Hi all.
I meant to send this out a lot earlier, but have been quite busy paddling lately! Thanks to John Kern for providing the names of some of
the wildlife as well as the more interesting parts.
As some of you know, Peter Jones was here from Wales to teach some BCU courses and to see the area. Several of us have had the pleasure of
paddling with Pete on previous trips to Scotland that Jim Westcott has organized. On Friday, January 4, a group of us decided it would be more
fun to go for a paddle and a pint with Pete at Point Lobos than to go into the office. Participants were Vicki Basham, Buck Johnson, John
Kern, Jim Westcott, Pete, and myself.
We arrived at Monastery Beach at 10:30 and were greeted by favorable conditions. It was warm and sunny, and by my estimates, swell was around
3 to 6 feet, and wind averaged around 5 knots. I hadn't been to Monastery before, but had heard numerous tales of misadventure. Luckily
for us, the conditions allowed for an easy launch without too much incident.
We headed straight out around Point Lobos and then turned south, heading through Devil's Cauldron. Even on a calm day this area, which lies
between the cliffs of the shore and some offshore rocks, was playfully challenging. We continued down the coast staying offshore a little bit.
When we got to Bird Island, we took the inside route between the island and the shore, which was also a fun little challenge. Along the way, we
spotted a pair of black oystercatchers, along with a large assortment of cormorants and pelicans. We then turned in and landed at the sandy beach
near the island.
We arrived at the beach near noon, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and the warm January day. From the beach we spotted several whales in
the distance. A spout here, a back there. We also took the chance to trade paddling stories, with Buck describing his first whale-watching
trip at Point Lobos, where we saw not only numerous whales but a megapod of thousands of dolphins. Pete then described that the idea of a "fun"
paddle in the Netherlands was to paddle 8 miles out to an oil platform, "wave to the blokes", then head back. As much as we were enjoying
lying around on the beach, we realized that we had to return some time, so we finally hauled ourselves back into our boats for the return trip.
On the way back, we paddled outside of Bird Island and offshore a little ways in search of more whales, of which we saw several in the distance.
We headed around the outside of the cauldron and most of the rocks and back around Point Lobos. We then took the opportunity to play in some of
the rock gardens on the way back. We ducked into a couple of the coves for a rest. While in Bluefish Cove, we were treated to more wildlife: a
great egret, snowy egret, great blue heron, and a couple harbor seals.
We then played in the rocks a little more before heading back to Monastery. Everyone and their boats made it through without a scratch, even though I hear that British boats can withstand all sorts of abuses.
Afterward, we headed to the London Bridge Pub in Monterey for copious
amounts of food and drink. Interestingly, for as much as Pete paddles, he told us that this was the first time that he had seen a whale from
the seat of a kayak; abalone and California sea lions were also new to
him. All in all, a great day with great company.
Andy