Anchoring Reflections

On Thursday, I was free diving from the kayak in Mendocino waters, and I anchored my kayak to a strand of kelp as usual. I swam about for 10 minutes, and at that point I noticed my kayak floating past me. Obviously, my careful securing had failed. Luckily, the kayak had not been pulled in the opposite direction by currents or by tide, but the kayak seemed to be following me, which I appreciated. The sea urchins had done such a number eating all of the usual kelp in the area that I ended up clamping my kayak's kelp-anchor line to my weight belt instead and pulling the kayak behind me as I swam about, taking photos of the urchins and the kelp and what have you. Fortunately, the surge had calmed and this cove was out of the main line of the swell, or I could easily have ended up getting brained by the kayak as I surfaced for breath. Only as I swam in the shallows looking for bits of mother-of-pearl did I realize (as I should have previously) how much my rather weighty kayak could have done me damage just from the action of the surge. At that point, the rather cold water had penetrated the rather thin wetsuit, and I realized that I was quite cold. So, I climbed onto my kayak, pulled out the wool cap and the fleece I'd packed, and attempted to warm up. I need a new wetsuit, I think, and I need to consider more carefully how I anchor my boat.