Another Sunday with a wild forecast: a strong wind warning with southerly winds at 20 to 25 knots and rain. Clearly this would be a Sunday when only the formidable or foolish came out. Most local rivers were near or at minor flood stage and so silty brown water was everywhere.
I had been out on a training mission a couple of days before and had found good rideable surf on the north side of the Bay and we should get lighter winds in the Bay than further east so that seemed like a reasonable destination. I think Nick was a bit dubious but this turned out to be a good choice.
To save driving over the bridge, we launched from one of our local beaches on the south side of the Bay and got quickly blown over to the north side. I was feeling twitchy and unstable so I tried a couple of rolls to get more comfortable with the concept of capsizing. After shakily righting myself, I blew two rolls in quick succession and had to bail out, empty the boat by hand - my battery had packed it in that morning - and re-enter the boat. Another couple of rolls and I was feeling better.
It turns out we had good surf near Pinnacle Point and were able to catch some really long friendly rides. I prefer this location if it is running to out in the middle of the bar as capsizing and blowing your roll there can lead to a harrowing and desperate non-rescue as it is hard for anyone to assist you. One of my kayaking friends had a really nasty experience in the bar as she got recirculated in surf and current for a long, long time with no possibility of anyone effecting a rescue.
Gradually, as the tide dropped, the wave energy got leached out by sand bars further out and our waves got smaller and smaller. It was time to head back to warm dry clothes and hot coffee. We caught a couple more good rides crossing to the south side of the Bay and then a solid but mercifully short paddle into a 20 knot headwind and we were back. Another Sunday paddle wrapped up.
You can view a short video here.
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