Because of the recent storms and all the things I had to do around Thanksgiving, I didn't go out kayaking for a month. During the weekend after Thanksgiving, I considered it, so Saturday morning, I called the Salt Point State Park Ocean Conditions recording, ((707) 847-3222). They said that they were measuring 17 foot swells, (only 14 at Bodega Bay) with 10 foot breakers on the exposed points! WHAAAA! TEN FOOT BREAKERS! NO KAYAKING TODAY! But by Monday, the waves had calmed down, and the recording was even suggesting that diving was OK. On Tuesday morning, I heard a weather report that said the wind would not exceed 15mph all day, so I decided to go out in the afternoon. Due to several work hassles and phone calls, I didn't get out until almost 3:00pm, so I determined to watch the sunset from out at sea. (Sunset at 4:55pm according to my TideLog).
At first I thought I'd go do the Bodega Bay to Sonoma County border run that is missing from my map, but I decided a 6 mile trip was too much after a month of no exercise. So I stopped at Gleason beach and headed north into the slight breeze. Without the fog from the last trip here, the trip to Duncans Landing seemed very short, so I went on around the point and along Wrights Beach. There was an RV parked on the tip of Duncans Point, and I imagined someone sitting there in their warm camper, watching the evening sun through their safety glass windshield, thinking that they were right on the edge. And then this crazy guy goes by in-between the rocks and the point. The waves were scary enough to be fun between some of the rocks, but not as bad as I recall from the last trip here. Perhaps I will be able to keep doing this all year. There was a slight breeze, so this day at least conformed to my expectations from the average NOAA data. But even this slight breeze blowing over my feet chilled them way down. It's funny: walking into the water in what is essentially nylon web tennis shoes with bare ankles does not make my feet feel cold. But the wind chill on wet feet really adds up. I'm going to have to get a pair of neoprene booties. I'm even concerned about the wetsuit, and may have to get a real one. Mine is 3mm thick and is designed for surfing or wind surfing where you spend a lot of time partially out of the water. If I had a thicker one, I could even dive in it, which is not possible in this one. Poking about between the rocks and I started to get cold, but steady paddling from point to point keeps everything but my feet warm.
There's a big rock in the middle of Wrights beach that has always been surrounded by waves too big to go landward of it on previous trips. I resolved to go around it this time, and the waves were low enough for this. But, there was a smaller rock with a bunch of Harbor Seals on it, so I turned seaward and went past the rock. Of course, even 200 meters away, half of the seals decided that I was too scary and jumped off anyway. Sheesh, I might as well just barge right past them all, and let them get wet. Turning around just past this rock and heading back turned out to be perfect timing: As I approached Gleason beach on the trip back, I got to stop and watch the sun set. It was clear to the horizon, which was dark red from dust in the air, fading to deep blue, with just a few streaky yellow clouds glowing in it.
The landing in the dusk light at Gleasons beach was OK: I didn't get dunked, although I somehow ended up riding the kayak sideways in the last wave up onto the beach. Getting out of a wetsuit on a cold breezy winter evening is also an experience. Next time, I'll just wear it home and change there!