by Tom Bergh, MIKCo, Peaks Island, ME
Sunday, Jan 11:
High Tide 7.2 ft at 1051
Low Tide -1.6 ft at 1742
Max Flood 3.0 kn at 0942
Max Ebb 4.3 kn at 1600
Conditions at San Francisco Bar (46237) at 0700:
Water temp: 50.7F
Swells: 5.6' at 17 seconds – yes, really
Winds: Easterly 5-10 knots
Weather:
High pressure continues to dominate w clear skies and freshening breeze. Wind waves 2’. Air temperature in SF Bay to reach 65F! Yesterday’s high of 60.3F.
Its 0830 on day 3 at the new Golden Gates Sea Kayak Symposium in glorious San Francisco Bay. Sean Morley is standing on the walkway of the Presidio Yacht Club a ½ mile from the North tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, presenting the 70-80 coaches and paddlers with our morning safety briefing. The Symposium’s day paddles are heading deeper on the solid tidal flow into the bay toward the historic Alcatraz and Angel Islands (don’t you want to go?). The Rock Gardeners are headed out around Pt Bonito and north past Rodeo Beach. The BCU 5 Star Leader Assessment run by Nigel Dennis and Steve Maynard has the candidates taking their ‘students’ out toward the San Francisco Bar. Ben Lawry with others are presenting a series of Tidal Trainings based on the San Fran experience of moderate tidal currents. Many professional local coaches and guides have offered their time to help with strokes, Greenland paddling (well represented), and an array of ACA IT’s are providing their take on sea paddling. Nige Robinson and Tom Bergh, along with Jen Kleck, Tom Pogson are on the final day of the new BCU 4 Star Sea Leader Training with our 12 committed paddlers. Our developing ‘leaders’ float plan for the day is to paddle down under the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge and out towards the sea to scope out Pt Bonito. Figuring that NW facing Rodeo Beach may well be dumping, the 4 Star group leaders’ feel they’ll probably need to return up into the Bay. Only problem is that the the return back up under the Golden Gate Bridge should be soon after slack water at 1228 to miss the 4 + knot ebb that will be even faster when its compressed at the North tower.
But oh those best laid plans… it’s hard to stick to a well developed trip/route plan when the coaches set up ‘incidents’ involving dislocated shoulders, lost paddlers and rock garden rescues… Then there’s the delay of surf landing on the gorgeous, primitive and empty Black Beach across from San Fran. So our developing 4 Star Sea Leaders nix rounding Pt Bonito with the 25’ spray booming off the rocks. Instead they consensually decide to head back up against the Spring tide to The Bridge. The group is getting edgy about the slough upstream now that its already 1345. The leaders ably use the eddies to place us at the foot of the North Tower in short order. But already the current speed looks 3+kn and the group is remembering that 50-90 rule of current speeds. Time is spent studying the onrushing currents. A few paddlers enter and are quickly blown back to the eddy. Time is increasing the speed. All paddlers are clear they must line up very tight and true to the current’s flow, can’t lose their bow even for an instant, and must be able to sprint while staying within 3 feet of the limestone rocks. Upstream about 30 feet there’s a tiny eddy for a boat or two. Ten feet further and there’s a deep hole created by a pour over that pulses from 1-3’ deep. Some of the group has talked about using the tanker wakes to surf up the pour over. Lets see how they do.
Every few minutes the climb up stream steepens. Those with longer or deeper bows are often caught by the current, and while being swept downstream clean out those sprinting behind them, back down to the big bottom eddy. Things really start going pear shaped when some of the ‘leaders’ experiment with towing others for bow control. Soon we have several spaghetti contests with tow lines hooking boats together in fast current. Swimmers begin looked increasingly worried as they are swept out toward the center of the Golden Gate channel - regularly filled with container ships and tankers. Soon the knowledgeable captain of the GGSKS Safety boat stands off to help with the more tired ones. A few continue to thrash themselves against the powerful ebb flow. Finally by 1600 our 4 Star Sea ‘leaders’ got the whole group back to the Presidio beach. All 4 Star Trainee’s are tired, smarter, and appear exhilarated by their day on these magical waters. Too bad we have to meet in the upstairs pub to debrief…
Readers, you missed a great weekend. I’ve had the pleasure of many symposiums over my 20+ years of sea paddling. The organizers, Sean Morley, Jen Kleck and Matt Palmariello, delivered a valuable and fun weekend in an extraordinary venue on Spring tides with first rate land support. Paddlers and Coaches all stayed in an attractive old army house – now an International Hostel – in a secret undeveloped valley in the Marin Headlands portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. We regularly saw coyotes and birds of prey; while on the water seals played with us in the tide races and dolphins cruised quietly in the kettles rounding up the fish. Various sailors tested their crews in the currents. Our waterfront beach at the Presidio Yacht Club next to Sausalito was nestled below the Bridge and looked across the tidal entrance to San Fran and its hills. The PYC bar located upstairs had local color matching the sunsets.
And always the red hued Golden Gate Bridge connecting the San Fran with the preserved lands of the Marin County Headlands Park, just begged to be paddled under. Everywhere are empty beaches, beautiful surf, warm weather, great people, committed paddlers, new friends…it just doesn’t get much better. This is one of the best symposium sites I’ve had a chance to savor.
Personally, I enjoyed the chance to catch up with the following maturing coach types – Jen Kleck, Sean Morley, Nigel Dennis, Nige Robinson, Steve Maynard, Ben Lawry, Jim Kennedy, Tom Pogson. Additionally there several pods of strong locals who are key assets for these events, as well as a committed set of ACA trainers to round off the GGSKS’s solid team of coaches and guides. A large number of specialty outfitters and local schools showed to support the event; in particular Sea Trek, which has pioneered so many aspects of the modern guiding industry, provided the all important safety back up in these moderate tidal waters.
The course mix emphasized practical paddle-oriented trainings: Tidal Trainings of several levels, Practical Navigation and the BCU’s new Coastal Nav I, Boat Control in Conditions, Rock Gardens in the Pacific swells, many levels of day trips out to the superb local sites. And the BCU’s new (and excellent) Four Star Sea Leader Training were great offerings (thanks for the chance to spread the word). The ACA offered Level 3 and 4 Trainings…and there were a few masochists who signed up for their first 5 Star Assessment in realistic conditions. I understand they’ll be back again.
As many of you know, my wife June and I have run Maine Island Kayak Co’s programming for two decades. We were involved in delivering the Gulf of Maine Sea Kayak Symposium in Castine, ME. We’ve attended the Sweetwater Sea Kayak Symposium and the Sea Kayak Georgia Symposium from their beginnings. We helped bring the BCU to the NE, helped bring MASKGI to northern New England, pioneered many training methods in Gulf of Maine waters, and currently offer the NE Intermediate Rough Water Symposium each Fall in Pt Judith, RI. With that background - it is my strongest recommendation for those who like Symposiums to consider the 2009 Golden Gate Sea Kayaking Symposium. Check it out.
…Now I’m back in Maine;
Wind’s been blowing upwards of 28 knots
Air temp may reach a high of 6F today.
More snow to be added to the foot already on the ground.
Water temp 37.2F
I definitely am hoping to return next January … to the second Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium. Come join us.
Tom Bergh
Maine Island Kayak Co
Peaks Island, ME 04108
207 766 2373
www.maineislandkayak.com
Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium
Nautical Chart 18649 – San Francisco Entrance
Photos by Mike Bode from BCU 4 Star Leader Training:
Other photos by symposium photographer Dominick Lemarie:
Google Maps of Marin Headlands Park
BCU 4 Star Sea Leader literature
San Francisco Bay Entrance Current
