Maine Paddling Connection Blog
I arrived in Oakland at 7am and we were to meet at 8. I was co-leading an intro to SUP touring trip around Alameda Island for California Canoe & Kayak. 8 participants, 2 leaders and 15.5 miles of paddling in absolutely ideal conditions. We hit the currents right, wind was next to nothing and the sun was shining warm.
Read MoreThe 8pm start time turned out to be more like an 8:50pm start time, which threw our paddle off a bit. We fought a little more current than we should have, and picked up the flood a bit too late, but no worries, it was an awesome paddle anyhow. How can you not have a good time paddling with friends on a warm night with light wind and a full moon? Night paddling is always fun and last night was no exception.
Read MoreAfter a long week in Southern California and a full day of travel on Saturday, I woke on Sunday with the intentions of a rest day. But, the sun was shining warm & bright and I figured some paddling was in order. A quick text conversation led to a 11:45 meet in Oakland for a paddle out to Yerba Buena Island. We were both late and by the time we actually launched it was after 12:30. As the tide started to flood and the wind gained strength we paddled out the Oakland estuary.
Read MoreFor the last few months I've been paddling with locals on these weekly Meetups in the Oakland estuary and have seen a ton of growth in the paddling skills of the participants. It seemed appropriate that we all get together for an end-of-summer paddle that included a reasonable amount of mileage, current, wind, vessel traffic & chop.
Read MoreToday, I launched from Tidewater Boathouse in Oakland just before 11am for a lap around Alameda island. The course is 15.5 miles long and offers a balanced circuit of upwind & downwind. I caught the very end of the ebb and was able to ride that almost to the north tip of the island. Paddling against the very start of the flood, the wind threatened to pick up some, reaching maybe 10 kts at times.
Read MoreLast Saturday I had the day off and felt I deserved some time to myself. I decided to paddle a standup board around Alameda to challenge myself and do a route I've never done before. My goal was to make the complete loop in 5 hours. It's 15.5 miles around the island and I was hoping to ride the current around half of it. I launched at Jack London Aquatic Center in Oakland just after 8am and headed north up the channel.
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