Sofia is my kayak: an Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11. The day was quite rough and cold, though these photos don't quite show those aspects. The dive-master had even cancelled our two days of diving due to the high swells. Here I'd watched, waited, and made my move in what I hoped would be a lull. The sit-on-top works well across rough water, but she's beamy and offers a lot of surface area to breaking waves; I'm often pushed back ("punched" may be a better word) if I don't time the entry just so. But then that's part of the fun.
Here, the fun was getting right out through the waves. I had witnesses to impress (or not to falter or fail in front of). I cruised about for only 40 minutes or so, I think. The day was bright enough, but cold. Since I was solo, I held back from braving the surf breaking along the south edge and straight out from the beach past the third set of rocks. Later, I felt I should have pushed myself more. Still, good exercise, and I felt quite secure in the rough water in Sofia, though I will say I put on my fins once I was beyond the shore break just in case of capsizing. I wanted to be able to catch and remount my kayak quickly and easily.
Van Damme State Park, just south of Mendocino.
Late November, 2009.
