Engulfed in Waves
I prefer solo paddling but going in groups can be interesting, too. On this Friday afternoon, I had my third invitation to go out with a small group and with short notice, took them up on the offer. Planning is not my forte so I was game with following the host since we were gathering at his club. My standard M.O. is to shove off from a public dock or small beach but his location is perfectly situated for a two hour tour. I went with the flow and made the mistake of not knowing the path and checking conditions prior to launching. The target was Angel Island from downtown Tiburon and three others were along for the paddle. One friend, one acquaintance, and one fighter pilot I just met for the ride.
We pushed off at 4pm PST and the conditions were rough traveling to the island. Luckily I brought my wider board (30” wide versus 27”) for more stability in the surprisingly playful swells. I took a slightly more challenging path than my mates and had I consulted my tide apps, I likely would have tagged along closely with them. I was all for being ultra-conservative with social distancing and after exerting far more energy than expected going off-menu, I eventually cut through the festive conditions and hit our joint target.
My link to the group is a friend I’ve known for 3 years. He was recently bitten by the paddle bug and after stress testing stand-up paddling (SUP), he landed on kayaking as his vessel of choice. He’s a marketing exec and can make small talk in an effortless manner. I’m a borderline introvert and sometimes use observational humor to break the ice. My friend is also British so he instantly sounds more charming and credible.
After some playful conversation orchestrated by the master, I learned more about our company. One dad was getting wildly creative for his family during the shelter-in-place (e.g. baking challenges and dress up runway shows). Then the fighter pilot made it known he was clearly anti-SIP and quipped, “So you’re saying kids aren’t allowed to have any more fun?” It was soon time to depart and our brief respite in paradise was over. We were off to the mainland and apparently, two of the group members had very important things to do.
Upon the return, it was instantly clear that conditions were 2-3x more treacherous than the first leg. The acquaintance and pilot took off like a shot and after snapping a few pics (one posted below), I sprinted to catch up. I was within earshot and yelled that my friend was still at the beach. I turned to wait for him while the other two bolted ahead. My kayaking buddy finally made it to me and it turns out his inflatable chariot took on water and he had to return to the beach to empty it as best as he could before making it out to me. He continued to take on more water as we navigated through the swollen tides and if we tried resting, we would be sucked backwards a good 10 yards before we could even catch a few breaths!
In all of the madness of being engulfed by 6 foot swells, I snapped this animated shot just in case something turned out decently. I only had a crack or two since the nose of my board would be turned 90 degrees by the time I took a single shot. That’s the easiest way to get capsized so shortly after the attempt I went to a kneeling positing to cut through the mess and return to safety.
As we approached the club around 6:30pm PST, my paddling mate was nearly clipped by a sailboat heading out for the sunset but we finally made it back to the empty dock. Here, he pulled up his seat pad and found gallons upon gallons of water inside of his kayak. A luxurious bathtub’s worth of water was present but the remainder of our party deserted us for the evening. Full disclosure: I’m known to be the laggard on these trips due to picture taking and I don’t mind missing out on all of the surface level chatter. It’s nothing personal, just like the gents who had places to go and family members to see.
Point Stuart Lighthouse, Angel Island
