I certainly don't want another experience like the last one at Black Point, but I can still complete the entire Sonoma coast by paddling south from the next beach and turning around. I have launched from Pebble Beach before and knew there would be calm water. Especially today, when the swells were reported to be 4 to 5 feet at 11 second intervals (reasonably calm). One thing I didn't recall from Pebble Beach, was that the waves are rough on both sides of the "cove", and you paddle out in-between the breakers in a magic channel of calm. But it works. I headed south and very quickly found myself at Black Point Beach, but the beach is longer than I recalled and it took me a while to get to the other end. I stopped at the north end and paddled closer and closer to the cliffs that terminate the beach. Sometimes the waves are calmer where rock walls come down into the water, and I wondered if I could get in or out of the water easily on this end. I was able to get within 50 meters of shore, but on this end the cliff tuns and goes parallel to the waves which crash into them before the beach starts. On several of my other visits to this beach, I noted that the waves were pretty calm along the south cliffs, but on the last disastrous trip here, and on this one, the north end of the beach didn't look calm enough to sneak in or out along the cliffs either. Of course, looking at the waves from the top of the cliffs always makes them look much safer than looking at them from the water. I'd like to be able to get into the water here one day to explore all the coves south of here, but I'll just have to wait for really calm water.
Since the trip here took much less time than I expected, I kept going south around Black Point. My historical research said that Black Point was a "doghole" port in the early 1900's, and I assumed that this meant one of the little coves south of the beach. I hoped there would be some evidence of this, cables bolted to the rocks or some such. It is interesting to note that even in 1900, Black Point was considered too dangerous to use between October and June. I found out why dogholes were called dogholes: Because the schooners that took on cargo in them were so small that there was only enough space on board "for a dog to turn around". When I came round the point, there was a boat in the second little cove! It was a crab boat, or maybe sea urchin divers, not a schooner taking on lumber. But somehow I'm pleased that the doghole still gets some use! I decided to turn around at the first cove and leave the crabbers alone to do their work. I sat in the mouth of this little cove for a while, watching the waves and deciding that it was probably safe to go in there, but not this trip. While I was getting ready to start back, a school of sea lions swam by, just 5 meters from me! The water boiled with their bodies, and as their heads came up to breathe, they turned to look at me as they went by. I started paddling after them, and followed them back past Black Point Beach, where I lost sight of them. They pulled ahead of me the whole time, and my last glimpse of them was of a patch of boiling water way ahead of me, with a few of those characteristic foreheads sticking out of the water.
When I got back to Pebble Beach, the waves on both sides of the "cove" looked pretty intimidating. But the magic channel worked again, and by traveling between the correct sets of rocks, I made it to shore with absolutely no problems. The scariest thing about landing this kayak is turning my back on the waves as I head to shore. After I got back to the parking lot, and back into dryer clothes, one of the park rangers came by to empty the trash (and clean the toilet I hope). I pumped him with questions about Sea Ranch and the beach access hassles, and collected a lot of information for my tirade about that, which you may have read at the beginning of this Sea Ranch section.