SDKC Business Cards Now at Aqua Adventures

 

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There have been several occasions that I wanted a club business card to give out to someone interested in what we do, so here they are. Jen has agreed to display them on her counter at Aqua Adventures, and that is a great place for anyone in the club to stop by and pick some up. Take as many as you can use, and let’s get the word out about our paddles and this great sport. And while you’re in Aqua Adventures, check out the new items Jen has, and take home something…like a new kayak!

Tragedy in Washington

You might have not seen this tragic news. Two kayakers died and another was critically injured while paddling back from a day outing in Dungeness Bay in northwest Washington state on Saturday. Our hearts break when tragedies like this happen. Even is ‘warm’ San Diego, we need to be cautious when paddling our bays and ocean. Always dress for immersion, and wear your life jacket. Get more paddling safety tips here: www.americancanoe.org/Top10

Island Hopping in the Aleutians – 2500km by Kayak!

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Come and hear award winning filmmaker and expedition sea kayaker Justine Curgenven talk about the highlights and challenges of her world first kayaking journey along the Aleutian islands and Alaskan peninsula, described as “the greatest technical sea kayak expedition in the world”. With round-the-world adventurer Sarah Outen, she set out to paddle 2,500km along the archipelago confronting more than 20 long crossings which separate the tiny unpopulated islands. Alone for 101 days in one of the windiest, roughest places on earth, these two women are swept away from land by unknown currents, pounded by rough seas and approached by bears. Experiencing an edge-of-your-seat journey, they gain a rare insight into themselves, the rich wildlife and the lives of the few people who live in this harsh yet beautiful landscape. Justine will show video clips from the highly-anticipated film and tell behind the scenes stories.

The presentation will be held in a beautiful venue in La Jolla, (generously provided by www.belowthesurface.org) that gives us the opportunity to socialize, eat, drink, and relax! We will be providing burgers and the fixings (veggie burgers too!) on the deck accompanied by soda and beer, so come right after work and enjoy the evening overlooking the Pacific! This is a free event, but we suggest a $10 donation to Below The Surface – a non-profit organization dedicated to clean and sustainable waterways coast to coast.

Burgers and socializing 5pm-7:30pm
Presentation 7:30-8:30pm

Martin Johnson House – Scripps
8840 Biological Grade, La Jolla, California 92037

 

 

San Salvador Launch Paddle – Postponed Again

 

San Salvador

San Salvador

THE LAUNCH DATE HAS BEEN POSTPONED BY THE MARITIME MUSEUM

Due to technical difficulties in moving the San Salvador from Spanish Landing to the B Street Pier, the date of April 19 is no longer the “Launch Date”. Please check back on this site each week, and as soon as we know something, we will give a new launch date, and email that info out also.

All the info below (except the date) will hopefully apply to our paddle, once we have a new date.

Here are the safety instructions issued by the Maritime Museum to all boaters for the event. We will paddle to the location just off the “B” Street Pier, approximately where the “Spectator Viewing Lane” arrow is pointing. The full details of our paddle, including a Safety Notice and maps of where we launch and our plotted course can be found below. If you are an experienced paddler, we hope you can join us.

San Salvador Instructions

THIS WILL BE A 7 MILE INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL PADDLE

The replica of Cabrillo’s flagship has been under construction near the airport, and will be launched with great celebration (TV coverage, a parade of boats, speeches, etc). We are going to have a paddle to coincide with that event. This is a good opportunity to see the launch from the water, while possibly getting some free club publicity, given the news media coverage. We will meet at the Liberty Station launch ramp, paddle down the canal, then along Harbor Island and over to the launch site of the San Salvador at the Broadway Pier. That is a distance of about 3.5 miles, so this will now be an intermediate level paddle of at least 7 miles total. We should arrive at the pier around 10 am, when they will be lifting the SS off the pier. From there they will tow it over to Coronado and back to the museum pier where she will be berthed, with several boats sailing along with it. We can paddle down to the Midway, then back to the Maritime Museum pier location to see the parade arrive there. It should be an exciting day.

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BOAT RENTALS AVAILABLE

Aqua Adventures has kayaks for rent, but you must pick them up at the store. If you want a rental, you will need to call and pay in advance to reserve your boat. Their phone number is 619 523-9577.

For more info on the San Salvador project, click on these links:

http://www.sdmaritime.org/san-salvador-build/

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-san-salvador-ship-20140915-story.html

http://www.sdnews.com/view/full_story/25829651/article-Replica-of-Cabrillo-s-ship–San-Salvador–nearly-ready-to-sail?instance=update1

LAUNCH DATE AND TIME: 

The exact date WILL BE ANNOUNCED.  When we know the date, we will give it here, and via an email to the members of the SDKC (so sign up to get on our mailing list, with no cost to join).

DURATION OF THE PADDLE: 

We will be on the water for about 3 hours, checking out the San Salvador and the boat parade.

SAFETY NOTICE:

This is a intermediate-level paddle of at least 7 miles, not intended for beginners.

There will be a lot of power boats, personal watercraft, and sail boats on the bay during this event, so we need to stay close to shore and the end of the B Street Pier (where we can watch the SS launch).  When we go down to the Midway, we need to stay close to the piers also. When we cross the open water between Harbor Island and the B Street Pier, we need to stay in groups of 3 or more, in order to be more visible to other boaters.

Caution: The ramp at our Liberty Station launch site can be very slippery, so be careful when you walk down that concrete ramp.

WHAT TO BRING:

Bring your hat, sunglasses, camera, water and snacks for the paddle. There is a grassy area to clean off your boat, so bring water for that. Bring all safety gear and a VHF if you have one. Life jackets are mandatory, and must be worn. Please read the Disclaimer at the end of this post. 

OUR PLOTTED COURSE TO THE B STREET PIER IS IN YELLOW:

San Salvador Paddle

 

DIRECTIONS TO LIBERTY STATION LAUNCH RAMP:

From I-5 south and I-8 west, take the Rosecrans exit (which is Hwy 209 on the map). Take Rosecrans to Lytton Street (at the Sail Ho golf course) and turn left. Take the first right, into Liberty Station. Follow the one way street to Sims Road and turn left. Turn left on Historic Decatur, a one-way street which takes you back toward the entrance. You will immediately see another street named Perry on your left. Turn into the parking lot on your right at that juncture. The ramp is at the east end of that lot (LS Launch on the map). There are restrooms at the golf course and the park.

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PLEASE NOTE:

These paddles are not sanctioned San Diego Kayak Club or Aqua Adventures events. The announcer of this event is not the leader of such, merely a “coordinator”.

Disclaimer: We will have experienced paddlers on this trip, but they will not be responsible for telling you what is or is not safe for you to do. We watch out for one another and assist one another, but all individuals are responsible for, and manage their own safety. This responsibility includes assessing your gear, skill level, and physical conditioning relative to conditions and location, as well as making decisions about what you will or will not do. Participants acknowledge that kayaking on the open sea or bay is inherently dangerous and can lead to physical injury including death as well as property damage. Participants, on their behalf and on behalf of their heirs and assignees, agree to hold the announcers and other participants blameless in the event of such injury, damage or death. Please join us if you want to mildly stretch your capabilities, but please stay home if you would be wildly stretching them. Participants should have bracing skills, be able to self-rescue and assist in the rescue of others. They should be able to launch and/or land along the rocky bay front.

How Many NFL Stadiums Can You Visit by Kayak Only?

Saw this in my news feed and had to share it with the club…

Did you know it’s possible to navigate your way to every single NFL stadium in the US by kayak?

It’s true. A couple of days ago Reddit user, /Bhockzer posted the routes to every single one. And while he did have to be “navigationally creative” for a couple, it’s possible to paddle to your next big game even if it’s via a storm creek.

http://paddlinghq.com/component/k2/item/4792-how-many-nfl-stadiums-can-you-visit-by-kayak-only.html

Lower Colorado River Paddle Announcement

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This coed camping trip is open to age 18 on up, and will be in the Lake Martinez area just north of Yuma, Arizona. The date will be the weekend of March 20-22. There are now 13 signed up to go, and we want you to join us. The photos show what the area is like: the winding Colorado and small lakes, backed up by the Imperial Dam, with many narrow canals through the reeds. A great place for kayaks to explore. The weather that time of year is ideal, with mild breezes, and temps in the mid 70’s during the day, and around 55 at night (at 4am).  This date is also past the rainy season there, and is still relatively quiet of boat traffic. We plan to launch at Squaw Lake, and go up river to camp at “Hidden Lake Island” (click on photos to enlarge).  Since we are paddling against a one knot current, decked kayaks are better suited (but if you are a strong paddler in a SOT, it can be done, so join us).

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It is a 3 hour drive to the launch site, so we can drive there on Friday morning, and have time to paddle up river and set camp by mid afternoon. We’ll explore the river all day Saturday, then head back to San Diego on Sunday sometime early afternoon.

If you are interested in going, and are not yet a club member, sign up on our email list. I’ll be sending more email notices to the club on this trip, and you can then reply with questions, or sign up. Details of the trip (what to bring, etc) will be sent out at a later date to those who are going. I hope you can join in. The desert that time of year is wonderful, and this open area affords a big night sky to enjoy while we sit around a campfire.

Whale Watch Paddle Report

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Sixteen paddlers ventured out on Saturday, January 17 to check out the whales. We had the good fortune of seeing two whales, one of which surfaced within 100 yards of us while we were just southwest of the “Whale 1” waypoint on the 177 ft depth bathymetry line.  That whale then went right under us, and surfaced again just to the south, where we heard the spout. The Whale 1 waypoint is: N32 44.445  W117 17.390. The second whale was spotted on the way in, and was inside the kelp, which is a somewhat rare place to see them. Several people had cameras, but no one was able to catch the whale fluke or back. But for those who were there, it is an image we will remember for years to come. Being that close to something so large in the water is an awesome experience. (Note: click on a photo to enlarge it).

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The paddle lasted about 3 hours, and covered 7.47 nautical miles with an average speed of 2.3 knots. Tiffini joined us from Ensenada, and paddled a SOT. Our moving speed and calm water allowed for everyone to make this paddle in a comfortable manner, so next year we will include slower boats.  Several people rented a boat, and this is a great way for more paddlers to see the whales.

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If you want to see the whales, and do not want to surf launch, going out of the Aqua Adventures location to the Whale 1 waypoint has now proven to be the best and shortest paddle to see them in the San Diego area. We have now done this paddle 4 times, and have seen whales on two of them. That is pretty good odds. The key is to stay on that location (we paddled just past the waypoint, then drifted south on the current), while looking north where the land ends off La Jolla. In this case, we saw two whale watching boats slowly approach us, and suspected they were following whales, which they were. Otherwise you need to quietly listen and look for the spouts. It was a beautiful morning, and a good paddle. Come join us next year.