Some excitement included a fellow rower dropping her phone in the water and a certified diver fellow rower jumped in to try to dig for it! The photo doesn’t capture enough, but it’s worth the memory!
We also did a towing exercise where we towed each other’s whale boats. It’s more complicated than one might think!
Despite the heavy fog this morning and the overcast that lingered most of the day, our second row today yielded some actual sun, so it was really worth pulling out the camera.
Party with Solano Rowing Club here in Glen Cove, Vallejo with a bunch of our plus ones yesterday. We had the debut of an amazing video (below) that incorporated a bunch of our pictures over the past year.
Yes, it was hard to get up for a 7:50 am row after staying up past midnight. To boot my scooter didn’t fully charge because I plugged it into a deactivated power strip, so I barely made it downhill (gravity helped). The weather and the water conditions were optimal. We even saw a seal pop up to breathe a few times.
Take electric scooter to marina to avoid driving car? CHECK!
This was one of my ideas for a clean energy trip back and forth to the Glen Cove Marina. I had to use a little foot power to help myself on the inclines since the scooter slowed down to almost nothing, but I didn’t need to drive my SUV to go to the marina. Plus I got to store the scooter safely on the dock while we went out on the rowboat!
It was a pretty cold morning, but we’ve had worse! Had to catch this mega-ship behind us as we rowed.
This one gave me some side-eye, but I moved very slowly hoping she knew I was no threat.
For my maiden voyage with my own kayak I ventured into the Carquinez Strait, which I’m very familiar with since I’ve been whaleboat rowing there for a good two years. Shando helped me get the kayak onto our car and into the water. Right away I saw a “rock” in the distance, but I suspected it was one of the seals I saw a few days ago. Soon enough I saw the second bopping around. The one that is suspended here is lying on a mostly submerged rock. When I saw them from the trail with my scooter, the tide was lower a few days ago. I kept floating into the rock area without trying, but the seal barely paid me any mind. This is amazing footage and I felt closer to them physically than it appears on camera.
Video from Shando’s perspective:
Here’s what the car looks like with the kayak mounted:
December 19 update: After some heavy rains, I determined that facing the kayak out and down was optimal to ensure the insides remained dry when it rains. I also made sure to have a sponge and towels on board in the storage regardless, even for when I spill droplets onto myself while rowing. I also tested out the cradles on the luggage rack, which worked well, but instead of storing the cradle pieces under the kayak, it makes more sense to keep those in the car so they always remain dry and never need to be carried back and forth. Yet another lesson learned was to dismantle the cart and put it in the storage bin when not in use, since even leaving it out under the kayak subjected it to water gathering on it.
December 13: It feels great to have a safe, clean, dry place where I can keep my kayak when not in use that is out of the way and basically has zero footprint! On the side of the house where I do my garden preparation it was stored on rafters for a few days.
After installing the holders on the window frames, this is what it looks like:
I also bought a cart that easily dismantles and fits in the kayak storage when I’m on the water. What I love about this cart is that even without my car, I can strap my kayak on here and WALK down to the water where I live, get in the water, and then walk back when I’m done rowing! In addition to the roof racks shown here, I also have kayak cradles that manually screw on and off when the kayak is ready to be put in place. My inclination is to leave the luggage rack bars up since they are locked in place
We managed to avoid any rain and survived some drama with the San Francisco Police and Coast Guard boats who were obviously on the hunt for something.
These pictures are courtesy of fellow rower Darren. The first one is so multi-layered! He also managed to capture a very small sailboat pulling a dinghy out of the marina nearby.
It was 38 degrees Fahrenheit when I arrived, but warming up in the sun and moving water helped to warm us all up as we enjoyed a glorious morning on the waters of Carquinez Strait.
