Liquid Fusion Kayaking

The Outlet Creek to Dos Rios stretch of the Eel River has been described as a Class III whitewater kayaker’s delight. It isn’t run regularly by a lot of boaters due to its location in the northeast corner of Mendocino County and because it is primarily a rain-fed winter and early spring run (making it a foul-weather run that is often chilly). This stretch of the Eel River is quite special to me because it is where I learned to whitewater kayak (I probably should say am still learning).

Yes, my beginnings on this run were tormentous as many who were with us might recall. Fears and tears and of course lots of swimming. Jeff’s patience and the strength of our relationship was definitely tested on our trips to the Eel River.

When we started running the Eel River, I was a SWIMMER (in several senses – one being that I was a life guard and water safety instructor who swam regularly for fitness and the other being that I swam most of the time when I capsized). Fortunately, I was a good swimmer and usually self-rescued by holding onto my gear and getting into an eddy and onto shore.

When we started boating on the Eel River, I had just relearned to roll. I had a decent flat water roll and was racking up combat rolls in the ocean surf and rock gardens; however, the river roll was eluding me. I hated capsizing for numerous reasons – the water was COLD, the air was COLD (problem with learning to boat in the winter), my playboat was not easy to roll, my kinesthetic senses were altered in the current, I was terrified of hitting my head on a rock, or being stuck in a hydraulic. Yeap – a TON of EXCUSES!

(I would like to say that more time on the river has cured these things, but I am sure that I will swim again on the Eel – afterall – we are all in between swims.)

My first season of boating on the Eel – I ran (swam) it twice and gave up on whitewater kayaking FOOORRREEEVVVEEER! It was too cold, too scary, and too frustrating.

I continued sea kayaking and rock gardening and then even started kayak surfing. I saw photos and videos of the beautiful waterways that people were whitewater kayaking and felt a little sad when I stayed home while Jeff and our paddling buddies went river kayaking.

In the winter of 2010, I became determined to master my fears and learn to whitewater kayak – so off to the Eel River we went. Some days we would just park and play (drill) on one rapid and others we would practice different skills while heading down river. I still managed to swim plenty; however, I rolled more than I swam. I am certain that I have swum every rapid on the Outlet Creek to Dos Rios section with the exception of Tunnel and CalTrans(Willow).

In our sessions on the Eel, I realized many of my fears – hitting my head on a rock (the helmet has a couple of scratches but I am no worse for wear -I think- and getting stuck upside-down in a hydraulic and working my way out without swimming -took 3 rolls but I did it).

The cold water is still a huge issue for me. The Eel River has some great surf waves and I so want to learn to surf, but I still prefer to keep upright in chilly fresh water. My kinesthetic sense underwater in current is improving with experience, but I still get disoriented. The Eel River has many firsts for me including my first combat river roll, my first time whitewater river kayaking without Jeff and I am excited about the prospect of my first multi-day wilderness whitewater trip. Will swimming be involved on this trip? I definitely hope so . . . when it is warm and sunny and not necessarily an out-of-boat experience.

Sorry – no photos or videos of my swimming on the Eel, but this video might show a bit of the character of whitewater kayaking on the Eel (notice the contrast between the gray days of winter and the sunny green days of spring).

For the first time in 4 years, the Cache Creek Wilderness Run has been predictably running at a level that is fun for a day trip. When one of our paddling friends emailed about doing it on a day our calendar was clear, we jumped on the opportunity.

Clear Lake is over its capacity so they have been releasing over 3,000 cfs from the dam for the past week. Combined with flow from the North Fork, we estimated that our flow was approximately 3800 cfs.

As we met at the put-in, what to wear was the debate of the day. Being that we were embarking on an 18 mile wilderness run that hasn’t been run (to our knowledge) in several years and that only 2 of the 4 of us had run it over 4 years ago, we weren’t sure what to expect. Down trees and landslides can occur and greatly change the character of a run. We knew the flow was going to be swift with the dam release and looking at the flow coming down the creek at the take-out. Prudence would have us dressing for the worst case scenario and potential immersion. Most of the group opted for drysuits, but I went with my drytop and farmer jane. Eighty degrees and sunny are not my usual boating conditions so if I got hot, I wanted to be able to get wet.

This run is described as a class II(III) by American Whitewater and California Creeks. It is fun to look at the photos on the CA Creeks site which are at low water and over 3000 cfs lower than what we were running it. During our run, the “Big Rock” in Bill Tuthill’s CA Creeks write-up was not visible creating a pour-over and large hydraulic.

As we launched, we were apprehensive about the possibility of down trees and strainer hazards in the muddy waters. The flow on the North Fork moved us along at a comfortable pace as we cautiously boat scouted blind turns and brushy channels.

We enjoyed the sweet sounds of western meadow larks singing and a slight warm breeze that rippled through the budding willows and alders. The landscape of steep open hillsides was quite different from the mossy forests of our typical Mendocino County wilderness runs.

Evidence of volcanic activity was evident in the geology. At one point, the creek cut through a bank of ashfall.

As we bobbed along the North Fork, we continuously scanned the trees and skies for bald eagles. We saw 2 driving to the put-in and hoped to see some more. At one point, the creek bank was not the usual rocks and trees but was built of old automobiles. The vegetation has grown around and through the cars. It is novel, but probably not the most environmentally conscious way for the property owner to stabilize the creek bank.

The character of the run changed significantly when we hit the main branch of Cache Creek (changed to the tune of about 3500 more cfs). The creek was definitely moving along at a good clip and above its regular channel and flowing through the trees and brush at its edges. Few eddies existed along its edges as did opportunities for landing. There was quite a bit of squirrelly water where water flowed over submerged rocks and where channels converged. The squirrelly waters of one of these convergences grabbed one of my edges and gave me a quick dunk.

All 4 of us enjoyed watching for birds. A pair of accipters had us debating between cooper’s or sharp shinned hawks. We were delighted with siting of over 1/2 dozen bald eagles (like the photograph below, some were juveniles and weren’t so bald).

The highlight of the day was seeing a bear and her cub. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we were the highlight of their day as they appeared alarmed by our presence and galloped up the hillside.

The rapids on the run were quite rapid. The bigger ones were mostly giant wave trains with an occasional hydraulic to keep one on their toes. At this flow, we were flying along but one would expect that some might be fun to play on at a lower flow.

Not many wave surfing opportunities. Jeff happened to catch a photo of this wave as we breezed past it.

Knowing that it was an 18 mile run and not knowing what hazards we would come across on the river, we had expected it to be a long paddle. It ended up being the fastest 18 miles any of us had done on a river – we did it in 3 1/2 hours with a lunch break and a stretch break.

They are still releasing 3000 cfs from Clear Lake into Cache Creek and it is still runnable. A boating buddy of ours asked if we wanted to run it with him this week – we declined. We had a great day on the river and enjoyed the run but are looking forward to exploring some other local runs.

“Should have been here yesterday,” was the quote of the day on Friday at Steamer’s Lane in Santa Cruz, California as paddlers gathered for the 25th Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Contest.

Fortunately, we were there and enjoyed a beautiful sunny surf session on Thursday. After our surf session on Thursday, we went to the contest check in and pre-event party at Adventure Sports. Spirits were high as event participants enjoyed live music, bbq, and socializing. It was fun to see familiar faces and to meet other surf paddling enthusiasts.

Friday morning, we awoke to stormy conditions. The wind was blowing 20-30kts with stronger gusts, swell size was considerable, and it was raining sideways. Spectators were treated to the rain blowing right at them, and the competitors were treated to the wind blowing them off the waves and even sometimes toward the cliffs.

Jeff was competing in the high performance men’s division in a field of 27 kayak surfers from around the world. Surfing Steamer’s Lane is usually a treat but this weekend it was gnarly and bordered on dangerous for all but the most skilled paddlers.

On Saturday, many of the competitors couldn’t successfully launch off the beach where an unofficial contest for best beat-down occurred. The participants who did make it off the beach had an arduous paddle out against the wind to get to their heat. Between conditions at the beach and the wind, many did not make it to their heats. Those who did make their heats were trying to catch the outer edges of the break and avoid carnage. I took a look at the conditions and didn’t even suit up for battle – my story is on my woman on water blog titled “Skunked.”

Despite the poor conditions there was some spectacular kayak surfing. The hull speed of the international class boats gave some of the best rides of the weekend. Photographing and videoing the event was a challenge with wind and rain driving right into the lenses. Of course Dominick LeMarie managed to get great shots as well as our fellow Bay Area Sea Kayaker Anders Landin. (Jeff is in Friday’s photo sequences of Dominck’s # 113-133 and Anders from #179-197).

Here is one of Anders’ photos of Jeff -

Jeff commented that he was mostly in survival mode out there; however, he did manage to surf some waves and score points. He placed 14th which is quite respectable in the world class field of the men’s high performance category.

Here’s a YouTube Video of our footage from the event.

Whales, waves, whitewater, and wind – sounds like March in Mendocino County.

The Pacific Gray Whales are migrating along the coast of California back to northern waters. They are returning from calving or mating in the lagoons and waters of Baja. We enjoyed a spectacular southerly migration in January and enjoyed regularly seeing several in February who appeared to be hanging out here. Just last week, we started noticing pods moving northward.

It is estimated that between 18,000 and 23,000 Pacific Gray Whales pass by the towns of Fort Bragg and Mendocino on their migration. Wow!!! That’s a lot of whales!!! No wonder our area celebrates their migration each year with whale festivals.

We enjoy watching them from land and from sea. Of course a kayak is our favorite place to see them; however, waves, whitewater, and wind often have us playing elsewhere. The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, Todd’s Point, and Mackerricher State Park are our favorite terrestrial viewing points.

Speaking of waves, wind, and whitewater. Our coastal winds are supposed to settle down this afternoon, and we are hoping to find some surf. February had us in our sea kayaks a little more than usual, and we are feeling a little rusty in our surf kayaks. Regardless of whales, waves, whitewater, or wind, we need to get the rust-out and ready for the upcoming 25th annual Santa Cruz PaddleFest. If you are interested in kayak surfing, be sure to put this one on your calendar.

And whitewater dreaming we are. We haven’t had quite enough rain to make one of our favorite Mendocino County whitewater runs – Rancheria Creek – runnable.  (You Tube Video)

However, the Eel has been flowing. So much for kayak surfing focus, the Eel is calling my name this week, and Jeff is heading north to the Redding area to teach a whitewater class (and of course do a couple of runs while in the area).


Now if that darn wind would take a break so that we can get out for a surf.

Charts are spread across the kitchen table and photo galleries are zooming across our computer screens as Jeff and I reconnect after our separate paddling adventures over the past week. Of course our best adventure of the week happened when we both returned to the Mendocino Coast for a sweet sea kayak rock garden session with some special guests.

Jeff just returned from the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium. He ventured down a few days early last week to take a BCU 4 Star Assessment (yes they were the group that was on the channel 5 news jumping off the sea wall). After the 4 Star Assessment, he was there for the weekend as an instructor in their rock gardening classes.

Jeff had a great time. He passed his BCU 4 Star Assessment, got to coach paddlers in around the rocks, reconnect with old friends, and meet new ones. We are both stoked that Jeff had the winning raffle ticket for a new drysuit of his choice from Kokatat. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments that it should be a women’s size small; however, Kokatat just gave my drysuit some love and I am happy to wear it for another season.

Yes, last week was a drysuitless week for me as my suit was in the shop but not one that didn’t see me on the water. My adventures included focused work on our 2010 books in preparation for tax season (not the funnest adventure), teaching private sea kayak lessons, and playing with the Gold Country Paddlers on the Eel River.

The 2 days on the Eel were fun as significant rainfall during the week had the river running at a moderately high level. On Saturday, we did the Outlet Creek to Dos Rios Run at about 4200 cfs which made for some big waves and big hydraulics. Here’s Jerry the organizer of the weekend doing a little river surfing.

On Sunday, I joined the group for the Hearst Run – a 17 mile wilderness stretch. This is a Class II run with one Class III rapid that is known for good wildlife viewing. We were a chatty group and didn’t see a lot of wildlife but it was a gorgeous paddle at a fun flow.

I was excited to get a photo of one of the wild boars that we saw trekking up the hillside.

I also got a photo of the remains of a Wenonah Canoe on the banks. Geee . . . no roads around. I hope that they didn’t have to hike out.

The highlight of our week though was the unexpected guests that showed up at our house after the symposium. The guys had a great time paddling together and decided to indulge in a play day in the rock gardens of the Mendocino Coast on their way north. It was AWESOME to share our playground with such a talented group of paddlers. These guys definitely ROCK!!!

Dave White – P&H Team Paddler and Alder Creek Instructor

Matt Nelson – BCU Instructor and P&H Team Paddler

Bryant Burkhardt – Paddle California and instructor for California Canoe and Kayak

Paul Kuthe – Alder Creek Canoe and Kayak in Portland, OR

A week of good fun!!!

Here are links to photos:

Dominick Lemarie’s Photo Galleries from GGSKS

Hearst Run

Eel River – Outlet Creek to Dos Rios

Mendocino Sea Kayak Rock Gardening

When Jeff taught for Aqua Adventures in San Diego, he had the good fortune of being introduced to the British Canoe Union (BCU). The BCU has developed a structured progression to guide and measure paddlers in their paddling skill progression. Paddlers can earn star awards in sea, whitewater, surf, and canoe. Star awards range from 1-5 star with 1 being introductory and 4 and 5 being advanced skills including leadership.

Jeff has been working toward keeping his coaching and star award certifications current. Jeff has BCU star awards in Sea, Canoe, and Surf and is a level 3 Sea Coach (one of only 2 in California). This weekend we held our first BCU events on the Mendocino Coast.

On Saturday was a fun 2 Star Assessment that involved basic paddling skills in a variety of craft. We used sea kayaks, whitewater river kayaks, and canoes as well as a variety of paddles.

The canoe portion of the day was the most challenging as most participants did not have much canoe or single paddle experience. It was also probably the most fun. We had an audience at times when we were purposefully flipping the canoes over.

On Sunday, we had a 3 Star Sea Training. From theory of navigation and first aid to strokes and rescue and recoveries, it was a full day of sea kayak training.

Flat water perfection drills had the paddlers fine tuning their edges and torso rotation through a variety of maneuvering skills.

Towing practice gave students the opportunity to try out different tow methods and work the kinks out of their gear.

It was great to have 2 days of focused skill work. All of the paddlers showed significant improvements in their skills and Jeff got to do what he loves – coaching. We are looking forward to offering more BCU training and assessments. Even those who are not interested in BCU star awards, it is a great way to practice and hone your skills.

Our next scheduled BCU event is a 3 Star Assessment on Saturday May 7. Please contact us if you are interested in our future BCU training and assessments.

Sometimes you surf waves and sometimes you get surfed.

The Mendocino Coast has been having epically gorgeous weather. The warm sunny days with little to no wind have been very inspiring to get out and play in the water. Kayak surfing has been on my mind as I decide if I am going to enter in one of the events at the Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival.

I just re-outfitted my mini-mako surf kayak and was looking for a mellow surf session to test out my new outfitting and get reacquainted with its slicy edges. Tuesday, one of our river kayaking friends meandered over the to the coast and met up with us to look for surf. The swell was relatively small for this time of the year at 5-7 feet but with a 13+ second period meant that there was some power behind it.

My favorite mellow surf beach was barely breaking so we moved on. With limited time, we headed to Hare Creek. Hare Creek is a tricky spot to surf. It is a beach break that changes quickly as the tide height lowers or drops. The outside can be a thumper and the inside can be confused with reflective waves. We have enjoyed some mellow sea kayak surf sessions there as well as some quality sinus clearing surf sessions.

Jeff and Jerry headed out as I watched a couple of sets go through. I am still learning to read the surf and find that it helps to watch it from shore before heading out. Today there were definitely some thumping sets coming through but also some appealing left shoulders on the inside.

I resigned myself to the inevitable sinus clearing of Hare Creek but wanted a couple of those spilling lefts. I settled into my surf kayak and paddled out. The slicey stern, planing hull, and rails on the boat contrast greatly with the bouncy, forgiving feel of my whitewater kayak. The crisp handling of the boat combined with the sunshine and cool splash of ocean water was exhilarating. I was ready to go surf some waves.

Just as I was getting to where that peeling wave was, I saw the next set approaching. It was one of the larger ones. Where my spilling wave was became the impact zone. I paddled hard and tried to punch through the wave but it wanted to remind me that I wasn’t in charge and tossed me like a rag doll. I tucked tight to the deck of my boat as it washed me about and surfed me toward shore. For a moment I thought, “Geeeezz . . . here we go again . . . another beat down session at Hare Creek.”

I erased the thought and rolled up and was faced with the freight train foam pile of the next wave of the set. I dug in and sprinted at it and over it. Alright, the big set had passed it was time to ride that left shoulder.

Or try to.

Arriving home after some pre-holiday travels, we were anxious for some boating close to home. We decided on an exploratory paddle of the South Fork of the Noyo River – a class 1 tributary of Fort Bragg’s Noyo River.

We have heard nightmare stories from locals trying to run this at flood stages. Our plan for the trip was to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. Being in a wooded area, log strainers are inevitable hazards so we chose a flow that would be high enough to float us down the river but mellow enough for us to limbo under logs and easily get in and out when necessary to portage obstacles.

Our journey entailed approximately 4 miles of paddling (and portaging) on the South Fork of the Noyo River followed by 4 miles down the Noyo River to our shop at Dolphin Isle Marina.

The trip met our expectations lots of log strainers and great scenery and wildlife watching. We limboed 12 logs and portaged numerous times.

Our favorite sitings of the trip were 6 Coho Salmon and numerous American Dippers. We came across a couple of the Department of Fish and Game surveyors wading the river and counting salmon. Talking to them, we discovered that the candy cane striped ribbons that we were seeing along the river were their markings of Coho Salmon sitings.

In addition to enjoying the scenery and wildlife, we realize that the run was a good preparation for our upcoming swiftwater safety class for the local fish surveyors. Check out our photo gallery for an entertaining slideshow of our adventure.

This week when I was grabbing paddles to take to our Monday night pool session at the CV Starr Center, I grabbed a stick (not a greenland paddle but a hockey stick). Peter Donohue, editor of California Kayaker, inspired the idea this summer. Here’s a video of my first attempt at the hockey stick roll.

After I loaded this onto YouTube, I discovered that some paddlers in the Olypmic Kayak Club have already rolled with a hockey stick. They call it the Canadian Emergency Paddle Roll.

Pretty fun, eh?

Last weekend, we journeyed off the Mendocino Coast with our sea kayaks and greenland paddles and headed to Trinidad, California for the Traditional Arctic Kayak Symposium (TAKS). Beautiful weather, calm wind and ocean conditions, and an eclectic gathering of sea kayakers interested in traditional kayaking made for a fun weekend.

The ocean was very calm and allowed for mellow paddling around and between the rocks of Trinidad Bay.

We fit 9 kayaks in this particular slot. Bob in his beautiful stitch and glue wooden kayak was very happy to have my plastic Avocet as a buffer between his boat and the rocks.

A pair of harlequin ducks added to the color of the weekend.

John Peterson of Shaman Kayaks organized the event. His kayaks are truely works of art. It was fun to see several of them on the water this weekend.

Greenland skill demonstrations included rolling and bracing. Jeff and I thought that the resting brace position looked great for an on water nap.

Wolfgang Brinck paddles over in an Aleutian Kayak sporting an Aleutian hat. Wolfgang is the author of The Aleutian Kayak and teaches skin on frame kayak building in the San Franscisco Bay area.

Despite the roll or drown motto of paddlers dedicated to greenland paddling techniques, Dan and Andrew demonstrate a rescue and recovery of a swamped boat.

Our friend John Henry observes the lunch break from the deck of Jeff’s kayak before going back into his drybag.

We paddled around Trinidad Head – home of the Smack Wall. We paused for a couple of rides on the refractive waves that come off of the Smack Wall. Here’s a link to Ralph Johnson’s video of Tony’s wild ride on the Smack Wall.

Cheri Perry and Turner of Kayak Ways and Jeff of Liquid Fusion Kayaking held a surf zone training and practice session at college beach. Here is Marcella of the local kayak club Explore North Coast catching a wave.

Admiring the handmade kayaks and listening to presentations on the history of kayaking and kayak designs provided much food for thought over the weekend. Here is a photo of Andrew paddling a baidarka into the surf zone. Much debate ensued over the weekend of the unique bow design of the Aleutian kayaks. Any ideas?

I left my skin on frame kayak at home. It would have been fun to have in the surf zone and rock garden and definitely would have been an object of curiosity and critique as it is not a long pointy greenland kayak.