Monday, June 29, 2015

Canoe & Kayak "Dream Your Adventure" Contest

For some time I have had a desire to explore the Delta more in depth and share what I find. I'm planning an expedition for 2016 where I intend to paddle as much of this vast area as possible. Canoe & Kayak magazine has a contest that ends July 21st that will award someone $10,000 to complete an expedition of a lifetime. I would appreciate if you would vote for my entry! You can vote once a day until July 21st. The Delta is a wonderful place to paddle and I want the world to know how beautiful it is so we can protect it. You can view my entry and vote here: 

Sunset Paddle



We had an amazing paddle Friday evening! We launched from Holland Riverside Marina and paddled around Beaver Island and then made our way up Rock Slough.

The wind was blowing above 12 knots but with the high temperatures the wind was refreshing. We saw Egrets, Heron and one beaver. The best part was watching the golden sunset lighting up the water with brilliant warm colors.

Join our Meetup group to get exclusive discounts on many of the tours we offer, including our sunset paddle!

Our next Sunset Paddle is July 10th.


See you on the water!

























Offering kayak rentals, tours & classes on the California Delta!

BASK Delta Paddle

If you are a sea kayaker or an aspiring sea kayaker and would like to paddle the greater San Francisco Bay Area and beyond then you need to join BASK. Bay Area Sea Kayakers is a club made up of volunteers who have a passion for paddling and sharing their knowledge and skills. The club promotes skill development and offers opportunities to hone your kayaking skills. All members are encouraged to contribute in whatever way they can. One way BASK members can contribute is to initiate paddles and the paddles can range from rock gardening to flat water trips around the bay area.

Last week I led a BASK paddle to Sherman Island and seven of us paddled approximately 8 miles from Antioch to Sherman Island County Park. We started out on calm waters at slack tide and headed to the maze of sloughs and marsh covered islands that make up Sherman Lake Waterfowl Management Area. After a stretch break on a sandy little island, we headed to the park for a restroom break. As we headed back to the launch the wind came up and made for a bumpy but fun ride home. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to initiating more Delta paddles!

After the paddle, six of us headed to Hazels for some grub. Hazels is a great little diner that offers old fashioned sodas and milk shakes. If you order the Willy Burger I can guarantee you won't leave hungry!



Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Middle River & Little Mandeville Island

I've been paddling quite a bit lately but this is the first chance I've had to post in over a month. I love the Delta! You can paddle the same area every day and each time you're on the water it's a new experience.

After launching from Holland Riverside Marina, we spent some time paddling around Little Mandeville Island and Middle River today. Our intentions were to make it to Mildred Island but we were doing more chatting than paddling and soon realized we weren't making much progress and the currents would soon turn against us. We reversed course and headed back on Middle River where we discovered a shady sandy beach where we could stretch and cool off. It was in the mid 90's today and the water felt great!





This area has so many small islands and coves that offer endless exploration. We saw a couple of flocks of White Pelicans, Great Blue Heron, Snow egrets and lots of turtles. The beach we stopped on was alive with the chatter of what sounded like hundreds of birds.

We made our way back paddling the southern edge of Little Mandeville until we reached Rhode Island. There's a small entrance on the north shore of Rhode Island where you can enter the center of the submerged island. I've paddled here several times but today it was a rather unpleasant experience. I'm not sure if it was due to the low tide or not but there was a really bad oily smell in the air and the current leading into the island was literally black. I've never experienced anything like this before and wish I knew what was the cause. We quickly departed the inner island and made our way back to Old River where we rode the tide and small wind driven rollers home.


Another awesome day exploring my backyard!






I've been kayak fishing here the past couple of weeks and the fishing has been great. Last week I caught nine stripers in  under three hours! They were all shakers and released for another day but two or three were nearly 18 inches and all of them put up a great fight.







Check our calendar for upcoming tours or contact me to book a custom tour including kayak fishing tours. We also have rentals available with advanced reservations!

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