The Gonzo Paddle

by Dave Littlejohn. From buzz, January 2009

Whew. What a day. Waking up at O'dark thirty and racing down to Horseshoe Cove for a seven am-ish launch onto San Francisco Bay to further the quest of paddling to as many islands as we can in one day. Last year we touched twelve islands in an all day paddle-a-thon. This year, the bar is raised another notch. Thirteen islands in one day, launching from and returning to the same place. Thirty six nautical miles paddled in one day.

Mike "Czar of the Gonzos" Higgins researched the tides, routes, timing, etc, and initiated the paddle, and almost anytime someone goes and waves "Gonzo" in my face I have to rise to the challenge and assert the inner gonzo that lays within. Despite Mike's meticulous research of the tides and currents he is not the Czar of the Winds so we had to deal with opposing cool breezes for awhile. This made the day somewhat challenging and made sure we we're going to really have to earn that extra island this year.

The island tally: Alcatraz, Treasure Island, Yerba Buena, Brooks, Red Rock, the brothers (2), the Sisters (2), Rat, Marin (2), and Angel.

The beautiful thing tally: Sunrise on the bay, clear blue skies, big tankers passing close by at thirty knots, pelicans flying with their wingtips 1/4 inch off the water, sailboats coming out of the Richmond channel, the erosion and rock layer patterns of Red Rock Island, Victorian architecture of the Brothers lighthouse, Ruth Cooper paddling out to greet us and join the paddle, the water currents around Rat Island, the rip roaring currents through Raccoon Strait, Yellow Bluff while going off on an ebb at sunset, coming into Horseshoe Cove just after the Sun had gone down and having Dennis Holton offer to help carry the boat (it's British, you know).

Thanks Mike! Thanks fellow Gonzos!

---

Back to Trip Reports