Talk of El Nino brings numerous speculations to the California Coast. Will we get a rainy winter?

Yesterday, we had the first rain of the season on the Mendocino Coast. It started just as we were getting ready to launch. It sprinkled then showered, and we commented that it might settle the dust. Moments later, it began to rain.

Excitement built throughout the afternoon paddle. The rain was warm and hope of a good winter warmed us further. In Mendocino County, rain means wild mushrooms and whitewater river kayaking.

Stay posted as we hope to be enjoying both mushrooms and whitewater this fall and winter. Our Mushroom Kayak Tour was mentioned in Oprah’s magazine in a feature article about food festivals. And yes, we will be venturing off of the coast this winter to paddle the whitewater creeks and rivers of Mendocino County.

Attention all marine mammal fans. We are having another spectacular whale migration. The past 2 days in Fort Bragg have been sunny and warm with calm wind conditions which makes for ideal whale watching. We were scouting the surf from the headlands yesterday and saw half a dozen spouts within a mile from shore. We were on a surfing mission with our surf kayaks so no kayak whale watching, but now I am on a mission to get some video footage of the whales from a kayak. Each time that I have been out whale watching in my kayak, I have been too enthralled with the experience to pick up my camera. Which is saying something as I am quite a bit of a shutterbug.

Come paddle with us to SEA the Whales or watch for my next posting to see if I got my video.

Since starting my blog, I have been scanning the internet for ways to find other kayaking blogs. Many of the different manufacturers have blogs that you can access from their website, but a recent posting on paddling.net alerted me to paddlingplanet.com. If you are interested in all things sea kayaking and the most comprehensive listing of paddling blogs, be sure to check it out. As I am in the hunt for a second digital waterproof camera, another blog that I recently found was paddling with a camera.

I am continuing to research paddling websites on the internet and am impressed by the activity in many of the paddling community forums. Paddling.net definitely appears to be one of the most diverse and popular. Being a California Whitewater Boater, I of course find Boof to be entertaining and useful. Kayak Mind is a smaller but growing online paddling community with a very visually appealing layout. I first got interested in Kayak Mind when I found out it was how the Boater Chick Festival got started.

YouTube continues to be a big source of paddling entertainment. One of my favorite YouTube videos was The Cold Edge: Winter Sea Kayaking in Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska. We have been inspired by the video world and have recently posted 2 videos of our paddling here on the Mendocino Coast – Rock Gardening on the Mendocino Coast and Sea Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast.

There is so much information on the web, but here are a few of the most interesting and useful resources that I have found. Please feel free to share with me what you have found interesting or useful and I will continue to review and post them. But for now, I am off for a paddle.

Yes, remastering the Eskimo Roll was my New Years Resolution. My partner Jeff says that it takes about 100 rolls to have a “reliable eskimo roll.” In January, I made an effort to do at least 3 rolls each time that I paddled. Of course being a perfectionist, this usually translated to 5 to 7 rolls. I would often ask for one of my paddling partners to spot me so that I could get an eskimo assist if I missed my rolls. They have been very supportive and encouraging.

This week I hit my 100th roll since January 1st. So do I feel that I have mastered the roll? Yes, I am very confident in my on-side roll. Lately I have started kayak surfing in a decked kayak (which I never thought would be in my paddling scope) and am having a lot of fun rolling in the surf. Jeff tells me that rolling in warm water is even more fun. Our water here on the Mendocino Coast is usually in the mid-50′s.

It was quite a commitment to make myself roll in that chilly water, but it has helped me to get used to it so that I am not shocked by it when I do roll over. I definitely recommend learning the eskimo roll in a pool with an instructor, goggles, and nose plugs. We had several sessions last fall at the Fort Bragg Recreation Center swimming pool and are looking forward to teaching rolling this summer at the STARR Community Center - Fort Bragg’s new aquatic center.

Rolling on though, now it’s time to work on the offside roll.

I am Woman . . . hear me ROAR!!!

I am a Woman of Water who plays in and on the water as much as possible and wants to share my experiences in this world of water with others.

Exploring and playing on the water in a kayak is my current passion, but I am interested in all things to do with water and the sea.

Share with me the adventure of being a Woman on Water.

Rainy days won’t keep us down. Sunday night, we hosted our first video night at Silver’s at the Wharf in Fort Bragg’s Noyo Harbor. We opened the evening with our new Mendocino Coast Sea Kayaking video followed by our recent Rock Gardening video. The audience was dazzled, amazed, and amused by Chuck Lees’ film Local Liquid. It definitely got us psyched up for our upcoming whitewater kayaking trip to the American River.