Monday, September 26, 2011
real job
Real job got in the way of kayaking and my completing my blog on rescues. Hope to complete it soon...
Friday, September 9, 2011
Point of Arches, Valley Etain and NLP Aleutian
It's not been the best summer for kayaking - at least not for me. Weddings, family reunions, work, etc. What does one do about this? Pack up the van and go to Hobuck!
Hobuck Resort, located on the Makah reservation are on the shore of Makah Bay just south of Cape Flattery, which is the most northwestern point of the continental United States. It's known for being a rather treacherous place to paddle due to weather, lack of places to bail out. Committing is the word that comes to mind. Hobuck is a surfer hangout and a great jumping off point for paddling the Washington Coast and for surfing your kayak or elf slipper (which is what surf kayaks look like).
I took a couple of Big Dog whitewater boats for surfing, a couple of skim boards for my daughters and the new Valley Etain. Rob Avery, the Valley distributor, encouraged me to take is someplace...exotic. I also took my Northern Light Aleutian 3 piece paddle.
The surf forecast for the weekend was pretty mild which meant I'd be able to talk some of my surfing buddies into a trip to either Cape Flattery to the north or, more likely, to Point of Arches to the south. After a bit of conversation the consensus was that we head south to Point of Arches. This was due to a couple of reasons. Among them, several people had already been to the Cape (I haven't, the weather had always been dicey on past trips), we had a relative newbie along with us - Freya Fennwood ,fennwoodphotography, and a rock gardening class, taught by Tsunami Ranger Deb Volturno, was already headed that way which would make things a bit crowded.
In the morning we packed up our gear and headed out towards Anderson Point, the first feature we'd have to contend with. Anderson Point and it's neighbor, Portage Head, have their share of hazards; submerged rocks creating boomers and big holes in the water alternately and confused seas from the reflected waves. Given the conditions at this time however, it was a breeze. not wanting to waste time fooling around here just yet we continued southward towards our destination.
Point of Arches is a collection of sea stacks and arches 6 nautical miles south of Hobuck. At low tide people will walk on the beach and sand bars out to the few of these that are accessible on foot. From the water, however, there are interesting passages to explore and slots to guide your boat through - preferably under control.
A note on equipment here; I was not paddling the best boat for playing among the narrow slots and rocks, nor the best paddle. The Valley Etain is more of an expedition boat than a play boat and doesn't turn as quickly as I'd like in these places. That said, I was impressed that it did turn when I needed it to and at one point narrowly avoiding surfing into large rocks as I tried not to surf over one of these sand bars...but got surfed anyway. The NLP Aleutian was great for the trip over to Point of Arches, but perhaps not the best choice for playing among the rocks as the length made some moves tricky in the tight slots.
This was the first trip into a place like this for Freya. She stayed well away from the rocks and stacks and instead took pictures. I hope she got some good ones...
After lunch it was time to head back. We paddled north well offshore of Shi Shi beach until we got to Portage head. I couldn't resist and headed in rather close to the rocks and cliffs. According to Ed, Freya was rather uncomfortable at this point and said to her "Don't follow Mark." and led kept her well offshore as the swell was larger that it was on the outward bound leg.
It was good to get in close and to paddle through some of the surge along the cliffs and to feel the raw untamed power of the ocean; to learn your place in this environment. While I don't tend to forget that I am nothing but a small meat nugget in a crunchy fiberglass shell, the crashing waves and white water swirling around the broken stone teeth will remind even the most recalcitrant of paddlers. In fact, at one point, barely north of Anderson Point, I was studying a narrow passage between the point and a large rock deciding if I wanted to shoot through it,"What do you think Mike?" I called.
"I'm not convinced yet..." mike said. And that was all I heard, except for the sucking sound and following CRASH! The pattern changed suddenly and all of the water drained out of the channel showing glistening basalt jaws under the water. The next set came in and filled the slot with swirling, seething, enraged water, cheated of is pound of flesh.
"I've made up my mind!" I called to Mike, "I'm not going through that!"
We went around to the other side where we would've exited and waited for a repeat performance but it never happened. Probably would've been just fine, but sometimes it feels like the sea is just waiting. Waiting for you to place you head in it's ever hungry mouth, like a lion tamer into the jaws of the lion. The problem is that usually it works out just fine but sometimes the sea is hungry.
It was an uneventful trip overall. A little fun and a few miles on a beautiful day with friends makes for a great day.
Hobuck Resort, located on the Makah reservation are on the shore of Makah Bay just south of Cape Flattery, which is the most northwestern point of the continental United States. It's known for being a rather treacherous place to paddle due to weather, lack of places to bail out. Committing is the word that comes to mind. Hobuck is a surfer hangout and a great jumping off point for paddling the Washington Coast and for surfing your kayak or elf slipper (which is what surf kayaks look like).
I took a couple of Big Dog whitewater boats for surfing, a couple of skim boards for my daughters and the new Valley Etain. Rob Avery, the Valley distributor, encouraged me to take is someplace...exotic. I also took my Northern Light Aleutian 3 piece paddle.
The surf forecast for the weekend was pretty mild which meant I'd be able to talk some of my surfing buddies into a trip to either Cape Flattery to the north or, more likely, to Point of Arches to the south. After a bit of conversation the consensus was that we head south to Point of Arches. This was due to a couple of reasons. Among them, several people had already been to the Cape (I haven't, the weather had always been dicey on past trips), we had a relative newbie along with us - Freya Fennwood ,fennwoodphotography, and a rock gardening class, taught by Tsunami Ranger Deb Volturno, was already headed that way which would make things a bit crowded.
In the morning we packed up our gear and headed out towards Anderson Point, the first feature we'd have to contend with. Anderson Point and it's neighbor, Portage Head, have their share of hazards; submerged rocks creating boomers and big holes in the water alternately and confused seas from the reflected waves. Given the conditions at this time however, it was a breeze. not wanting to waste time fooling around here just yet we continued southward towards our destination.
 | |
| point of Arches (Washington Dept. of Ecology Coastal Atlas) |
A note on equipment here; I was not paddling the best boat for playing among the narrow slots and rocks, nor the best paddle. The Valley Etain is more of an expedition boat than a play boat and doesn't turn as quickly as I'd like in these places. That said, I was impressed that it did turn when I needed it to and at one point narrowly avoiding surfing into large rocks as I tried not to surf over one of these sand bars...but got surfed anyway. The NLP Aleutian was great for the trip over to Point of Arches, but perhaps not the best choice for playing among the rocks as the length made some moves tricky in the tight slots.
This was the first trip into a place like this for Freya. She stayed well away from the rocks and stacks and instead took pictures. I hope she got some good ones...
 | |||
Anderson Point
|
It was good to get in close and to paddle through some of the surge along the cliffs and to feel the raw untamed power of the ocean; to learn your place in this environment. While I don't tend to forget that I am nothing but a small meat nugget in a crunchy fiberglass shell, the crashing waves and white water swirling around the broken stone teeth will remind even the most recalcitrant of paddlers. In fact, at one point, barely north of Anderson Point, I was studying a narrow passage between the point and a large rock deciding if I wanted to shoot through it,"What do you think Mike?" I called.
"I'm not convinced yet..." mike said. And that was all I heard, except for the sucking sound and following CRASH! The pattern changed suddenly and all of the water drained out of the channel showing glistening basalt jaws under the water. The next set came in and filled the slot with swirling, seething, enraged water, cheated of is pound of flesh.
"I've made up my mind!" I called to Mike, "I'm not going through that!"
We went around to the other side where we would've exited and waited for a repeat performance but it never happened. Probably would've been just fine, but sometimes it feels like the sea is just waiting. Waiting for you to place you head in it's ever hungry mouth, like a lion tamer into the jaws of the lion. The problem is that usually it works out just fine but sometimes the sea is hungry.
It was an uneventful trip overall. A little fun and a few miles on a beautiful day with friends makes for a great day.
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