There's No Place Like Home

Jeff and I just returned from a fantastic week on the Oregon Coast. We really enjoy Oregon and want to explore more of the state, but we had to head home to the Mendocino Coast to celebrate Jeff's birthday weekend.

We returned to all sorts of funness including good friends coming to play, my Mendocino Fat Tire Festival article on the front page of the newspaper, a weather forecast for sunshine and calm ocean conditions, and other special treats including lots of ripe tomatoes in the garden.


King Boletes in the forest (my favorite choice edible mushroom).


Here's link to a photo album of Jeff's Birthday Fest Weekend. Check back soon for tales of our adventures in Oregon including teaching at the Lumpy Waters Symposium and adventures and misadventures with Brian Shultz of Cape Falcon Kayak.

Play Time

All work and no play is no good at all - so sometimes, one has to step away and play.

Sometimes it is in the woods and results in a tasty dinner -

Sometimes it is in a kayak-
Sometimes it is on a bike -

Sometimes it is with a special friend-
Sometimes it is in your backyard-

Sometimes it is on a Lost Coast-

Sometimes you send the boys off to play on their own-

Sometimes it is spontaneous - 1 - 2 - 3 JUMP!!!

Sometimes it is into the sunset-
Life is good - Get out and PLAY!!!

Washed Ashore

Here's Jeff checking out Henry -
Henry was washed ashore in the form of millions of pieces of plastic

After a busy summer, Jeff and I meandered off the Mendocino Coast to check out The Washed Ashore exhibit at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.


It is AMAZING - 15 creations made from trash that washed up onto Oregon beaches. The creations are clever and the displays are educational and thought-provoking (like this one)


Many know that sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish, but they are only one of many species that are significantly impacted. I was astounded by this whale of a tale -


It is disturbing when you think about how much plastics have become a necessity in our lives. Jeff and I were trying to think how we could live without plastics. It doesn't seem possible, but we can "Rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, reinvent, and refuse" to minimize our use and impact.


We also can become involved in activities like California Coastal Cleanup Day and support groups that are working to create awareness like The Surfrider Foundation. Seeing their photo of the internal contents of a bird's stomach has made me obsessive that every little shred of plastic that comes from a wrapper gets into the trash. Be sure to check out their Rise Above Plastics program.

I also have become increasing aware of my impact as a kayaker. Seal launches and landings with plastic kayaks often leaves bits of plastic on the rocks.


While seal launches and landings are fun, we use them only when necessary in favor of lower impact on the environment. Jumping off of rocks into the ocean and swimming to your kayak is good fun too.


Be sure to check out the facebook page - Out of Sight, Out of Mind . Here's a group of 3 paddlers working to create awareness of the trash issues in our waterways and what we can do to help. For many of us, every day is Coastal Cleanup Day as we pick up trash on our streets, in the forest, and on the water.


If you get a chance, definitely check out the Washed Ashore Exhibit and share it with others. Every Action Counts . . .

Crash Test Dummies

A couple of strip-built sea kayaks were dropped off for us to demo. "The Mattang" was designed to be a rugged, nimble surfing and rock gardening sea kayak. It was specifically built for the surf and rock gardens of the Mendocino Coast. "The Sundance" was a gorgeous, 18.5' long, pointy sea kayak with Greenland and British design influences.


We slipped out for an evening paddle. I paddled the elegant 18.5' Sundance and Jeff paddled the rugged Mattang. A couple of minutes after we launched from the beach, the bulkhead on my boat came loose and shifted forward of my feet, and the right thigh brace came unglued. I didn’t come unglued over these outfitting details (story of my life) and enjoyed the smooth, effortless feel of her gliding through the water. She was surprisingly nimble and turned well with a little edge. She was fast, sleek and efficient and very different from my 16 foot plastic Valley Avocet.

It was a mellow evening, and we enjoyed a couple of rides on a rock garden feature called "The Toilet Bowl."

We meandered over to Chicken Point which was breaking on some of the larger sets. I was content to sit on the edge of the break and admire and photograph Jeff and the Mattang in action. Jeff was tearing it up with her!!! He made that boat dance on the water.


My friend Amy and her family were spectating from the bluffs. Of course they goaded me into catching a wave at Chicken Point. I thought, "Sure, great idea - surfing a rock-strewn break in an elegantly crafted 18.5’ wooden sea kayak with a hull design that had never been tested in the surf."

I contemplated . . . worst case scenario . . . I would not be able to control the boat and end up broach surfed into the rocks . . . at least my friends would witness some spectacular carnage.

As my friend Amy says, “I nutted-up” and got into position. The boat accelerated with ease onto the wave. As I dropped in, I felt totally in control. The bow and stern both rode high in the water allowing me to control the boat's direction. I edged her slightly and surfed her across the face of the wave.


Huh? An 18.5 foot sea kayak that drops into a wave and edges and carves. The builder was ecstatic. He had no idea what she would do on a wave. Jeff and my friends were hooting and hollering . . . . I was grinning from ear to ear and paddling back for another wave. And caught another, and another, and another. On one wave, I actually dropped in and cut right toward the rocks and then cut back left. It was amazing and so much fun.

So much for being crash test dummies . . . this time.

Here's a video of our session using the rapid fire photos that Amy took from above on the bluffs.