We tried calling around to see if we could get some more people interested in the Tuesday evening paddles. Roger Lamb invited a friend of his named Gary, and I contacted BASK member Herb Howe who lives nearby. Of course Konstantin Gortinsky came as well and we had the largest group ever for this paddle. The weather was perfect for it with clear sunny skies and very mild waves. We had a fantastic time going behind all the rocks and through all the caves north of Jenner.
Just south of Russian Gulch Beach there is an arch I always like to go through, and just outside of this are two rocks with a narrow crack between them. When the waves came through this crack they broke and washed through, promising an exciting ride. Between the waves the water sucked down into some dangerous looking holes in the water. Most of us had more sense than to try going through them but Konstantin went through it several times. Every time the tail of his wooden kayak smacked down on rock under the water. This convinced the rest of us to stay out of "Konstantin's Crack of Doom".
On the point just south of Russian Gulch Beach there is a channel full of water going into the cliff. Not really a cave because there is just barely an overhang at the end of it. Roger and I have been in this before and received some wild rides when big waves came in. This time everyone went it, but Gary was tempted to go through a narrow gap around a rock in the side of the channel. Like Konstantin's Crack of Doom, there is a suck-hole between the waves and Gary got sucked into this one and off of his boat. He was in a Tsunami X-15 which is a sit-on-top hard-shell kayak. So he was easily able to climb back into his boat.
We went past Russian Gulch and through some more rock gardens. It looked like it was time to head back, but Konstantin and Roger went looking around one more point. I followed them through a very small cave that came out in very shallow water and banged my way back to a deeper area. I went into a large cave that has an exit on the other side of the point but is too shallow to go all the way. Roger and Konstantin came in so I left to make room. While Roger was trying to turn around at a fork in the cave a large wave came in. I shouted "OUTSIDE!" but it was too late for Roger who got banged back and forth in the back of the cave. Later he found some soft spots in his fiberglass that had to be repaired! Suitably chastised by the sea we all paddled back without looking for any more trouble.