back to the boats, there was Flo in a dry set of borrowed clothes, on account of a beaching boo-boo of some sort that left Flo in the flow, and there wasn’t much of it.  Don’t ask me how she did it.  Under the circumstances, the original lunch plan was modified to “Here and Now”.

Lunch:  Topnotch Seaweed Salad with edamame, two green garden salads, chicken, pork, some little sandwiches, assorted veggies, mystery dip, hummus, exceptional brownies, assorted crackers and yummy cheeses, oranges, mandarins, tinned oysters.

Beverages:  Water bottles seemed to stay on the boats (is there a rule about this?), and onshore beverages included several bottles of reasonably priced red wine and a cheap white Chateau Le Box (Hey, there was only one left so he figured it musta been popular!), and a couple thermoses of hot water (one with weird drink mixes and Yerba Mate, but nothing normal).

Itinerary and Events (continued):  The initial feeding frenzy, absent leopard sharks, took place around a picnic tarp.  Appetites sated, a few people wandered or paddled off and the serious drinkers got to work draining all the wine containers to ensure compliance with the Open Container law.  No tickets for this crowd!  When they were sufficiently tippy, various members practiced rolling their camp chairs.   Having completed the paddling and eating/drinking requirements, we headed for Home Bay to satisfy the final requirement for a Good Day on the Water:  wildlife viewing.  The expected leopard sharks, seals, and otters were mostly having a day off, but the birds were on the job.  The opening act was provided by a couple hundred Synchro Birds . . . the ones that turn all at once on the wing and appear alternately as a black or white flock, depending on whether you’re seeing the sunny side or the dark side.  Ray, the birding whiz, says they were Lesser and Western Sandpipers. The big show was a glorious flight of maybe 1000 Garbled Madwits and some avatars.  Oops, it was Marbled Godwits and avocets.  Several great flocks swooped over and around us for a few really good minutes.  Then we made good use of our paddles and no use of torso rotation to return to the Oyster Farm about the same time as the last of the good weather.  Clouds building, breeze stiffening, night falling . . . time to buy a nice jar of fresh oysters to share with the unfortunates who missed out on a beautiful day on the water.

Distance Paddled:  9 miles round trip

Weather:  Marbled blue and white sky with gentle breezes, mostly sunny.

Clothing:  Colorful array of paddling jackets, rubber boots, tall neoprene boots, a pair of cute patterned galoshes, caps, gloves, appropriate shirts and pants, jeans, and a sexy midriff length top (stays dry in semi-immersion).

Furniture:  rolling camp chairs, picnic tarps, cocktail table, rocks, driftwood board

Safety equipment:  lots of radios (used frequently), pumps, paddle floats, sunglasses, spare paddles, Ray

So thanks to all for a lovely day on the water.

Liz

Sunday morning, November 21. Cuttings Wharf, Napa.
Imagine beautiful clear air, a light breeze, with puffy white clouds on a sapphire blue sky.
And 48 degrees.
Burrrr.

Only two of us showed up; Bill and I. The weather satellite showed lots of little clouds amid clear air, so it was a crapshoot as to whether we’d have Fall sunshine or get wet and cold.

As it happened, it was really nice; cool, but the sun was on us most of the time and it was warm, it never rained and the wind didn’t come up much.

We left from the Wharf, staying in the shoreline’s wind shadow to avoid the nippy breeze. Quick stop at Kennedy and then up to the downtown basin – 3rd St.

The beach at the basin looked great for landing, but the access is all fenced. Yes, there is a gap in the fence under the shoulder of the bridge, but it looked really tight. Easier to go over. If you were willing to walk, you could go around to the left following the shoreline, go under the bridge and there’s street access there at the end of the fisherman’s path. Or so it looked.

There’s a nice spot for lunch just opposite Copia. It’s got a pretty steep bank but it’s sandy. You’d have to tie off to shore trees/brush. On top of the bluff is a great spot for a picnic. Big stone blocks perfect for sitting. I couldn’t find out what this area was, but we saw fisherman on the shore so it probably wasn’t somebody’s back yard.

Bill and I continued way up the river, out into the vineyards along Silverado Trail about a mile and a half past the Lincoln Ave bridge. It was at the top of high tide and there was plenty of water. It was very cool. The BASK trip planner calculated the distance at 8.25mi, making the round trip
about 16 (it’s not that accurate). No wonder I feel sore today.

On the very pleasant ride home on the outgoing tide we spotted a small sea lion having lunch in the middle of the river. Sea lions tear at food they can’t swallow whole, and this guy was thrashing his fish on the surface to rip it apart, with a flock of gulls picking up scraps. It was great to watch. It was really pink; a salmon maybe?

Time out: 10:20 Return: 15:10 Distance: 16mi est.

Another great day.

-john

A total of 7 folks paddled from Hearts Desire to Chicken Ranch on a most gorgeous autumn morning. We figured we traveled a total of 4-5 miles. The Bay offered full sun, mild air, quiet gentle waters & some wildlife. We traveled in two groups, following is what we saw and heard: over fifty Moon Jellies (9 inch diameter) dancing, somersaulting, and just hanging out; over 20 Leopard Sharks (some 5 foot long) basking and sunny on an underwater sand bar; 2 Great Blue Herons; a friendly Brown Pelican, who followed us back to the beach; a Cormorant resting in a low growing tree; an Osprey, just cruising overhead; closeup views of the orange Marine Algae growing on the cliffs, along with gurgling sounds coming from the various caves; Lush, Healthy Eel Grass beds, a Western Grebe; a pair of floating Loons, 5 adorable Least Grebes; Hollow, wooshing sounds of ducks taking off as we approached.

We debriefed as we munched our lunches at picnic table on Hearts Desire. Ahh! another day on our Beautiful Bay.

~cathleen~

Well 5 PPers showed up at Nick’s ( Allan, Phil, C.Larry, Bill and I ) to find conditions not too bad and highly doable. We figured the big storm would hit Sat eve and Sun, at least that’s what the NWS said.

We headed off for Walker Creek figuring it would be a good place to go on a rainy, breezy day. The tide was with us and we flew along with a nice tailwind. We got to our usual lunch spot in short order only to find the area completely overgrown with Alders. We had to bushwhack to get to our usual spot and decided to just eat on the beach. Marilyn sent Phil with a hotpot full of chicken, rice and pork. Allan made a beautiful salad to which Bill added some nice cherry tomatoes. There was the usual multi-cheese and bread deal happening.

The weather was getting pretty interesting as we piled back into out boats just as the ebb started. It was getting rather gusty amd the rain was increasing as we paddled back to Tomales. By the time we were in sight of Tomales Bay it was apparent that we were in for an interesting paddle.

We decided to exit the creek and skirt the marsh and head for the Marin shore. The waves were breaking close to shore so it paid to get a little ways out where the waves were big but not breaking. Allan was paddling with Bill and got hit by a big wave which dumped him. The water was shallow but it took he and Bill awhile to get regrouped and underway.

We headed for the old oyster colony to regroup. The old Necky’s with their sweet rocker and rudders handled the conditions admirably. Larry’s boat with high ends and no rocker or rudder sure made his paddle interesting. He got lots of practice bracing, correction stroking, making little headway and cussing.

We finally all arrived at the oyster colony and while we could have continued paddling, some were more than glad to call it quits. Bill and I walked to Nick’s to get our trucks. We drove back, parked on the shoulder and proceed to lug our boats up to the road. Thankfully Bill ( today’s hero ) brought his flatbed so we were able to get his, Phil’s and Larry’s boat loaded. Phil rode in the back of my truck. We drove back to Nick’s, tired and wet. We regrouped and sorted out our gear.

I would estimate that the wind at the mouth of Walker Creek was about 30mph. The waves were big and the rain was intense. So much for the storm coming in Saturday evening. I think I’m going to subscribe to iwindsurf as those boys understand forecasting and wind.

Ray