I was unable to find anyone who could pick me up on the other end of the Stump Beach to Black Point Beach run, so I went on a repeat run this morning. I had bought a new 7mm wetsuit recently, and had not tried it out yet, so this was an oportunity to try it on a milk run. This is thicker suit which I can wear diving for abalone with Gary Lorensen later this year (hear that Gary?). It is also warmer for wearing in cold weather, and it's a two piece suit so I can take off the jacket on sunny days. I claim that I got my aerobic exercise for the day last week by trying on a few pairs of these wetsuits. I wonder about sporting goods store etiquette: Should I suggest that they hose a suit down after I've tried it on, or are they just expecting my sheen of sweat to drip off onto the Astroturf floor?
Since I could not go on the longer run, I let myself sleep in and got to Russian Gulch Beach by 9:00am. It was a sunny morning by then, with little wind and 5 foot swells according to the Marine Buoy Report. The tunnel of greenery over the trail to the beach was not as green as spring and summer, and a few of the trees had fallen down over the trail making access difficult with a kayak. Next trip, I'll bring my bucksaw and do some trail maintenance first. The gravel wash still had some rain water runoff, so I let the kayak carry itself down the gully. I tried drifting down with the water, but the keel on my kayak is too deep for this shallow body of water. When I got to the beach, four large waves came in and pushed me farther back up and up the sand while trying to get the zipper started on the new jacket and get my gloves on. Putting the jacket on had me overheated and exhausted by the time I got in the water, and I was almost hoping another big wave would come, dunk me, and cool me off. At the sporting good store, I tried sitting in the dressing room and stretching my arms in paddling motions, but the first few strokes of the real thing were difficult. It felt like the jacket arms were resisting motion in all directions. I was afraid the new suit was too thick for paddling, but after a minute, either I warmed up and hit the rhythm or the jacket loosened up and let me work. I was able to paddle for 3 kilometers north without feeling too held back by the jacket.
Soon after I started out, the Coast Guard flew by in a helicopter. I waved at them, and got no response. I figured they saw me, rolled their eyes and said "Now there is an accident waiting to happen". I was determined to try out the wetsuit in the water before I got too hot and took the jacket off. It's strange, but there I was with all this neoprene and the vest on, and it was hard to make myself slip off of the kayak. Getting thrown off is one thing, but getting off on purpose took a different kind of courage. In the water, the buoyancy of the new suit is quite noticeable: I can hold my legs under me, and my shoulders stick way out of the water. But if I relax, my legs swing up and make me lie horizontal. If I let them swing forward, a river of icy water runs down the back of my neck! While I was floundering around a few feet from the kayak, a military jet fighter flew by and banked past me a few hundred meters off the water. Oh well, I thought I could try this out all alone on the Sonoma Lost Coast with no witnesses. I was comfortably cool, so I left the jacket on for a little while longer, then practiced taking it off and battening it down to the kayak straps. WOW! Without the jacket hindering my arms, I felt like I could paddle forever. I decided to continue another couple kilometers to the half-way-rock. (Half way from Russian Gulch to Fort Ross Reef, making this a 9 kilometer round trip).
When I got to the half way rock, I could see someone leaning on the guard rail, hundreds of meters up the cliff, on the side of highway one. I waved my paddle, but didn't see any reaction. I turned out to sea for a few hundred meters, and had lunch. This trip I brought out a bunch of stuff in a nylon bag tied in the back, so I had room for a bagel with salmon flavored cream cheese, a can of apricot nectar, and the usual Power Bar (registered trade mark) (chocolate flavor). I stayed a ways out from shore most of the trip back so I could enjoy the view of the cliffs and the Goat Rock area ahead in the mist. I slowly pulled closer to shore, until I went landward of a rock and startled a sea lion that was swimming just off the opposite side. Then the one on top of the rock started barking and startled me! Fair is fair. There were a few other sea lions on this rock (none of them were there a few hours ago when I came by going north). They are not as shy as harbor seals: One of them even rolled half way over to blink at me as I paused to look at them. At this distance from me, harbor seals would have been in blind panic to get back in the water.
When I got back to Russian Gulch, I practiced putting the jacket back on while in the kayak in the water. Exhausting, as expected, but now I know that it is possible and a reasonable thing to do. I also felt that I needed the extra armor for when I charged back to the beach through the breakers. But I let 4 big waves go by, then timed it perfectly to hit the beach between smaller breakers. Didn't even need the jacket on, so I took it off for the usually sweaty job of hauling the kayak back up the wash to the trail and parking lot.