When there isn’t a more interesting paddle to go on, Roger Lamb usually goes paddling in Bodega Bay to get a little exercise every weekend. Maryly Snow and I planned to come along this time. The NOAA buoy report for Bodega Bay was reporting 12 foot swell every 10 seconds and Maryly dithered a bit about coming along. I wasn’t too worried because there wasn’t a strong wind to deal with and we could always just stay behind the protection of the Bodega Rocks.
We launched from Campbell Cove on the north side of the bay and paddled out between the arms of the jetty. When we came out the end, the water was choppy but quite reasonable. Off across the bay we could see the large waves breaking around Bodega Rock. There is a shoal between that rock and Bodega Head and this effectively breaks the backs of large waves coming from the northwest. Much to Maryly’s dismay, we paddled straight for Bodega Rock. Behind the rock there is a relatively calm area, but the water is very choppy. When Maryly became uncomfortable, I stopped and stayed with her while Roger made a close approach to the back side of the rock then came back to join us.
Then the three of us turned north and went as close to Bodega Head as we dared. Roger says that his typical trip in this area is to head north until he gets scared, then turn back and go east along Doran beach until he has had enough exercise. This time we turned and paddled west back to the breakwater along the south edge of Bodega Head. Roger had brought a lunch with him and was looking for a little pocket beach to land at for a snack. The water was high and rough enough that the few beaches were swamped or hard to approach. When we got back to the base of the breakwater there was a little beach with a tiny triangle of sand on it. I was the only person ready for a landing and zoomed in to try it out. I made an easy landing then discovered that my right foot had fallen asleep on me and I fell over into the water when I tried to stand up. So much for keeping my ego intact.
As we continued out along the breakwater I paddled close to the rocks to revel in the waves sloshing up into them. By the time we got to the end of the jetty and were ready to turn into Campbell cove, Maryly was just getting warmed up and decided that she wanted to go out to Bodega Rock and get closer this time! But we took the conservative route back to Campbell Cove and lunch instead.