On Saturday we had a great coastal exploration of the rugged Fort Bragg Coastline. Rain was in the forecast for the Mendocino Coast and the skies were a bit gray, but the tide was high and the ocean was calm and beautiful. We had the pleasure of sharing the calm before the storm with a family from Santa Rosa.

We got to explore some of the “inside” passages along the Fort Bragg Coastline that are only accessible to kayaks and only on certain tides. Two of the photos here are of one of my favorite spots which we call the “maze.” I paddle this area a lot and each time continue to be awed by these awesome geological features. As we watch a blowhole, I marvel at the handiwork of the ocean in carving this beautiful coast.

We are thrilled to see the return of the Pigeon Guillemots to the Mendocino Coast. At first we hear their high pitched wheezy whistle and then start seeing them in the water and flying to their nests. We are careful to give their nesting areas a wide berth. They too are fans of the rugged Mendocino Coast as they like to nest in the sea caves, arches, and nooks that the ocean has carved into the rocks.

After a meander through our coastal rocks and checking out some oyster catchers, we ventured out to sea to look for whales. We love our tandem sea kayaks because they are so stable and fast that we can easily guide novices out into the ocean. The sun poked out, and we were all quite warm as we paddled about a mile off shore to look for whales.

The whales were not particularly cooperative with our mission to see them. Sighting three spouts were the extent of our whale watching; however, we got to see some murres and had a great viewing of the colony of California Sea Lions that hangs out near and on the Noyo’s bell and whistle buoys.

Our return to the Noyo Beach was easy as the wind and swells carried us along. With our coaching, our novice kayakers were able to surf a couple of the swells which is an exhilarating feeling. As we returned to Noyo Beach, we were greeted by some friendly dogs who were enjoying another beautiful day on the Mendocino Coast.

Ahhhh . . . rainy days don’t get me down but our website being down might. 10 days ago our Liquid Fusion Kayaking website finally said “ENOUGH!!!, I am old and just can’t take another update.” It still has our calendar, our Mendocino Coast sea kayaking video, and information about our classes, but the time has come for a new site. So this woman on water has been woman on the computer and has been consumed with rebuilding our site.

As I develop the pages, write the descriptions, and upload photos; I long for the water. I am getting excited about how the new site is looking but am anxious to launch it and to be able to get more time in on the water.

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.

Yesterday, I spotted several whales off of the Fort Bragg Coast heading north. We had spectacular viewings of the whales in January heading south and are anticipating a good showing of them over the next month on their northern migration.

During the southern migration, we cruised in our kayaks along the whales’ paths and were thrilled with our encounters. Seeing the barnacles on the whales backs as they pass by and hearing the whoosh of air exploding out of their blowhole is such a treat and an experience that is magical from a kayak.

Residents and visitors to Fort Bragg and the Mendocino Coast celebrate the whale migration each spring with whale festivals. Details about the festivals are available at fortbragg.com or mendowhale.com. The charter boats are popular ways to see whales, but for a more eco-friendly and up-close and personal experience we enjoy kayaking to SEA the WHALES.