Week One - 12/29, 1/1, & 1/3
Week One - 12/29, 12/30, 1/1 & 1/3
12/29 - Sunday “Missing in the Mist”
Location: Huntington Harbor, Launching from Davenport Beach
Board Used: 12’ Vesl Prone Paddle Board
Distance Paddled: 5.83+ miles (watch paused when I was lost)
Time: 1h 31m 57s
Weather Conditions: windless. The tide was high. The fog was so thick.
Training Goals:
• Paddle 5 miles in under an hour.
Paddle Party: Solo
The fog was heavy at home, but nothing I’d let detour me from this workout. I already wussed out on Friday, using the cold air as an excuse not to go out. Never again, I’d said.
I packed the van and headed to Davenport Beach, today’s launching site. The goal was to paddle 5 miles in total, and the target time was an hour at most.
At the beach, the fog didn’t look any thicker than at home. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I hit the water and set out. Straight, left turn, right turn, then straight out to the marsh.
Launching from Davenport Beach, Huntington Harbour, Huntington Beach, Ca.
As I leave the harbor and head out into the wetland I’m aiming stright and forward. No problem. I make it to marker 5, check my Paddle Logger app on the watch, and notice I need just a little more to hit the 2.25-mile mark, giving me the full 5 miles I’d said I’d do.
I turn right, east according to my map reading later, and paddle a little before hooking a left around a group of seagrass. I was hoping to loop around to where I came into the marsh, adding more distance to my goal. I passed a kayak fisherman, thinking I was on the right track I kept heading in the direction I thought I should go.
Then I started seeing little islands of grass area that didn’t look like anything I’d seen on the way out. The fog does disorientate you. The water and sky endlessly blend, any distant landmarks that help you navigate are gone. Even sound is cut out. PCH runs north-south along this marsh and is a rather busy portion of the highway. I couldn’t even hear the cars.
Nothing looked familiar so the plan was to head back in a direction I thought would lead me back to tent 98. Before getting lost I’d found little bird tents spread out in the watery grass. Homes for nesting females and not yet hatched eggs.
Thirty minutes pass, and I feel a slight panic creeping in. Am I going to have to stop where I’m at and wait for the fog to clear? Will the fog even clear? I don’t even know. I had zig-zaged through the soup I didn’t even know where I’d gone.
Oh, Lord. I said. I honestly said Oh Lord like begging God for help.
Not letting myself slip into a bad mindset, I start yewing. Looking around. Yewing again. Since I’m lying down on a prone board, I might be hard to see, but I’ve got a loud voice and am hard to miss if I yell.
In the fog, I see what looks like buoys in the water, the buoys that might sit in the harbor channel. I paddle toward them to see. Yewing and yewing along the way.
The grey shadows turned out to be fishermen patrolling the marsh in the fog, looking for fish. I wave one down, asking which way to get back into the harbor. He points me straight ahead, and away I go.
After that, I made it back to the beach easily enough and well over my goal in the distance. I’d never been so happy to see my van.
The lesson learned during this paddle is never to wander off course in foggy conditions.
Despite the moments of honest concern being in the fog was surreal and very other worldly. I imagined that is what crossing over is like. Weightless and flowing, a fog around you that flows with you. Neither growing or shrinking but traveling with you in a grey cotton candy blanket.
12/30/2024 - Monday “Side Streets”
Location: Huntington Harbor, Launching from Davenport Beach
Distance Paddled: 3.75 Miles
Time: 1h 29m 39s
Weather Conditions: Gloomy fogless skies. Cold water. No Wind.
Training Goals: Have fun. Explore.
Paddle Party: Greg & I
Back-to-back paddles. My brother had to work late on Saturday night/Sunday morning, so he missed the mist adventure. We decided to still head out. Not wanting to miss a week of paddling, we went out on an adventure with no goal in mind other than having fun and seeing a new part of Huntington Harbour. We have this goal to explore all of the waterways we can at one harbor before moving on to a new spot.
The fog from the previous day was gone, replaced by gloomy, cold skies. We’d head northeast into the area with homes and condos. Heading the way we normally go to the main channel. The water felt crisp, but it was still glassy. Some of the decorated homes have banners hanging from balconies exclaiming the award they won during the holiday season. Imagine what this would be like if every home were decorated with the festivity of the Grizwalds.
Once we got into the new area, we had homes that looked like hotels. Large and spacious. Rooms are as big as some people’s apartments. I usually only to this area when in the late morning, so everything is always quiet, with no one to really be seen. It gives these giant homes a feeling of abandonment. Would there be more life in the evenings or on the weekends?
Slowly making our way we get to another small square of beach. Humboldt Beach. Turning down the water way we pass by a decieving ship. Docked on the corner the front appears to look like any other large vessel. Tall as the house. When you come around the turn though you see how large the ship really is. It is literally a ship with two zodiac inflatable boats stored in a top area. Sweeping lines. Commanding size. The ship is as long as the house that takes up the corner property. In design, it brings to mind the boat of a James Bond Villan.
Making our way to Humboldt Beach I notice a group of adult men leaning over a bridge railing. Two other official-looking law enforcement windbreakers over dress shirts and slacks. Turning around in the small beach area a trailer can be seen. Underwater Search and Rescue is written on the side. I wonder what they’re looking for.
On our way back into other parts of the harbor to and finish up our paddle back at the beginning. Making the trip 3.75 miles.
It was a nice little way to start the day and I’m super stoked I did the extra day with my brother.
01/01 - Wednesday First Kayak Trip
Location: Huntington Harbor, Launching from Davenport Beach
Distance Paddled: 3.01 Miles
Time: 1h 14m 32s
Weather Conditions: Slight clouds. Glassy conditions going out, some headwind coming back
Training Goals: First time kayaking
Paddle Party: 3. Greg, Luv & I
Today is New Year’s Day. My brother, sister and I are heading out for an adventure. The plan is to go to NAC in Newport Beach, but once we arrive, the inland wind has us rethinking our plans.
We quickly headed to Davenport Beach, where we knew the buildings would protect us. Once we got there, we saw our decision was rewarded.
A quick unpack and we’re ready for the water. I offered to let Luv try out the paddle board while I used her kayak. She gave the Vesl a quick spin in the water and was hooked. I am not a fan of kayaking. Ha. I couldn’t get the rhythm down right and the upright sitting was not something my brain said yes to, but it was nice to get my sister out in the water and let her share in the adventure.
He took her on the same track we went on the 30th. Down to Humboldt Beach then back to Davenport Beach.
01/03 - Baby Beach
Location: Dana Point Harbor, Launching from Baby Beach
Distance Paddled: 2.50
Time: 41m 08s
Weather Conditions: Skies were clear but the marine layer was ever present.
Training Goals: Fast but consistent
Paddle Party: Solo
I was in Dana Point dropping off a couple of DLSA donation boards and thought a quick lap around the harbor would be a good spot to get some training and miles in.
I got in the water pretty quickly. The harbor is an easy circle track with two nice straightaways that are perfect for just putting your head down and paddling. Making a left into the channel i got my chin pad adjusted and set off. Quickly I found that a backwards hat is a must for chin-down style paddling. Several times without my knowing I’d started towards an expensive yacht or the pile of rocks that make up the “island” inside the Harbor.
On the back side of the “island” in the harbor is a straightaway. Pillars with numbers 6 through 14 along the way. In this area, I decided to just go. Put my head down and paddle for the end. As smoothly and consistently in speed as I could.
Reaching the end of the straight away I headed out to the far corner of the harbor. A rock wall stops the ocean but allows you to hear the crashing of wave on rock. People walk along the wall watching the fireworks show of white water.
I’m back at Baby beach in 41m 08s. Not bad but not fast enough.
Baby Beach, Dana Point, Ca.
In my first week of training, I feel good. The miles are still within my range, and while I haven’t paddle nearly as far as I’ll need to, I’m optimistic and feel comfortable at the moment.
Next week is another batch of runs that are in the shorter distances. In February we’ll start demoing them up a little. Mixing some speed runs with a long run in the middle.
January 25th a my first race in Mission Beach Park, 4.5 miles. I’m stoked to test myself.
