36.55'00 122.06'54

Sorry, the straight line distance between the way points was 8.7 miles along the route.

call it 12 miles, maybe 15 as an upper bound.

it's no bluekayak sunup to sundown 30 mile day at least, but not easy either.

one would have to minimize the trolling around out there, just try to
trooch, mooch on the drift or troll a slight zig zag towards the
destination.  conserve the energy.

But I guess out to mulligans and back is 8 or 9 miles.  I have done that one.

So I think this is do-able.  probably really easy if you catch a salmon. 

when you get in close enough, just bounce that mooching weight on the bottom
for halibut, maybe switch to squid.

I'm not sure it is really better than simply paddling out and back
from natural bridges, mitchells cove or the wharf tho. no advantage
if the wind stays down. The main advantage is that if the wind comes
up a littlle earlier, you are good. makes it easier to plan or stick with the
plan in the face of higher wind or waves than might be ideal.

the main disadvantage is the need for the ferry which is a pain in the ass,
but as ferries go, not too bad.

maybe we should check the downwind assumption a bit more.

Where is three trees in relation to soquel hole? bluekayak said he tried to get out there,
but the wind turned him back.

Ed, for comparison, how does an out and back from natural bridges to soquel hole look?
(If you don't mind, sometime,  )

J

thanks, I'll get the fish map.

I did find out about a windsurfer that fell out there and literally ended up in monterey.

alive fortunately.

but you know, you'd be just in time for dinner @ the cellar door!

If you launch @ 4 mile which is north of natural bridges, you should be out and able to point it inland well
in time to make it.

But 25 mph wind and 11 foot swell would be an issue. hopefully it would be a little calmer on a day we chose.

J

Wow.  Impressive discussion and work, guys.  Tells me I am so not ready for something like this.  But exciting and inspiring, too.  Thanks for posting and letting a newbie look over your shoulders.  I'll see you in a couple year when my skillls, equipment, and endurance are better established.

StocktonDon,

Please tell me that this disscusion isn't keeping you away from the ocean.  Most of us don't paddle these kinds for serious trips and find plenty of good fishing near shore. In other words you don't need an epic adventure everytime you go out (like bluekayak) to have a good time on the ocean.  From reading your other posts it seems like you have a pretty good grasp on safety.  If you're interested in ocean fishing, I'd recommend starting with rockfish and lingcod.... there are plenty of areas that are fairly protected from wind and swell, have lots of fish and are all within a short paddle from a decent launch.  Salmon can often be found closer to shore later in the season at least up here in Sonoma County. Just keep your eye on the weather before making the trip to the coast and maybe try and meet up with a group of people from this board who will go with you.  As helpful as people are on this board, I've found them to be even more helpful once you're on the water with them.

Brian

Yeah Don the HMB Derby in July would be a great place to get introduced to the ocean. Probably 30-60 people out there with you, easy launch and land from the harbor, pretty good fishing and a rescue boat a radio call away in case of emergency.

This particular proposed trip is something for ocean experts it is true. a minimum of 3 years ocean experience and being in a good
mental and physical state would be wise.  It is about the limit of what I would want to do. And I know I'll regret it at
least once when I'm out there and facing a long paddle home. But ultimately it should be pretty rewarding if the salmon are
out there.

as bsteves notes, the spectrum of ocean experience is pretty wide. You can catch fish 200 yards from the capitola pier
with just a wetsuit, kayak and fishing rod as women paddle by on paddleboards in their bikinis.  pretty tame experience.

of course, you could still potentially have a GWS encounter even there as
a girl died in the 1960's in aptos right off the beach due to a GWS attack but it's pretty unlikely for you to see one.  

Now seeing one off natural bridges. that's a real possibility.   My business partner windsurfed over a big one
there in the 1990's.

Well I would like to hear from scallen again regarding how feasible he thinks this is after all the charts and diagrams, etc.
It's looking like it's fairly burly, but still do-able.

J

well, I figure I would start trolling 1 or 1.5 miles away from the spot, once there,
mooch/trooch/drift a bit once there, then troll the first mile home, pack it in,  paddle
the rest, drift for halibut once in sight of the mile bouy, come in at the harbour, hopefully with 2 salmon
and 2 halibut, 

J

So are you saying being out there is different than being 5 miles out of moss?

good thing is wind generally turns into the bay at some point.

tru offshore NE is pretty darn rare there, especially in spring summer.
in fact, never seen it.

J

Your posts are great and, frankly, inspiring.  I am not ready to join you on the open ocean but I willl be on the ocean in my kayak and fishing nearshore very soon. 

I am going to take a CFK class in Newport June 9 and expect to be in the kelp and fishing then.  Other trips in Central California nearer my home will follow (probably Tamales Bay and Bodega Bay), and I expect before year end to be joining in some of the saltwater outings I see on the board.  Monterey and Big Sur are beautiful and I expect to take a clinic or two, and make some outings in that area also.

I'm not going to stay in the kiddie pool, but, as Clint says, a man's got to know his limitations.

Thanks for your encouragement and example.

The times I've biked up the cliff from Wilder Ranch, 4 Mile looks like a pretty good launch, there's a dirt hump and a beat down fence and weeds near the road to get over, but from there down wheels could be used.
    Coming in somewhere else would have the advantage of not having to haul 40 lbs of salmon and the yak and gear back up the hill.
   I've been out from the harbor at 7 am to South Rock in 120 ft of water, a mile in from Three Trees, trolled for two hours and returned by noon.  But I remember that I should have started in when the wind just got to a breeze, because it can get up some good size rollers in the hour or so that it takes to get back to the harbor, not dangerous, but not much fun.
    I'd be interested in a shuttle trip, weekend or weekdays.  Just need to pick good weather/swell/wave pattern and adjust if necessary.
I've never launched/landed at Mitchell's Cove, but it looks O.K. on a lot of days, getting the yak up the cliff or up the steps at the wharf has had me putting off the try, tho I know others have done both.

I'm guessing we are facing some downwind weather on the way back.  no real way to avoid that I think. coming back from mulligans
two weeks ago I had some strong wind at my back. was almost better to drift-troll, the boat stayed straighter. when I did paddle,
it was best if I could paddle a little faster so the waves weren't going by me quite so fast. as you say, not dangerous, but not
exactly pleasant either. Way better than going into the wind!

I launched 4 mile a couple times last year. the best place over the hump and fence is at the far left (south) end of the
pull out/parking lot. the hump is smallest, the fence is nonexistent there, it's every so slightly longer (10 seconds).

wheels required. good shoes too. rocky trail. best if the wheels can go in the hatch once you get down there.
it is a good 10 minutes down the trail. Taking the wheels back up to the car would be a pain.
porta-pottys at the bottom of the trail. A good 50 yards of soft sand to cross. two people would be good there.

on return, I guess I have to think about it but I'd probably want to come in right at the harbour. I expect we will be beat
even if the weather is good. that boat ramp is going to look mighty friendly. maybe the wharf is equally friendly I have have
never tried it.

Tom, I will PM you my cell, I have a house in santa cruz for may, right near the harbour, maybe even this sunday is a possibility,
more likely the next weekend, saturday or sunday.

wind is forecast down for thursday/friday/saturday, starting up again sunday so I don't know if that will work.  I think I'm surfing saturday,
looks like a real south swell could be here. big south swell would make launch @ 4 mile an issue anyway.

We could do a test trip first, staying closer to the coast doing some halibut drifts in 40-70 feet of water. That might be wise.
The total distance then would be closer to 6 miles than 10?

Best,

J