Spring is Goooood!

The evening ended in picturesque calmness at San Carlos Beach

The wind blew up some fun bumps today, and the wind cordially backed off just before Mike Roberts and I paddled, around 5 pm. That left plenty of windswell, but made for an easy upswell paddle.

It's great to train with Mike Roberts (AKA "M3"). He's made some good suggestions. We keep each other motivated. We keep it fun. What more could I ask?

It was also good conditions for learning to knee-paddle downwind. Just enough challenge for my still early-development stage.

But as seemingly tame as it was, there were some good rides to be had. My GPS reported that I topped out at 12.0 miles per hour. Dropping in and going like that is a memory that will keep me coming back.

Two surfski paddlers going upswell hooted us on. Turns out M3 knows them. They must have hooked the buoy at Pt. Pinos because we didn't see them until we got back to shore. Then they went flying by.

Spring is good!

2012 Is On

It's only April, and I'm well into training, thanks to Mike Roberts. Mike, known as M3, the youngest of three Mikes, has been a major boost. We've gotten a few good ones in and he's great at pushing me.

M3 lives for cottonballs - wind-whipped seas. But downwinders are still new for me: I have a lot to learn. And it's fun learning. Today, I got up the resolve to go out. Winds were running 18 - 20 knots out of the Northwest. DeeAnn graciously agreed to drop me off at Lover's Point and park down by Wharf 2 so I could go one way.

Obligatory stretches.

Lover's Point

Serene entry.

Headed for fun times.

One of the most useful things I have recently read was a comment that paddling icon Jamie Mitchel uttered: "If it feels like you're fighting the ocean, you're doing something wrong." Or words to that effect. That really encouraged me to experiment and today I learned a few things.

It was about three miles, and it was a lot of fun. It was all bumps all the time. I learned a little better when to pitch out my board and improved my board stability on the bumps.  I finished with a smile on my face, ready for next time. The only hard part was getting the board to the car and safely strapped on (Thanks Mile 22!) in the wind.

Next time, M3 will be on it with me.

Thanks to DeeAnn for the photos.