Where I wound up going was Drakes Bay off that little finger to the the west and north of San Francisco. My word that place is nothing short of amazing! The rolling hills, the long sloping pastures were just spectacular. I just stood there breathless. I drove down every little side road I could taking it all in. Visited all the beaches, Point Reyes Lighthouse, Pierce Point Ranch, all of it! Stunning countryside!
As I said, I had every intention of kayaking Drakes Bay and off the North and South beaches but the wind proved me wrong. 40 miles an hour was my best guess. Just standing on the beach it was just about impossible to take a picture handheld as the gust would about blow you over! I did spend some good time walking there though picking up trash as I usually do but kayaking, no way. I even tried getting up at 5:00 am thinking if I could get out before the wind picked up I could at least get out past the breakers, go for a little paddle and let the wind bring me home but no dice. And as I stood there that morning looking at the surf a shiver went up my spine.
Normally I'm not afraid to paddle alone and do so all the time and in some pretty wild water. It's just what I do. I love the peace and tranquility and the ability to go where I please at my own pace. It's how I get away. But at North Beach I stood there for about an hour contemplating heading out. But every time I went to unload my kayak something told me to take another look at what was going on out there. And every time I did that shiver went up my spine.
I could have probably gotten out eventually but my word the breakers were absolutely relentless. I kept looking for potential launch spots but everywhere I looked those breakers just kept pounding away. Close to shore, out a ways, all over the place. And the ferocity was quite unnerving. More often than not you would see the waves smash into one another surging upward and I just knew that if two of them came together under you, you would be launched straight up! Brutal! So I just sat there and watched and what a show!
I did wind up coming home with some nice images however. I've always got my cameras with me where ever I go so I'm never bored. But one day I do want to launch from North Beach and I do want to paddle Drakes Bay, but not alone. And in thinking about it I think Drakes Bay would be an amazing paddle. You'll see what I mean in the photo's below. Enjoy!
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| Sir Francis Drake Boulevard on the way to Point Reyes Lighthouse. |
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| One of the small bays I photographed under a full moon. |
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| Drakes Bay looking towards Point Reyes Lighthouse. (South) |
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| Drakes Bay looking North. A friend of mine said this must be what heaven looks like. Maybe she's right. |
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| I asked some of the locals if they knew of anyone who had launched off South or North beach and assume the shaking of the head meant no. (She wasn't very talkative.) |
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| Just to be sure I asked another local further down the road if she would ever consider launching from the beaches around the area and got what I assume was a big NO! (I can only assume this was what she was saying. She wasn't very talkative either.) |
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| Little warning, maybe? |
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North Beach at 6:00 am. This is quite deceiving as to how wild things
actually were but trust me, I wasn't about to enter this alone!
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