15 Hours Late

Paddling is one of the best things in my life so sharing that with friends and family in a beautiful location is the ultimate.  My buddy from Boston messaged me about returning to a paddling destination we'd visited together six or seven years ago.  I jumped on it and pretty soon we had the plan to rendezvous on the river.  He flew in with his girlfriend a day before me.  Driving down from the Bay Area with a partner, we made a pitstop at McCarren International to pickup my sister and her husband, also flying in from the east.  Not untypical, we launched just before dark, paddled about four miles upriver and camped in a wash the first night.  Waking early and drinking coffee, we got back on the river and met our friends at the site a mere 15 hours late.  Before unpacking boards and gear, we promptly began to celebrate the reunion with drinks in the river!

The next four days was more of the same - celebrating, eating, swimming, hiking, soaking, paddling, laughing, screwing around and just enjoying each others company.  Once back to civilization (sadly) we wrapped up with a few extra days on the Vegas strip.  After that we happily endured more than a few clean, fun surf sessions with friends in San Diego and a stop in Tahoe to camp with returning burners.  Nice fucking trip, eh!  

relaxing on morning two

typical day on the river

always wear a sweater in the desert

another reason sups are better than sea kayaks

proud taco

morning grind

Focus SUP Hawaii Cali 14' loaded

unwinding in Vegas

Century egg anyone?

Focus Cali 14' on tour

Last week I had the chance to tour on the Focus Cali 14' for five self-supported days on class 1 river.  To ready the board, all I did was fit a shorter, smaller flexi fin to deal with rocks (I never touched one) and add four tie-downs to the front deck.  I've put miles on this board on flatwater, bumpy water & downwinding but hadn't yet paddled it loaded.  Unloaded, it excels as a fast & stable all conditions board that is easy to maneuver and control.

The Cali 14' is extremely capable surfing, downwinding, holding speed and dealing with cross-chop.  It's stable from rail to rail and on the tail, it's lightweight, and the volume distribution is perfect for what I need.  The only unanswered question for me, until now, was how well it would handle with a load over 50lbs.

I definitely felt less stable, but only a bit.  Part of the stability loss was due to the small fin and some due to weight.  The sunken deck took on more water than usual, but shed it quickly enough.  Initial rail to rail stability was less than normal, but secondary remained high.  Speed was reduced on flat water, but felt the same on bumpy water.  It definitely wasn't as quick as unloaded, but that would be the same for any loaded board.

When touring I prefer all my gear front of center.  I don't like gear behind me out of sight and personally I need to keep the back deck clear for walking back and turning.  Since I was acting sherpa for friends, I was carrying much more weight than if I were alone, but even at 70+ pounds on the front deck, the Cali was really capable in flat water, current and chop up to 2'.  More later...

Pebble Beach CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance began back in 1950 and is regarded as the premiere celebration of the automobile.  For two weeks this August, I lived at Pebble Beach surrounded by all things Concours and it was totally awesome.  Concours is many different events in one and includes the Tour d'Elegance, the Gooding auction, the Sunday Concours, manufacturers displays, test drives and dozens of other add-on events throughout Monterey.  It's a car lovers paradise in a stunningly beautiful environment that showcases everything from the classic roadsters you'd see in the old Bond movies to today's supercars like the Bugatti Veyron and the McLaren F1.  It attracts collectors, enthusiasts and the filthy rich from all parts of the globe.

For me, it was a chance to work with an incredible event team and I look forward to returning in 2015. I have two more days here at PB and then I'm off for some SUP camping with friends and family..!!..

www.pebblebeachconcours.net

Tour d'Elegance

1962 Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta

Gooding auction preview

buildout of the McLaren tent

Pretty stellar work environment

1954 Maserati

Concept Car Lawn

Gooding auction

Full Teenager Immersion

12 kids aged 12-15 for 5 days of kayaking and camping on Tomales Bay.  Yes, I have some funny memories of the week.  That's what you get with full teenager immersion.  I got a healthy dose of what it's like to be a kid these days and enjoyed almost every minute of it.  Almost.  

We discussed literature - have you read the new book by Flip Dover titled The Beginners Guide to Sea Kayaking?  I believe it's from the Lost Works collection.  How about The Complete Guide to Table Tennis by Ping Pong?  

We told jokes.  What did the hamburger name his daughter?  Patty.  What did he name is son?  Scott. Don't try to get it - there's nothing to get.  

We talked shit.  Teenagers know how to talk shit, even if they have nothing to talk shit about. Awesome ends with "M" "E" but ugly starts with "U".

We paddled, we hiked, we lit campfires, played games, ate delicious meals.  We saw wildlife.  Seals, sea lions, crabs, jellyfish, fox, raccoon, coyote, elk, gulls and more.  

And of course, every time I said 'no' to something I got backtalk.  "Every party needs a pooper, that's why we invited you...."    

Eppie's Great Race 41

Four days before Eppie's Great Race, I got an email from Tom saying that he needed a last minute bow paddler for the last leg of the race, a 6.35 mile downriver paddle in a tandem open canoe.  As luck would have it for me, his paddling partner had a change of plans and couldn't make it back to Sacramento in time for the race, so I was in.

I don't know Tom very well, but I have tons of respect for him and it's awesome to see a great canoeist paddling in California.  He's fun to paddle with, he's a really positive ambassador for California paddling and is just a pleasure to be around.  I knew we'd paddle well together and was looking forward to canoeing downriver with him.

This was the 41st year of Eppie's and the country's oldest triathalon, but the first year for me.  It was great to see a well-organized race getting so many paddlers onto the Lower American river for some fun and exercise and to raise money for Sacramento County Therapeutic Recreation Services.  Tom had assembled a pretty great team and when Scott and I made the handoff from cycling to paddling, we were around tenth place overall, the second canoe team to hit the water.  The first team of canoeists got about a 3-4 minute start on us and were within sight for the first half of the race.  They were paddling a faster canoe, but we held ground the whole way.

Our run was almost flawless as we held speed, hit all of the whitewater right on our lines and finished in a pretty good time of 48:47 averaging about 7.6mph.  Nice race!

Isles of Shoals SUP Trip

I could list at least 30 advantages that standup paddleboards have over sea kayaks, but paddling in a beam wind is not one of them.  Our 7 mile crossing back to the mainland from the Isles of Shoals lined up perfectly across the building wind and swell - not what we wanted.  So badly I wanted to just turn and start running downwind, catching bumps.  Not a bad plan except for the fact it would land us miles and miles away from where we needed to be.

At 7:15am I met up with Peter at the beach in Rye, my old neighborhood!  I hadn't seen him in a couple years, but he's one of these friends that no matter how much time passes or how many life changes occur, it's like we saw each other yesterday.  Our friendship was born on the water and it's still a great way to spend time with him.  Peter owns and operates Seven Rivers Paddling on the New Hampshire Seacoast and is responsible for introducing and hooking tons of kids and adults on paddling.

We exchanged hugs and greetings and got ready to paddle, figuring we'd have plenty of time to catchup once we were on the water.  A half hour later we launched through one foot surf and began paddling for Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals set 7 - 7.5 miles off the New Hampshire and Maine coasts.  Our plan for the day was to repeat a trip we did together about eight years ago by crossing out to the Isles, enjoying some lunch and quiet and then making our way back after noon, catching the tide along the way.  The crossing out was uneventful but the 1hr 45min trip gave us plenty of time to get re-acquainted.  Arriving into Gosport Harbor was really cool and like entering a new land - buildings, islands, boats, rock formations, wildlife, calm waters in the harbor and it was all new to me since the last time I was here, visibility was very limited by fog.

The Isles of Shoals are made up of eight distinct islands, nine at high tide, and bridge the Maine New Hampshire border.  Appledore, Smuttynose, Malaga, Duck and Cedar islands are on the Maine side and Star, White and Lunging islands belong to New Hampshire.  The history of the Isles dates back to 1614 when English explorer Captain John Smith spotted and named them.  For this trip, we were visiting Peter's friends on Smuttynose who have worked on the island as stewards for two weeks each summer for years.  The first time we made this journey we were treated to fog & rain and were forced to make the trip by compass and sound.   This time we were generously offered great weather, good tides and acceptable wind.

At 25 acres, Smuttynose Island is the third largest of the Isles of Shoals and is privately owned but open to the public for hiking and day-use.  The island has a rich history including the tale of two brutal murders in the late 1800's written about and portrayed on the screen in The Weight of Water.  We discussed the history briefly with the family and got a tour of the two remaining buildings, including The Samuel Haley House, believed to be the oldest house in the state of Maine.  Maintaining the property and structures is a big part of their time on the island and I could tell they take pride in doing a good job.  Inside the house, looking out the windows across the island, there wasn't a modern item in site and I could imagine someone standing in the exact same spot two hundred years in the past with the exact same view of islands and open ocean.  

After more chatting and enjoying some lunch in the sunshine, we grabbed some beers and walked north along the islands' granite coast to the 'crack' a really cool swimming area with tall rocks to jump from and crystal clear twenty foot deep water to land in.  Making the plunge into the cold water was invigorating and gave us a chance to experience the maine tingle that comes with cold saltwater.

On the walk to and from the crack, the adult gulls were abnormally aggressive forcing us to wield sticks to keep them at bay.  Along the trail we saw a half dozen baby seagulls and nests complete with unhatched eggs, which explained the behavior of the adults.  Back to the launch site, we chatted some more while Nina and her family tried standup paddling in the harbor.

By 12:15pm, after a few hours relaxing on Smuttynose, we decided it would be smart to make the journey back to the mainland, anticipating an increase in wind at any minute.  We said our goodbyes, took a compass reading and began our journey back to Rye.  As we made our approach to Jenness Beach the winds kicked up a notch during the last twenty minutes and whitecaps began taking over the sea.  I'm grateful for a fun day on the water with a good friend and a chance for some nice paddling on my home coast.

Looking out at the Isles of Shoals from Rye, New Hampshire on a clear day

gearing up to launch

Beginning the crossing.

Peter entering Gosport Harbor

The Samuel Haley House - believed to be the oldest structure in the state of Maine

Beautiful day to relax and play before our crossing home

Gosport Harbor.  Star Island retreat center in the background.

Return trip across the wind