Lessons learned

I am either doing HMB or Linda Mar, leaning towards HMB right now.

You generally should not get out of the yak until it is firmly on the sand.  With proper technique you should be just fine in any conditions while in the kayak. Most people that try to get out of the kayak while out in the water run the risk of tripping, dumping the yak, or stepping on a stingray. Not to mention just getting a lot wetter. Learn to brace properly and you should have no problems. I don't know if it is far enough north for you but we can always run a surf, safety and paddle skills class with Jeff Krieger up near Santa Barbara. Let me know and we can set it up. Or how about this, enter the Steve Moyer Memorial touranment, make a weekend out of it and we can do a group surf class the next day.

I've mentioned Eskape Sea Kayaking before. This is a company that runs sea kayaking classes out of Santa Cruz. The owner has literally written the book on the subject of kayak rescue. As well as a book on paddling the Northern California coast. They have regularly scheduled classes, but it might be worthwhile to contact them to see if they would be up for running a seminar. Having practice sessions is good, but actual class time with people that actually instruct the instructors cannot be beat.

Regards,
Scott