The day started in the water, with Uncle Don taking Uncle Dave's
place and Laura going the group, as the SoCals arrived at 1 AM. It was
a much larger class, as this wave shows.
Laura and Don are at the top and John and Paul are at the bottom. We had
lots of nice waves including Alyssa
and John, Brian and Don, and Alyssa
and Don. Perhaps the best picture was what we named "Get
Paul" as his sister, brother, and cousin all appear to be headed at
Paul. It's just the camera angle, right?
At the end of the session the surfers stood in a classic surfing pose.
In the afternoon we went on a boat tour on the Sea Stag III, which we had to ourselves. At the harbor we saw the new Lighthouse, which was dedicated the month before. Deckhands were skeptical whether this 42 foot structure will survive the first big storm intact.
We headed west past the Boardwalk (East, Middle, West) past the wharf to the original lighthouse and Seal Rock.
We then headed East, retracing our steps. We then passed several ghostly pink jelly fish in the water. At Capitola we met a sea otter who was perfectly willing to entertain us as long as we wanted to watch. He was holding on to kelp, which they do at night to sleep, and then would spin like a log without getting his head wet.
We stopped at the Concrete Ship. The Palo Alto was built during World War I due to a steel shortage, but the war ended before it was done so it just sat in Oakland for a decade. In 1929 she had her maiden voyage to Aptos, where she was sunk and then a pier was built to get to her. The owners built a dance floor and a 52-foot heated swimming pool to attrack crowds, but they failed after two seasons. It remained a place to fish until the storms of 1995 broke up the ship.
On the return trip our paths crossed with a flock of shearwaters. These birds work together like a single organism, herding the school of sardines so that the shearwaters can feed. The experience lasted 15 minutes, and it was right out of the movie "The Birds" (except for the part about people or birds getting hurt). Charles Darwin captured the experience in "The Voyage of The Beagle":
"I do not think I ever saw so many birds of any other sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island of Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for several hours in one direction. When part of the flock settled on the water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from them as of human beings talking in the distance."No one will forget it.
We returned in time to see sailboats head out of the Wednesday evening races, where we learned that many sailors have no idea about "rules of the road." They are even willing to swear at you to publically display their ignorance.
The evening ended with a lobster dinner and Red Lava drinks at the Ideal restaurant. After dinner Laura, Linda, and Lloyd went swing dancing at the Crow's Nest.
The ocean dominated the day, but it would play an even larger role on
Thursday.
