So I went up to Point Reyes to get back in the saddle and put some nautical miles on my boat. There are several good paddling options up in that area. I chose Tomales Bay. One reason is that the most reasonably priced motel that had rooms available has a nice beach right on the bay, which was very convenient.
I drove up on Saturday (Feb 11) and scoped out the area. Had a nice dinner at the Farm House Restaurant in Olema (just south of Point Reyes Station). Nice food. It isn't a "special night out" kind of place, but rather good comfort food. I had excellent prime rib along with some local wine.
On Sunday morning I had a great breakfast at Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station. They focus on local food. I liked them a lot and will be back.
After breakfast I fumbled around with gear. Took longer than it should. But then, since it had been quite a while since I'd paddled", I expected it would take longer than it did when I was in practice. Better to fumble around now than at GGSKS when I'd have a real schedule to keep to.
My plan was to paddle north on part of the ebb, then keep paddling against the flood as long as I felt like it, have lunch, and then ride the flood back to my car.
And that plan worked pretty well. It was a bit of work carrying my boat across the beach at a low-ish tide, but the exercise must have burnt some calories. Once on the water I definitely was not in my best paddling form. But I focused on the details of my forward stroke and just kept at it. I was feeling rusty, but it was good to be on the water. Seems like so much of the work of kayaking is just getting the boat to the water!
I landed and had lunch at Hearts Desire Beach in Tomales State Park. A very nice beach.
On the beach I talked with a nice German couple who had just started kayaking this year. They had plastic recreational kayaks and were really enjoying kayaking. Now that they know they enjoy kayaking they anticipate getting better boats. They of course need much more practice and I suggested taking classes somewhere where they would use the Nigel Dennis Romany for teaching. That boat always makes me feel like a much better paddler than I am.
After lunch I headed back south toward my car. I now had both the flood current and a north wind at my back. So speed was easy. I was having problems with the cable on my skeg so it wasn't deploying at all. And the wind with the long fetch was kicking up some wind waves. Nothing huge, butt that gave me the opportunity to practice rudder strokes more than I might have.
Once back at Inverness I loaded the boat onto the car and went back to Point Reyes Station for dinner. A good day!
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| TomalesBay_Feb2012 |
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