Great weather for a paddle. Temps in the 80's just inland. Easterly sea breezes keeping it cool at the beach, i.e. the low 70's. Water temps still frigid: low, low 50's.
Hopped in mid-afternoon in boardshorts, l/s rashie, hat and glasses, ready for a paddle down to NB's and back up to GDubs. Hoping for some surf along the way.
Surprised and disappointed to feel the easterlies. That usually means it's going to be colder than warmer. And in fact it was. Temps dropped about 8 degrees in less than two hours during my paddle/surf.
First leg was against the wind, 1.5 miles down to NB's. Always fun to come back down wind. Big party, and decent band on the pier. Somebody must'a got hitched. Really choppy around the end of the pier. Lots of backwash in the incoming tide off the cliffs. Tons of nudies at the nudie beach. Good day to roast your nuts I guess, for those so inclined.
Spotted some peelers at GDubs so I thought I'd check it out, even though I wasn't dressed for it. I was paddling with the Mikey DeTemple MD3 fin in today, trying it out in the kelp. It's better than the Pivot, but not as kelp resistant or loose as the tri-fin set-up. Lot's of drive off the thick base, but stiff, and much harder to turn than the tri. Not hard to get up on the tip, but how much easier was it than with the tri-fin set-up? Hard to say, need more time on it.
Kelp is still mega-thick and I did my share of falling off in it. The water is so cold that boardshorts and a rahsie is hardly protection against it. Definitely takes your breath away, and fast. Each tumble was a sprint for the board. Hypothermia and death set in within 20 minutes of exposure to 50 degree water. Pleasant thought. I coulda used a toasty nut roasting myself after this session.
May 16, 2009 (Sa)
In: 1445
Out: 1615
AT= 74 - 63F
WT= 51F
Wx: Sunny and clear
Tide: 2.6' Rising to 3.4'
Wind: East-south easterlies
Sea Surface: Glassy in the kelp to light wind ripples to choppy in some sections
10-0 Angulo EPS/Epoxy Custom SUP with Infinity Ottertail carbon fiber paddle
Fin set-up: Single fin - Rainbow DeTemple MD3Out: 1615
AT= 74 - 63F
WT= 51F
Wx: Sunny and clear
Tide: 2.6' Rising to 3.4'
Wind: East-south easterlies
Sea Surface: Glassy in the kelp to light wind ripples to choppy in some sections
10-0 Angulo EPS/Epoxy Custom SUP with Infinity Ottertail carbon fiber paddle
Bathymetry: Rock reefs
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Nearshore)
1400: 1.3 feet @ 15.4 SW (1 - 2 ft. faces)
1430: 1.3 feet @ 13.3 WSW
1500: 1.3 feet @ 10.5 W (1 - 2 ft. faces)
1530: 1.0 feet @ 10.5 W
1600: 1.3 feet @ 11.1 W (1 - 2 ft. faces)
1630: 1.3 feet @ 11.1 W
1700: 1.3 feet @ 11.1 W (1 - 2 ft. faces)
I thought the 3/2 and boots might be overkill this morning, until I got in the water. Glad I rubbered up! New fin looks good, perhaps not as raked as I envisioned.
ReplyDeleteYeah, water is freaking cold! I am a bit disappointed in the fin. While it glides through the kelp pretty well for a big fin, it does get caught up periodically. But the real downside for me is how much it stiffens up the board. That's OK for point and shoot surfing where you don't too much maneuvering, but one of the advantages of our lightweight SUPs is how much looseness they bring to the field. The fin sorta cancels that out. Not giving up on it yet though.
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