canoe: kula ‘anela long distance races

I am so groggy and grumpy when having to wake up while it's still dark, but I had instructions to be at Fort Baker at 6 a.m. from my outrigger canoe club. Our last long distance race (for me at least) of the season. I got lost in the dark and ended up driving around Baker's Beach on the San Francisco side instead of the Marin side. Once I got across the Golden Gate and down to the harbor, my energy was already in overdrive. I do love the sights and sounds as the sun is rising. I never get tired of looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, and I loved that there were dogs all around.

 

I miss my own black and white dog, Sadie when spying on this curious fellow! And oh look, a cruise ship.

  

I vaguely recall going to the Bay Discovery Museum (for a school field trip?), but I don't remember this waterfront, nor Horseshoe Cove at all. I'm going to have to return to Fort Baker.

And here's the North Gate from where we paddle to the start of the races.

  

I found our club tent, which was right next to the hosting club's (Tamalpais Outigger Canoe Clube) tents of coffee, bagels, merch for sale and raffle prizes. Daran, our head coach insisted we take a group pic, and here we are all in our puffy jackets and flip flops except for Bessie in her Uggs and Sophia in her hiking boots.

Mia, the women's coach and I found Grace, the steersman of the canoe I was to be guest paddling for Hei'ilani of Monterey. Grace and I made our way to her meeting on the route. She and I were paddling the novice 4 -mile route from Cavallo Point to the bottom of Richardson Bay and back while the open races would be paddling all the way around Angel Island to Tiburon and Belvedere and back.

 

From the North Gate to Angel Island.

After my novice race, I walked with Bessie and Bel to the top of the headland and to the jetty and back up to watch the other races. We met these crab fisherman on the pier off Horseshoe Cove (no fishing license required! And so I'm going to drag Meral and Mark Sanchez to go crabbing and fishing here). These guys called their crabbing "glabbing" and seemed a lot of fun....

....especially this guy, who told his friends, I don't drink; I'm not gonna hold a beer when posing for a pic for us.

I thrilled at seeing the Coast Guard and was nostalgic for my childhood.

And when not eating shoyu chicken and rice and pan sushi with nori, we watched races. 

I bid farewell to my last view of the San Francisco skyline when exiting the dirt parking lot.

The day was glorious, and I'm definitely hooked on open water activities. I plan on taking sea kayaking lessons with my friend, Nicole, so we can rent kayaks and tour the Elkhorn Slough in Monterey. I told my friend, Barbara at happy hour that we're going to visit her boyfriend in Larkspur to kayak some more in Marin. I'll take my vitamin sea where I can get it.