Surfski Knowledge Base

Solstice paddle…..
Larry Goolsby
12/22/05 #885

Reivers, Here is what you missed on our Wednesday night paddle. The
weatherman was right when he predicted darkness. Boy was it dark. He
was also correct with the prediction of 15 to 25 mph winds. It was
blowing 12 to 15 when we took off and close to 25 when we returned
(with gusts 35+). 25 ain't bad in the daylight but in the dark of
night it gets interesting. Some paddlers arrived before 5:30 and
some straggled in. I think that there were about 10 to 12 boats out
but then you could only see about 10 feet in front of your nose.
Larry B and I buddied up and headed for Strawberry point and had
decided that it was much to wild to attempt a trip to the island.
Along the way we ran into (literally) flocks of ducks that would
scare the crap out of us as they all took flight at the same
instant. I assume that they couldn't hear us until we were right on
top of them. The further south we got, the bigger the wind and
waves. The whole way down we only saw Joost stop by and then he
disappeard into the dark again. Oh yeah, the rain. It was raining on
and off but it really cut loose whe we were halfway to the Point.
The Point provided shelter and quiet from the wind but we were eager
to catch some of the waves back to Bloedel. Too bad neither of us
had a gps on board. More ducks and bigger waves on the return trip.
It got really interesting as we neared Bloedel with the introduction
of another waveset from a side direction and the knowledge of a
field of pylons near the boat launch. I stayed wide enough to skirt
all of this and did a U turn in some big rollers before finding the
boat launch. Larry B didn't show up right away and I wondered what
happened until he appeared and informed me that he had run aground
further up (easy to do with the low water level).
Joost was kind enough to come over and make sure everyone made
it in, otherwise the parking lot was empty except for Erik's and
Jeff H.'s cars. We waited about a 1/2 hour for their return. Erik
came in first through the pylon fild, banging into logs and finally
doing a dismount 20 feet from shore (thought he could walk in). Jeff
went swimming in the pylon field but remounted and came around the
outside. With everyone in, it was time for beer and food at Boundary
Bay. By the way, we did get our usual table.
Larry G

Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>
12/23/05 #886

Yeah totally awesome paddle…came out of it in need of a repair job
though. The trip back was so fast that we misjudged our location in
the dark…there we were surfin' away, and BOOM a mini canon went off
right under my freakin' ass. Sh_t, the old sawmill dock, already; I
had surfed right down on top of a submerged piling. Instead of
IMMEDIATELY bearing off to deeper water, I thought 'What was th__..'
and that was all it took to see the pilings rising up out of the dark
behind Erik…a whole boat length away. It was like out of Apocalapse
Now or something, the things rising out of the smoke, a hundred
pilings a hundred yards wide. I cut sharp right into the troughs as
Erik yelled 'I'm going through!'; I looked sharp to the left to
evaluate (don't EVER 'think' in these situations…)and went over.
No time to remount, went defensive; the pier was like 4 pilings deep
I think, not that I was counting. Swam through the pier with the
boat, remounted, bumped another submerged piling, and nudged over the
rope. Larry G. had his headlights on at the dock, waiting for us;
surreal, short stacked waves with the heads being blown of 'em. Yeah
baby! Thanks you guys.

This was why I built a strong boat ('cause I know I do things like
this sometimes), with heavier fabric and that extra layer of kevlar.
The outer 9.0 oz glass and foam core were damaged, but the inner two
glass and kevlar layers are undisturbed. Luckily, the hit was taken
right under the foam stringer, so no deflection. Easy repair.

Safety afterthought: I had a marine strobe light on my PFD, and would
recommend it for everyone when paddling in the dark. Not that, after
this, I'm in any position to be making recommendations!