For the last paddle of the summer we returned to the site of our very first paddle, Monterey Bay. We first paddled here with a group from the Aquarium back when we were members. We put in by Monterey Bay Kayaks. It was a bit of a hike from the parking lot down to the water, but we got everything moved in three trips. It was also coastal cleanup day so John picked up a bag for us to gather trash that we found during the paddle. We got through the very slight surf, paddled along Municipal Wharf and headed toward the end of the Coast Guard breakwater where all the sea lions hang out. Very noisy creatures. As we passed among the boats harbored there we saw a large jelly drift by. We got across the boat channel and around the end of the breakwater with little incident. We then paddled along the edge of Monterey, seeing Cannery Row from the water side.
It was a relatively calm day and we paddled over the kelp forest catching a glimpse of buglike creatures, many turban and top snails (but not the ringed top shell I am always looking for). There were also sponges among the kelp and few crabs were spotted though never fully seen. We paddled down to Point Cabrillo, about even with the Hopkins buildings that house the Tuna Research and Conservation Center which we visited last year. From there we could see the surf that the guide warned about on the other side of Point Cabrillo. Since we do not have the training or proper gear we decided to turn around and work our way back.
This time we paddled closer in and studied the kelp and small critters more closely. Although it was enchanting, we learned that staring at what is close in leads to feeling seasick in the swell (Crank tells us it gets like that under the water too). That did not stop us though and we continued to idle our way back along Cannery Row experimenting with the video and underwater abilities of the camera. We also picked up some trash, primarily styrofoam peanuts and drinking straws. Sometimes we would paddle toward something that would appear to be a large piece of trash to discover it was actually a dead bird. All along this stretch we were occassionally startled by seals popping up and checking us out. We also saw a couple of rafts of sea otters anchored among the kelp. When we were about even with the waterside hotel we once stayed in we spotted what we thought was going to be another dead bird, but this one was larger. It turned out to be a dead mola mola, about 22 inches across.
On the return voyage we detoured into the small harbor next to Fisherman’s Wharf and then paddled back around the Municipal Wharf and returned to Del Monte beach. We were able to surf into the shore with little trouble and hauled out. It was too late to turn in our trash for the statistics besides how would they record what “beach” it was collected from? We got everything back into and onto the car and went in to Monterey Bay Kayaks to browse the selection, looking at gloves and replacement pieces for the little plastic bits that hold the tie downs, as well as to use their restroom.