Spiny Norman and I met in Marina del Rey for a little kayaking. I brought my own, strapped over the passenger side of my Willys Jeep. Spiny rented one from a local establishment.
As we headed out of the dock, Spiny saw three seals. Since they were mostly submerged and had their flippers up in the air I thought they were a bunch of pelicans. Nope, Spiny was right. Three seals.
We paddled out the main channel to the breakwater and then hit the open ocean. Venice Beach Pier is a mile north, so we struck for that. On the way we saw a pair of dolphins. Upon reaching the waters off of the end of the pier we just floated a bit, taking in the scenery. We paddled over to a couple who were in wooden kayaks (from Chesapeake Light Craft) that they had built themselves. They were fine looking craft! Nice people, too.
We floated a bit longer, then decided to hit the beach. We didn’t know if it was legal, but we landed inthe surfing area right in front of a life guard with no problem. Well, no legal problem. I got sideways in a breaker and departed the craft. I walked it in. Spiny stayed with the boats and I went to a beachfront café and brought back a couple of cups of joe. We drank the coffee then put back to sea.
We paddled back to the Marina del Rey breakwater and took the main channel to Mother’s Beach where I had often seen little sharks. They must have been hiding, as Spinyonly caught a glimpse of one and I saw none at all. I didn’t even see any of the sting rays that usually carpet the bottom of the lagoon. We saw lot of nice boats. My favourite was one that looked like it was about 50 years old or more. There was a fast-looking yacht across the way called the Que Sera. It was a bit ostentatious for my tastes, looking as if it would be at home in the waters of Monte Carlo.
Paddling back across the marina and out a little brought us back to the rental place. It took a little over three hours to make the five-mile round trip, but we were paddling at a leisurely pace. In addition to the numberless gulls and pelicans, we also saw two cormerants.
After that it was to Venice and Sawtelle for Fatburgers.
All in all I’d say it was a very agreeable way to spend a Sunday morning and noon.
I enjoy reading your stories Johnny. Keep em coming.
I never make the time to get out in my kayak or my sailboat.
It’s good to see you doing this for yourself.
Note to self: When meeting up with someone, make him drive a 1946 Jeep with a kayak strapped to it to the rendez-vous point. No problem in recognizing him that way.
My shoulders will hurt like heck tomorrow, but damn, it was good fun. Hitting the shore for coffee was pretty fun, getting back out again through the surf was a bit of a challenge, though. Plenty of wildlife, although the sharks were a bit elusive. Next time. And mr. L.A. is good company when one can’t recall the words to the “Accountancy Shanty”.
Nice boats in that marina! - and we even had the pleasure of meeting one that was named halfway decently. Instead of “Que Sera”, “Hidden Wind”, “Serenity”, “Shangri-La” or other semi-cute names, this nice-looking sailboat was simply named “Fred”. Now there’s a name one can relate to.
You mean people actually read my threads? As if my ego weren’t big enough already! Glad you like it.
I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll be back.
I forgot to tell you: I recognized you as you made the turn onto Fiji. Good timing. Weird thing though; as I was driving I had the feeling people were staring.
Nah, your shoulders won’t hurt a bit. Well, barely a bit. Maybe they’ll hurt a little. Okay, they’ll feel like they’re being poked with red-hot irons and that they’re trying desperately to fall off. (Just kidding. You’ll barely notice.)
I’d forgotten about Fred. Great name for a boat. And the girl aboard it was cute, too.
Next time? I don’t know. Maybe next Saturday? Or the following one? Wanna go to the Santa Monica Pier next time? Or would you rather practice surf landings? I know I could use the practice! How about a DopeFloat?
Athena: Since I have a sit-on-top kayak with scupper holes, and since the scupper plugs don’t work very well, and since there are a lot of boats making sizeable wakes that enter the cockpit, I’m thinking I may have to get some paddling pants to extend the season. Not that it ever really gets cold here; but it would be better to be dry.
