Farewell Anchovies (I hope)

 Finally it appears that the anchovies have moved out. The fairly large swell over the Thanksgiving holiday moved a lot of water through the Pleasure Point/Capitola area and seems to have washed the long lived fish away from the previously calm waters of the bight. I say "good riddance". Along with the invasion of fish the birds have thinned considerably. The seagull population floating in the Soquel Creek Lagoon is a fraction of what it has been. The noxious rotting fish stench that has permeated Capitola for weeks has greatly diminished and almost seems back to normal. During our paddle Ron and I spotted only one flock of pelicans and they weren't feeding, just sitting.

The warm daytime weather is over for a while as cold temps settle in from the north. The seas are expected to return to their La Nina-like placid state but hopefully this introduction to Winter will be the trumpeting of the end of the historic anchovy invasion of Fall 2013.

Now that the water is free of fish stench and oil, and great flocks of feeding seabirds I can get back to paddling and surfing (locally) for fun and exercise. Typical to Fall there was a consistent SE wind blowing up wind chop on our paddle from New Brighton to Privates (for Ron) and First Peak (for me). Ron was on his 10' Takayama SUP and stopped at Privates to surf a few small, crumbly and chopped up waves. I wanted a more vigorous workout and paddle so I stroked up to 1st Peak. Also typically the waves got bigger as I paddled up towards the top and it was easily chest/shoulder high at 1P with overhead drops at Sewers. Conditions weren't any better though and with the now "normal" anchovy-like crowds which are ever present, surfing didn't look like much of a fun option. Thank God I've got paddling. We were out for a couple hours and the round trip NB to 1P paddles is about five miles.

Don't Miss It....either Day

Don't Miss Covewater's HUGE Annual Used SUP Sale

USED AND NEW SUP SALE STARTS SATURDAY!

It's here! Covewater's 4th annual USED AND NEW SUP SALE begins this Saturday (10/26) at10:00 AM.  This year we have more than FORTY used boards for sale, as well as another 18 new boards discounted for sale.  This is the largest used SUP sale in the country, so if you have been waiting for the right time to buy your first SUP (or another SUP), this is it!  Inflatables, all-arounders, flatwater boards, race boards, downwind boards -- all on sale.  See you this weekend, and please tell your friends!

SEE THE FULL LIST OF USED AND NEW SALE BOARDS HERE

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YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS TO BELIEVE IT

The long awaited "Santa Cruz Issue" of Standup Journal Magazine is here!  A must-read for anyone interested in standup paddling, "The Journal" is the largest mag in the sport of SUP, and for the Santa Cruz issue, publisher Clay Feeter spent three years collecting 88 pages of the most beautiful and striking paddling images and stories imaginable. Covewater owner Scott was honored to author the opening article for this epic issue.  Drop by the shop and pick up yours today!

The Covewater Paddle Surf - SIC Interviews

Covewater Paddle Surf shop owner Scott Ruble and SIC's John Griffith talk about the new line of SIC stand up paddleboards for flat water racing, open ocean paddling and racing, downwinding, fitness and surfing. They dish out a ton of good info in this video and for even more on specs and all the types of boards offered, check out the Covewater and SIC websites. Covewater has all the SICs in their shop and you can demo the boards you're interested in. Call Covewater at 831-600-7230 to set something up.