Rocks in your pants

Rock Gardening on the the Mendocino Coast. A must for kayakers and outdoor enthusiasts of all levels!

To Hunt

Sitting on the Camp LFK deck, overlooking the Noyo River we watched the hunt.

In an easy field of vision we watched as an Osprey, Belted Kingfisher and a Great Blue Heron peered intensely into the river for their next catch. In 30 minutes no fish were caught. Then the Osprey dropped out of the tree like a bullet, plunged into the water and came up with a small Perch in it's right talon.

The river sounds were alive with the exploding ocean waves, bird songs, and many more river sounds.

Surf in Sea and HP Surf Kayaks

Earlier in the day I met up with my buddy Skip. We launched into Big River and headed out to Smuggler's Gulch for a surf. Skip was in his Illusion by Sterling Kayaks,

and I was paddling my Valley Kayaks "Rush".
Predicted conditions:
N wind swell 6-8' winds: NW 10-15 Clear skies with a high of 58'(F)

The drive down from Fort Bragg showed about waves about 1 foot. The mouth of Big River was about 2 feet and closing out. When we got to our destination we found nice low angle 6 footers rolling in. Then a the set rolled in at 8-10'!!! I was very happy as these were a lot steeper and gave me the chance to surf!

After about two hours the conditions become to fat, winds picked up 15+, so we headed in.

Guiding Essentials

As a kayak guide, one chooses to lead a group or has fallen into the position by default.
Taking control of your group:
1. establish an assistant
2. accountability
3. destination
4. fun to be had

Kayak Racks

Today I am laying out a new home for our whitewater kayaks. As the fleet grows it becomes more important to make each and every boat easy to reach and in safe (from the elements) storage.
Also the boats need to get out of the way of the vegetable gardens.

Most the lumber being used will be 2x6 redwood. The durability to the weather makes the wood ideal. All the lumber used is recycled from friends wood piles!

I shall post a few photos once they are up.

Anchor of a lumber ship

Well thanks to natural world, we have been playing on and around the rocks off the Noyo Bay in Fort Bragg, CA.
Cate has a great write up and photos at Cate's Blog.

Look at the variety of paddles, kayaks and scenery!

Into the Sea

A nice look at the North Coast in this video by Cate Hawthorne.

Sunshine and Whales . . . Rain and Otters . . . Mendocino Paddling

Sunshine and Whales . . . Rain and Otters . . . Mendocino Paddling

Getting Started

Liquid Fusion Kayaking has come up with our first video.