I scheduled an open ocean trip through the BASK calendar and got quite a bit of interest. I had promised that the trip would happen regardless of the weather. We would launch from Stillwater Cove. If the weather was mild we could go rock gardening up to Stump Beach. If it was rough I would go surfing over Bull Rock! Of course with plans like that the weather had to be contrary and it was something in-between. We had mild swell with strong wind threatening to get stronger.
Maryly has loaned her sit-inside out to a good cause (Healing Waters) and was in her Tsunami X-1 boat. Not having been in this boat for a while she discovered that she was unstable in it. She also came prepared with a wetsuit that wasn’t thick enough for the 48F water that we encountered this morning. After a few minutes feeling tippy and getting cold Maryly decided not to go on this trip and landed back on Stillwater Cove beach. Considering the windy conditions I suggested that we plan to stop at Gerstle Cove for lunch. This is closer, more protected, and Stump Beach is past Salt Point which might be a rough place to go around in bad weather.
We left Stillwater Cove and turned out from shore to avoid the waves breaking over the rocks north of the cove. This section of the coast is generally too rough to approach and we stayed far from shore until we passed Ocean Cove. Then I lead everyone close to shore where we could go rock gardening in the protection of Salt Point. The wind and waves here were as mild as I could hope, considering the day, and we did get to go into some channels and close to the cliffs until we rounded Wreck Point.
From Wreck Point to Gerstle cove the shore was more exposed and we stayed far from shore again. We gave up on the plan to round Salt Point and go to Stump Beach. Things calmed down considerably inside Gerstle Cove and we poked around close to shore looking for a place to land for lunch. Eventually we landed on the main cobble beach between all the divers here getting certified in dive classes.
After lunch I suggested a plan and we set off to execute it. We paddle out along the shore from Gerstle Cove as if we were going to round Salt Point. When we got out to the end of the point the wind and waves were very large again. I guessed that the wind was over 20 knots and the waves were rising up over 10 feet as they got focused on the point. The plan was to turn left and ride the wind and waves back to Stillwater, but John Somers turned right and started paddling into the wind. He had arrived late and had not signed the wavier, so I joked that it was OK to abandon him to whatever fate he was paddling into. But we blew our whistles to get his attention. He turned back and we grouped up to get a ride back to our cars.
As we started back the swell rising over Salt Point was almost steep enough to surf on. But as we headed out across the open water on a straight line back to Stillwater, the waves calmed down and I did not get any good rides. The conditions were definitely not nearly as bad as those that I encountered on the last time I paddled here. But while I was internally grumbling that things were not as fun as I could have hoped for, some of the other BASK paddlers were holding onto their paddles with white knuckles! Despite their fears we all made it back to the cove safely and everyone agreed that it was a great day on the water. Even the “white knuckle” paddlers were excited (after the fact) that they had stretched the limits of their experience and come back to tell the tale!