Lately Doug and I have been doing a
little easy "rock gardening;" a genre of sea kayaking that
has nothing to do with dirt and plants, and everything to do with
playing in surges and swells among rock features. Rock gardening is
a lot like whitewater kayaking except you are in a big, stable, high
volume and hard to maneuver boat instead of in a responsive low
volume play boat. The other difference is that when you are rock
gardening, the whitewater comes and goes and timing becomes much more
crucial.
John Lull, (this book is currently my
bed-time read) one of the redoubtable Tsunami Rangers, says that
paddling in rock gardens requires "precise boat control, surfing
skill, and a reliable Eskimo roll." I'd like to say "check,
check, and check," the reality is more like "not so much",
"OK in surf under one metre", and, "I'm working on
it."
Wednesday was just another perfect sea
kayak day on the south coast of NSW with light winds and a one metre
easterly swell forecast. So, after reading all about bow draws,
stern draws and side-slipping I settled on Square Head, between Long
and Cullendulla Beaches in Batemans Bay as a good location to
practice some rock gardening.
I launched at the picnic area off Wharf
Road just west of Pinnacle Point which was a bit of a mistake as the
beach is very flat and the tide goes out a long way. The drag (not
carry as I was by myself) was not bad at mid-tide, but as the tide
dropped it got longer and longer. Dragging the kayak back was
actually more strenuous than lifting it onto the roof-racks by
myself.
There are some easy rock gardens and
gutters at Pinnacle Point and I spent a good bit of time poking in
and around all the rocks and backing into the gutters. A shorter
kayak and a shorter paddle would make this a lot easier. I also
wanted to try paddling some pour overs, but, try as I might I just
could not seem to get the timing right and I would inevitably end up
high-centred on a rock teetering from side to side waiting for the
next surge to release me.
Out at Square Head there was more swell
and I took more time to wait and watch the surge and swell. I didn't
do any pour-overs but I did manage to cruise through the passage that
I got high-centred on last time by waiting for the right moment to
weave around the rocks. I only got that rapid heart beat once when I
fell into a hole by a rock when a larger wave than usual sucked out,
but, a quick brace kept me upright.
Of course, a short paddle day means
that you must practice some Eskimo rolls so on the way back I
detoured into Cullendulla Beach. If you are going to do some
rolling, this is a pretty perfect spot as the water is warm, clear
and bailing out to the beach is easy. Since I have been working on
yanking up hard on my water knee, I have been rolling more reliably
and I managed to do another 5 or 6 rolls today. The trouble is, I
have failed so many times that I have a terrific amount of mental
baggage bumping around in my brain every time I try. I had to bail
out once when I got the paddle all tangled up and I sure am looking
forward to getting a shorter paddle.
A very light - 2 knot - wind had come
up which meant that paddling back to Surfside Beach the kayak was
weather-cocking constantly. This is an extremely tedious function of
Prijon Marlin kayaks, they weather cock in the slightest whisper of
wind. Usually, I just pull the rudder down but today I had vowed to
use only corrective strokes to turn the boat so I got lots of
practice doing bow draws all the way back to the beach.
Just another perfect paddling day
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