Eleven of us met at Aqua Adventures for an 0800 launch to Pt. Loma:  Present were Dom, Cyril, Johnny O, John Clinton, Lori and John Nickerson, Debra, Pete from Palm Springs, Steve H, Jerry and me.  We launched in pristine weather–clear skies, warm sun, almost no wind and just enough sea texture to make it interesting.  As we exited the channel we could see booming breakers on Dog Beach but the swell was rather minimal except for the set of two homongous swells that came along every now and again with seemingly no period except l-o-n-g!

Shortly after passing the OB pier we were greeted by a pod of dolphins heading south.  They kept pretty much abreast of us for the next 45 minutes or so until we stopped to take a break and shed some clothing due to the increasing warmth of the sun.

We kept outside the surf zone just enjoying the great weather and conversation as we went.  At about 0930 Johnny O turned back with the Nickersons as they had planned because of other pressing engagements and the rest of us paddled on.  About 1/2 mile from Pt Loma (actually the false point) we were treated to a couple of blows by a whale heading south in front of the entrance to San Diego Bay.

Just short of the false point we decided to turn back–we noticed the wind was picking up a little earlier than expected and it was a long way back.  A couple of us took a slightly inside trek which gave the rest of us some anxious moments when a huge swell came up way outside and passed underneath us threatening to break.  There was a little excitement as 2 boats came over the breaking top with nothing but air underneath.
The wind picked up to an easy 9 kt with a few gusts as we entered the channel and paddled to the dock.
Summer in January–great day on the water–
Saturday is skills day–
Mike Brown