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Thirty five paddlers joined together to see the collection of tall ships at the embarcadero on September 5th. People came from not only the SDKC, but several from Valley-Wide, the San Diego Meet-Up Group, TRR, and CKF paddled with us. Chris Griffith took point, while Joe Morin brought up the rear as safety.

We had ideal weather and mostly calm waters throughout the 8 mile paddle, and more people joined us for the picnic. Even though Steve Wilson had an injured hand, he still managed to give us one very nice song, and we thank him for that. Many brought group food items, which turned out to be a great time of visiting with old friends, while meeting several new ones. We were even joined by a kayaker from Maine who discovered our website, and has become a fan. She even bought one of our hats, making the state of Maine now the most distant place from San Diego to have our hats worn! How cool is that?

Not only were there several beautiful square riggers, schooners, and yawls on display, but a very interesting outrigger canoe reproduction was of special interest to us, which is based on the original sailing canoes in the Mariana Islands. The person on board the canoe said an augmented version of that design holds the world speed record for vessels under sail.  For more information of all the vessels on display, click on this link, then the participating ships box:

http://sdmaritime.org/visit/public-events/festival-of-sail/

The replica of the San Salvador was also on display, which was recently launched by the Maritime Museum. Everyone who paddled up close was impressed by the craftsmanship of this wood vessel. We not only were viewing the Tall Ships event, we became part of it, as the Union Tribune included a photo they took of us in their write-up. Click on this link to see it:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/sep/05/festival-of-sail-san-salvador-2015/

To everyone who participated in this fun paddle and picnic, the San Diego Kayak Club thanks you, and we hope to see all of you next year for this wonderful chance to paddle with friends from throughout southern California…and those visiting us from other parts of the country.