I was unable to go on a BASK trip from Bolinas to Miur Beach, but this got Maryly and I thinking about Bolinas Bay. We had met here for a nice paddle out to the reef almost one year ago. This time Maryly still had Ken Mannshardt's old Coaster and I had my new Pirouette surf kayak. My surf kayak bothered Maryly because she did not want to spend the morning surfing. I went along with her wishes and we paddled out over the surf and started across the bay towards the reef again.
When we left the mouth of the lagoon there was a group of kayakers playing in the waves offshore here. As we crossed down the bay we saw another group of kayakers. One of these waved at us from a distance and turned out to be Gino Thomas. He told us later that he recognized my wooden Greenland paddle from halfway across the bay. I expected the short round-bottomed Pirouette kayak to have trouble going in a straight line but it did not on the trip out. We soon reached the reef and turned to follow it to Bolinas Point. The tide was a little lower than the last trip Maryly and I had done out there and getting all the way to the last little beach was more trouble than we wanted to do.
After stopping at a different sandy beach for a rest we headed back. On the return trip my boat had a lot of trouble tracking in a straight line. I'm guessing that there must have been a breeze or a current that helped my boat track on the outgoing trip but made it worse on the return. Paddling and ruddering to keep the boat going straight wore out my arms and the tendentious in my left elbow started to bother me.
Back at the mouth of the lagoon we stopped to talk to some of the kayak surfers on our way in through the break. Maryly was describing her insecurity about going in through the waves when a large one reared up behind us. I paddled hard to get out of her way and shouted "You may not have a choice anymore!" Maryly broached and braced into the wave and did an expert job of riding it sideways. It apparently found deeper water and calmed down and then we sprinted into the mouth of the lagoon before more sneaker waves could catch us. After easily slipping over one wave my confidence was high and I looked over my shoulder wishing to be back out there. But the pain in my elbow made me follow Maryly to shore for lunch.