CHANNEL CROSSING SEA KAYAK TRIP TO ANACAPA OFFERS CHALLENGES, REWARDS.Byline: Story by Bill Becher Correspondent For Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, sea kayakers, paddling the 12 miles from the mainland to Anacapa Island Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about 14 miles (23 km) off the coast of Ventura, California, in Ventura County. Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands archipelago (island chain), and is part of the Channel Islands National Park. is a rite of passage rite of passage n. A ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood. . The voyage will earn you a merit badge - a sign to other kayakers that you take your paddling seriously. I'm with a couple of friends who have made the trip before, so they know what to expect - which is just about anything: big swells, frolicking dolphins, huge container ships in the shipping channels, fog, floating jellyfish jellyfish, common name for the free-swimming stage (see polyp and medusa), of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a jellyfish is shaped like a bell or umbrella, with a clear, jellylike material filling most of the , curious sea lions, bouts of seasickness seasickness: see motion sickness. , seemingly endless paddling against wind and seas. Any or all of these are routine on this adventure, which can be a four-hour tour or an eight-hour struggle, depending on wind and waves. This expedition is best done in sit-inside kayaks - slim, long, efficient craft. But you need to know how to Eskimo roll them back upright or be proficient in self-rescue, meaning you can get back in after a ``wet exit'' - not an easy task. At dawn, we start out from a beach at the Channel Islands Harbor, hoping to find smooth water and no wind. Sea kayaks go so slowly that conditions a powerboat would push right through mean many extra hours of hard work in this craft. The harbor is glass-flat, but as we pass outside the seawall seawall: see coast protection. with the rising sun at our backs, we encounter choppy seas that cause our boats to bob like corks. Our route takes us past Platform Gina, an oil-production platform that rises out of the ocean like a refinery on stilts This article is about the poles. For the type of bird, see stilt. For other uses, see Stilts (disambiguation). Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a certain distance above the ground. . A few dolphins leap nearby, but our kayaks go too slowly to make the kind of wake that the speedy critters like to play in. On a buoy close to the oil rig, two sea lions bask in the early light. We can see our first destination, Frenchy's Cove on West Anacapa Island, so our GPS navigation See GPS. receivers aren't really necessary. They do provide interesting information, like our average speed to our destination (about 4 miles an hour), how far we have to go and whether the wind and currents mean we have to alter course. Kayak tripping takes patience. You dip your paddle, pull, dip again, pull again in what seems like an endless rhythm. After three hours of paddling, I squirm around in the cockpit of my kayak, trying to relieve cramped muscles and a sore rear end. Slowly we are able to make out more details of Anacapa, which is actually three islands (East, Middle and West Anacapa), all of them contained in Channel Islands National Park Channel Islands National Park: see Santa Barbara Islands; National Parks and Monuments (table). . Our plan is to land on the beach at Frenchy's Cove, eat lunch, then paddle along the island's northern coastline, exploring the many sea caves A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relict sea caves on former along the way. Then we will take the easy way back - a ride on the Island Packers' boat; it will pick up us and our kayaks at East Anacapa's Landing Cove and ferry us to the mainland. The wind seems to be holding steady, but the chop is noticeable, with occasional white caps the members of a secret organization in various of the United States, who attempt to drive away or reform obnoxious persons by lynch-law methods. They appear masked in white. Their actions resembled those of the Ku Klux Klan in some ways but they were not formally affiliated with the . We keep an eye peeled for large ships. The north and southbound shipping lanes pass between the mainland and Anacapa. A container ship can't maneuver fast enough to miss us, and we don't want to be speed bumps in the ocean. Anacapa gets bigger on the horizon. Our next worry is whether surf is dumping on the beach at Frenchy's Cove. But as we approach, we see only mild breakers. We paddle around some submerged rocks and beach our craft. We wolf down Verb 1. wolf down - eat hastily; "The teenager wolfed down the pizza" wolf eat - take in solid food; "She was eating a banana"; "What did you eat for dinner last night?" our lunch and hike the few hundred yards to the other side of the island where tide pools invite inspection. Back in our kayaks, we paddle close to the island. The sea caves are fun to explore, but it's best to wait for a while before entering and watch the waves to make sure a big set won't flood the cave and smack an unwary kayaker into the ``dragons' teeth'' - sharp rocks in the roof of the cave. Taylor Burch, 39, of Newbury Park puts on a helmet and paddles through several of the caves. At one point a narrow notch splits the island from north to south. Burch paddles through the opening and rides a big wave that flushes him back. ``For a sea kayaker, the Channel Islands are a big playground,'' says Burch. ``You've got waves to ride, caves to explore and rock gardens to play in. There's always hiking and snorkeling to stretch your legs.'' Where the waves pound flat cliffs, they reflect back in a condition called ``clapotis.'' If a reflected wave is in phase with an incoming wave, their height is doubled; if it's out of phase, the wave is canceled. The result for kayakers is a chaotic sea that tosses us without warning. Finally, we see the dock at the end of East Anacapa. There is no beach to land on, only a dock. Landing the kayaks here means attaching our rope sling to the kayaks, getting out, climbing a ladder and winching the kayaks up to the dock. After that it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for a cooling swim with snorkel snorkel, tube through which a submarine or diver can draw air while underwater. When in use, the top of the snorkel tube extends above the water surface into the air. gear. We watch the brilliant orange garibaldi swimming past the swaying kelp in the clear water of the cove. A scuba diver with a video camera provides an underwater show for visitors watching TV monitors on the dock. The Islander shows up on time, and we carry the kayaks on board. The day has gone by so fast and has been so packed that we marvel at our good fortune to have an adventure like this so close at hand. Maybe next time we'll paddle back. IF YOU GO Southwind Kayak Center in Irvine offers occasional guided channel crossings by kayak that include a night camping on Anacapa, a paddle to nearby Santa Cruz Island San·ta Cruz Island An island off southern California in the northern Santa Barbara Islands. , another night of camping and a ride back to the mainland with Island Packers. Information: (800) 768-8494; www.southwindkayaks.com. Island Packers transports day-trippers, campers, their gear, kayakers and kayaks to (and back from) the Channel Islands. Visit www.islandpackers.com for schedules and information or call (805) 642-1393 for reservations. The 24-hour information line is (805) 642-7688. A permit is not required to land at the Landing Cove dock at East Anacapa Island or at any of the island's beaches. Some of the coastline of West Anacapa is closed part of the year to protect nesting brown pelicans. The National Park Service says visitors may not go beyond the beach areas of West and Middle Anacapa. Camping is permitted only at the designated campsites on East Anacapa. For more information about kayaking at the islands, visit the Channel Islands National Park Web site: www.nps.gov/chis/kayaking.htm. CAPTION(S): 8 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 4 -- color) A sea kayak trip to Anacapa Island means setting out from Channel Islands Harbor with the sunrise at your back, top left, beaching Frenchy's Cove, top, perhaps spotting a colorful garibaldi fish at the island's Landing Cove, above left, and loading onto the dock, above, for the boat ride home. (5 -- 6 -- color) Taylor Burch, above, gets his kayak ready for the trip to Anacapa Island. Upon reaching his destination, top, he paddles through an open cave. (7 -- 8 -- color) Hikers walk a trail, above, on Anacapa Island after a kayak trip. At right, marine mammals marine mammals mammals inhabiting the sea; generally taken to include the cetaceans (whales, porpoise, dolphin), the sirenians (sea-cows, including manatees and dugong) and the pinnipeds (the carnivores of the group, seals, sealions, walruses). find the buoys near oil Platform Gina to be comfortable resting spots. Michael Owen
Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion