Big Break Update

My friend Mary and I headed out to Big Break this morning to test her new boat and to paddle some stress away. I checked the wind forecast at Windfinder.com before I left and the forecast was for winds under 10 mph. There was a small craft advisory issued for after 1:00 p.m. but I figured we'd be off the water in plenty of time.

We met at Big Break Regional Shoreline so we could put her boat in the back of my truck and share the cost of launching at Big Break Marina. UPDATE: Big Break Regional Shoreline is closed right now due to the ongoing construction of the visitor center. I spoke with East Bay Parks and I was told the visitor center will be opening this weekend so I assume we'll have access to the launch at that time. I'm waiting to hear whether they will allow boat drop offs when they reopen. Otherwise keep in mind it's a quarter mile haul to the launch.When I arrived I noticed the wind was blowing more than I expected but we loaded up and headed down the road to the marina.

We launched at low tide without incident and headed northeast. The wind was picking up but due to low tide the grass was more of an issue than the wind. Once we reached open water the wind really started howling and after checking the wind report, it must have been blowing 15-20 mph from the northwest. Whitecaps were forming where there was more depth and it was a challenge to stay on course. We were probably about 75 yards from Dutch Slough when we decided to turn around and head back towards the larger island to find some shelter from the wind.

We reached the island and decided to stretch our legs for a few minutes. Mary had a little mishap getting out of her boat and got a little wet but she was a trooper. We decided to head back to the marina and poke around and check out all the boats. We stumbled upon a boat with her name on it and snapped a quick photo and then headed back to the boat ramp.

After I landed on the ramp I turned around and saw that Mary had decided to go for a swim. She actually had slipped on the moss covered ramp while getting out of her boat. I advised her she would probably be more comfortable swimming in hydroskins than jeans and she agreed. It was a great paddle and I think we both were able to paddle some stress away!