Great guys and tasty food. Impressions of a newbie in Half Moon Bay.

I thought I'd post about what it was like going out as a total Newbie today in Half Moon Bay.

My friend Ariel had been talking it up and we finally got it together to make a plan for this weekend. The plan involved being up at 6AM on a Sunday, which right away means that I thought this experience would be pretty cool. The only other things I wake up that early for are gigs and flights.

I brought my inflatable Sea Eagle Fastrack to the water and started assembling it. One fisherman expressed concern that a crab could bite through it, but another came to my defense when I insisted that you would really need to slice it with a knife. Nothing else can puncture it!
 
I was pleasantly surprised that I could paddle and keep up with everyone who was foot-powering their impressive Mirage Drive rigs. The Sea Eagle is designed to go straight, and I was carrying next to nothing, so I guess I had a weight advantage.

The safety in numbers thing was something Ariel told me about on the car ride down to Half Moon Bay. I didn't really get this until we were a mile out at the reef, casting for fish. I caught a black rock fish on my first cast and felt pretty good, although I didn't like having to kill it with my knife through its head. It didn't die quickly. I'd rather have knocked it out.  Shortly after I unfortunately needed to hurl. Then I got cold (no wet suit, not even any shoes!) and needed to take a dump, and a piss. The Sea Eagle wasn't very well set up for this. Hurling felt like the easy part! I had no idea how to accomplish my task and had to ask Ariel for tips and stabilize myself with his Hobie. Unexpected aspect of Kayak Angling! But that's what you get for starting the day at 6AM.

After my third time dry heaving Ariel offered to take me in and I immediately accepted. He'd caught a couple nice Black Rock Fish too, and we had set 2 crab traps, so it wasn't a total loss. I was grateful to Ariel for escorting me all the way back to the harbor. Back with the Stand Up Paddleboarders, I was able to glide and enjoy my rig again. Ariel went to retrieve crab and I hit the beach and started cleaning and deflating my kayak.

The parking lot scene was pretty great. I was really impressed by the kindness and generosity of the guys. They gave me a smoke, some raw Uni and Abalone. They expressed sympathy for my seasickness and said it Dramamine would help. It was relaxed and the weather was warmish for November so we packed up slow and had some beers. We stayed till almost sundown.

When I got home Ariel gave me 3 crab out of his 'limit' catch and all the Rock Fish. I boiled the crab and offered some to my girlfriend as a peace offering for what had been a rough weekend. It was such a cool feeling to taste the crab and fish we'd caught. I have a pile of bones and shells, two more rock fish, and two cooked crab in the freezer.

I think another great time to go out on with the NCKA would be just before Thanksgiving, to put some food from the sea on my family's Thanksgiving table. I bet my dad would enjoy the atmosphere, though I'm not sure he'd want to go out into the rolling waves, even with Dramamine.

The cool thing is, I know the guys would welcome him, and that's a good feeling.

Thanks to Ariel, Antonio, and others whose names I've dropped due to insufficient sleep. Hope to join you again soon.

I don't have any photos from today because my camera croaked, but I thought I'd include some cool shots of how I do Bike / Kayak adventures with the Sea Eagle. I'm able to carry my bike on the kayak, enabling me to put in and take out at different locations. This opens up a whole new type of adventure.  For example, you can really take advantage of the currents, which in the Bay is a big deal. Haven't combined it with fishing yet but who knows.Enjoy:

Welcome to NCKA and the madness fossilfool 

With your bike and hayak it looks like you don't need no fossil fuel, fossilfool!    Welcome to the madness and congrats on a great adventure!

It was a pleasure to meet you today Paul. Welcome to the brotherhood that is NCKA 

Antonio

Welcome!   

Im a cycling enthusiast, too.  stoked to read about your cyclokayak adventures. 

excellent setup. I love the Sparten experience!

Nice write-up... I am looking forward to joining the club, so to speak...

How long does it take you to set-up the Sea-Eagle?
I am currently biased towards getting a Mirage Drive kayak, but the weight, storage, and cost are a little prohibitive; the inflatables seems like a good compromise, but I worry about long set-up times...

Dig the bike/yak combo!

You had an awesome guide in Ariel, he's a legend around here.

My buddy Matt & I were parked next to you guys.  I agree about the shore hangout, I think we were in the parking lot longer than we were on the water!

Now that is a great write up and a really cool setup, especially since it allows you to put in and take out at different spots without worry about transportation. 

Nice report and nice to meet you yesterday. Scopace works well for some as far a seasickness.

With enough zip ties and duct tape, you might be able to combine your inflatable with your bike to make a Hobie!

Nice report, welcome to NCKA. I'm relatively new myself here and just got my yak just a few weeks ago.

I briefly met you and Ariel on our way home, I was with FishingAddict (Mel). We both have the blue Revo13.

I finally got to meet Ariel in person, after meeting him thru my Canadian cousin a few years ago via FB. lol!

Great Report.  You were definitely hang with a group of top quality guys.

Cool setup you got there...and easily transportable by bike!

Glad you guys had a good time out there..minus the dry heaving of course.  Ariel didn't let you hitch a ride on his trampoline?   

See you around.