After a day volunteering at the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse for the Mendocino WhaleFest, three of us launched from Caspar Beach to paddle the wild Mendocino coastline. As we were getting our equipment ready, I heard this funny tearing sound from the cliffs on the south side of the cove. Then as we started out the cove I found a large model rocket floating in the water. The kind of rocket that has real solid fuel engines that can launch them thousands of feet into the air. I scooped the rocket up thinking that I would leave it on the beach for whoever lost it. Unfortunately it had been in the water for a while and the cardboard was saturated. I was about to haul it to shore anyway when I heard that tearing noise again. I glanced up to see another model rocket being launched from the top of the cliff. Looking around I saw another rocket in the water and one stranded half way down the cliff. Plus the one currently in the air. I figured these guys were shooting off and abandoning their toys so I dropped the big one back in the water.
We paddled to the rock garden on the south end of the cove and looked for an inside passage behind all the waves breaking on the rocks. The tide was too low to go close to shore, so we looked past the next row of rocks. It almost looked possible to go through there and Dan Mauk started to go through the channel. I was starting to think that Maryly would not want to go through there when a large set came in and threatened to break on us just waiting outside. I started paddling forward just to have some momentum to climb over a breaking wave and Maryly followed me. I decided we should go around and meet Dan on the other side.
But every time we paddled past another rock the waves were larger and we had to keep traveling farther and farther out. The inside passage is definitely the short route here when you can do it. Eventually we were completely outside the point trying to look over the rocks for Dan. We could not see him anywhere. I could see the rock that Dan had started behind and I could hear a bunch of sea lions on it barking, probably barking at Dan. I turned in towards this rock thinking that we could work our way over to the other side of it where Dan should emerge soon. On the way in I noticed the water swirling around a shallow spot and pointed it out to Maryly; "Look out for that Rock"! Too late, a large wave came in and broke over the submerged rock.
I was far enough past the submerged rock (we never actually saw it) that the wave didn't break on me and slipped under my boat. Maryly was still right in front of the rock and the steepest part of the wave rose up behind her and broke around her boat. She braced into the wave and was side-surfed 20 meters closer to the big rock with the sea lions on it. Fortunately the wave calmed down in deeper water and let go of Maryly before pulling her all the way into the rocks. She shouted a question at me; "What should I do?" and I shouted back "PADDLE!" She asked where and I said it didn't matter. The trick here is to get out from behind the rock that is breaking the waves. If your boat is pointing sideways to the waves, that is a good direction. If your boat was turned to face into the waves, that's a good direction also because you can climb over another breaker. The only direction that does matter is facing away from the waves, you wouldn't want to surf with them into the rocks. But other than that you just need to get moving, and you don't want to take the time to turn your boat if you don't have to.
Maryly paddled across and out to rejoin me. I still couldn't see Dan and decided that we needed to find out what he was up to. It didn't look like there was anyplace easier to get inside farther ahead so we turned back. We went back in past the channel were we last saw Dan and could not see him there. We went back to the shallow area close to the shore where the water was calmer and slipped over a few shallow channels with the surge. From there I finally saw Dan standing on the shore picking up his equipment. Apparently he had gone around the big rock and pointed his nose out to sea again, only to have a large wave rise up in front of him. The tail of his boat had hit bottom and then the wave pushed him over backwards. He exited from the boat and all his equipment had gone in every direction. I got out of my boat and climbed over the slippery rocks part way over towards him until we could talk. He had lost his paddle so I offered to loan him my spare. I slithered back to my boat for my paddle while Dan worked his way towards me. Just as we met, I saw something yellow floating in a pool of water next to us and this turned out to be Dan's paddle! Dan thought that he was going to have to plow his way back out the way he came in, but Maryly and I talked him into slipping his boat over to where we were and exiting out the shallow side of the rock garden.
Just as Dan was getting back in his boat, another group of BASK kayakers came out from Caspar Beach looking for a way through the rock garden. They decided to go around and didn't even see us until I blew my whistle and waved at them! Like us they were planning on going to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. Dan wanted to continue so we three joined Roger, Bob, and Julia. This time we all went the long way around the rocks and stayed pretty far from shore for a while.
But as we approached Point Cabrillo we split into two groups. Julia and Dan wanted to take the conservative route around the rocks off the point. Bob went with them to try and talk them in later. Roger and I wanted to go close to shore and get behind the rocks. I tried to convince everyone that this was actually the easiest way to get into the protected water close to the lighthouse, but Maryly was the only one who followed Roger and I. Except for a few gaps in the stony reef, the rocks of the point do protect you from the waves. We sprinted across those gaps in mild sets and made it to the protected south side of the point in no time. Between the rocks we could see the other three kayakers far out to sea, looking for a safe way to find their way in.
Bob paddled in through one of the gaps to show that it was possible. Dan came in and then Bob went out to help lead Julia back in again. Right next to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is a narrow channel into the cliff that leads to a round chamber of water. I call it a fjord because it has steep rocky walls. You can just barely see the top of the lighthouse from a kayak in the water here. Bob landed on the beach on one end of this and climbed up to the top of the walls to take pictures of the rest of us in the fjord. When we were ready to leave, Roger guided everyone back out the channel behind the rocks. Dan and Julia agreed that this was an easier way to get close to the lighthouse. We had an uneventful trip back to Caspar Beach.