TRR PALO ALTO/TRR AMERICAN RIVER TRIP REPORT
SAN FRANCISCO BAY PADDLE
October 11, 2010

Report By: 

Palo Alto:  Carlisle, Maggie, Stephen, Kent, Laura, Bill, Sandy R, Rudy, Raja, Mike, Artie, Doug, Hans
American River:  Chris, Lester

This was to be our Third Annual San Francisco Fleet Week Paddle, timed to coincide with the airshow over the San Francisco waterfront, which we would watch from Sea Glass Beach across the Bay in Marin County.  Of course, with the pandemic, Fleet Week and the air show were cancelled.  Nonetheless, it is a beautiful paddle along the Sausalito waterfront from Schoonmaker Point to Sea Glass Beach and back.

As usual, we were partnered with Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC), who provided gear and guides.  We gathered at 9:30, and after the mandatory paperwork, orientation, instruction (redundant for our group) and safety talk, we were on the water at 11:00. 

It was a gorgeous day:  a cloudless sky, glassy calm, temperatures on arrival in the mid-60s and climbing to 80 through the afternoon.  We set off in our fleet of double sea kayaks (plus one triple for the Stephen, Laura and Kent), accompanied by 5 guides in singles, and paddled off towards the Golden Gate.  We made our way along the Sausalito waterfront, checking out the famous Taj Mahal Houseboat, observing the harbor seals hauled out on a dock, and waving to the diners on the deck of the iconic ‘60s-era rock-n-roll hangout The Trident, to our lunch stop on the beach.  After lunch, we added extra mileage to the planned paddling itinerary by virtue of the fact that we were well ahead of schedule.   

Highlights of the day:  Artie’s first sea kayak trip, harbor seals and harbor porpoises, cheers from onlookers on the shore (especially the little kid jumping up and down in the window of a restaurant as we paddled under and through the pier on which the place was perched), martial arts lessons on the beach, describing the day for Lester, leaving the beach cleaner than when we arrived (we collected a large bag full of micro- and macro-trash), and getting the TRR family together again.  It was a day of joyous energy and companionship.

We look forward to next year’s outing, when with any luck things will be somewhat normal again and the Fleet Week Airshow will be back on the agenda.

Special kudos to ETC (as always) for their expertise, equipment, and fantastic guides.  Thanks to TRR National for support.