The Avila Bay Paddle

On a windy, wet President’s Day weekend I drove my heavily loaded van-beast from the stormy Bay Area on down to the San Luis Obispo area for a weekend of kayaking with Dick Ryon and a few other members of BASK.  Unfortunately I was not able to leave the blustery weather behind and thus spent my time hiding and dodging rain drops.  Was I disappointed?  A little.  Did I have fun?  You betcha!  Was it worth it?  Totally!

Despite the weather and hardship I had a great time.  Paula and I motored on down to Avila Hot Springs where we managed to setup camp in between rain showers.  We soon joined the weekend’s organizer, Dick Ryon, for an afternoon paddle in Avila Bay.  The weather had cleared a bit so we had a touch of sunshine to enjoy along with some frolicking seas.  Paula being the newbie was up to the challenge of a surf launch, rough water paddle and surf landing.  All of which she accomplished with nary a complaint nor falter.  Right on!

That evening we shared our campsite with Kari who had ridden down the coast that afternoon on her motorcycle.  The reward for her effort was a nice soak in the hot springs followed by a glass of Bordeaux, a plate of pasta with homemade sauce followed by recently baked turtle brownies!  Not bad eh?  Of course that night she as well as the rest of us had to deal with occasional showers while we dozed away in our tents.

The next morning we were greeted with howling winds and short blasts of intense rain.  When I backed the van out of the campsite the wind nearly stole my EZ-Up awning and did it’s best to flatten our tents!  We chose to be smart about things and took much of our campsite down just in case.  At the meeting point for today’s paddle we unanimously decided to head for Morro Bay.  Conditions were just too unstable for a safe paddle at Avila Beach.

When we arrived at Morro Bay we found things to be just as raucous!  The winds were howling down the length of the bay and the rain was on again off again.  So the three of us made a command decision to go catch a movie!  Figuring that the weather might back off a bit by the afternoon we chose to head on in to San Luis Obispo and catch the noon showing of “Million Dollar Baby”.  Wow, what an incredible flick!  Well worth the price of admission!

After the movie we motored on back to the Bay and found conditions to be a bit better.  So Paula, Kari and I suited up and hit the water.  The tide was out and mud was showing everywhere.  We had fun zigging and zagging our way around the little mud islands across the bay.  We pulled out at the sand dunes and did a little exploration on foot before hitting the water and wandering down the bay.  The wind was still a bit strong but we were able to duck into a couple of small coves and nose our way around the anchored boats.  To our surprise we met up with a couple of sea otters and some other interesting little critters before we turned tail for home.  All in all a pleasant afternoon!

Back at camp we again battled winds and rain to get the awning back up and the BBQ lit. Unfortunately it took so long that by the time the tri-tip was done and the prociutto-wrapped asparagus was done the rest of the paddlers had already finished.  Drat!  Ah well, we still enjoyed our dinner and the wonderful wine, chocolate and strawberries!  (Thanks Paula!)

That night we stayed warm under the covers while the wind and rain visited us again.  By the morning we were pretty well finished with camping.  It’s fun to occasionally take on Mother Nature and outlast the inclement weather but we had finally reached our limit.  After a hearty breakfast we struck camp and loaded up the van.  That’s not to say we were totally finished because we did have plans to hook up with the group and go paddle some more!

Once again we met up in Morro Bay and hit the water.  First we wandered south into the prevailing wind for a bit of a challenge.  When the paddles started hitting the mud we turned tail and sailed all the way up to the harbor entrance enjoying the push of the tide combined with the strong winds at our back.  A few of us wandered out to the mouth of the harbor where we found a strong swell mixed with some good wind-waves.  Then we turned back for a casual paddle up the water front.  Most of the group pulled out on the spit for lunch and a break.  The three of us headed back up to the boat ramp to haul out and hit the waterfront.  Along the way we spied our otter friends along with a trio of fairly large sea lions.  Man those guys look big when you’re down there on the water with them!  Whew!

Lunch at one of the many little seafood restaurants was nice with a plateful of fish for each of us.  As we finished up we watched some of the others paddle by with big grins on their faces.  Soon Paula and I parted way with Kari who hopped back onto her motorcycle for the long ride home.  Relaxed in the warm comfort of the van we wandered back over 46 to Paso with a short stop at one of the wineries for a tasting before turning north on Highway 1.

All in all we had a great time.  Thanks Dick!  I look forward to paddling here again although hopefully at a time when there’s more sun and less rain.  Check out some photos of the weekend here.

Craig