San Salvador

THE LAUNCH DATE HAS BEEN POSTPONED BY THE MARITIME MUSEUM

Due to technical difficulties in moving the San Salvador from Spanish Landing to the B Street Pier, the date of April 19 is no longer the “Launch Date”. Please check back on this site each week, and as soon as we know something, we will give a new launch date, and email that info out also.

All the info below (except the date) will hopefully apply to our paddle, once we have a new date.

Here are the safety instructions issued by the Maritime Museum to all boaters for the event. We will paddle to the location just off the “B” Street Pier, approximately where the “Spectator Viewing Lane” arrow is pointing. The full details of our paddle, including a Safety Notice and maps of where we launch and our plotted course can be found below. If you are an experienced paddler, we hope you can join us.

THIS WILL BE A 7 MILE INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL PADDLE

The replica of Cabrillo’s flagship has been under construction near the airport, and will be launched with great celebration (TV coverage, a parade of boats, speeches, etc). We are going to have a paddle to coincide with that event. This is a good opportunity to see the launch from the water, while possibly getting some free club publicity, given the news media coverage. We will meet at the Liberty Station launch ramp, paddle down the canal, then along Harbor Island and over to the launch site of the San Salvador at the Broadway Pier. That is a distance of about 3.5 miles, so this will now be an intermediate level paddle of at least 7 miles total. We should arrive at the pier around 10 am, when they will be lifting the SS off the pier. From there they will tow it over to Coronado and back to the museum pier where she will be berthed, with several boats sailing along with it. We can paddle down to the Midway, then back to the Maritime Museum pier location to see the parade arrive there. It should be an exciting day.

BOAT RENTALS AVAILABLE

Aqua Adventures has kayaks for rent, but you must pick them up at the store. If you want a rental, you will need to call and pay in advance to reserve your boat. Their phone number is 619 523-9577.

For more info on the San Salvador project, click on these links:

http://www.sdmaritime.org/san-salvador-build/

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-san-salvador-ship-20140915-story.html

http://www.sdnews.com/view/full_story/25829651/article-Replica-of-Cabrillo-s-ship–San-Salvador–nearly-ready-to-sail?instance=update1

LAUNCH DATE AND TIME: 

The exact date WILL BE ANNOUNCED.  When we know the date, we will give it here, and via an email to the members of the SDKC (so sign up to get on our mailing list, with no cost to join).

DURATION OF THE PADDLE: 

We will be on the water for about 3 hours, checking out the San Salvador and the boat parade.

SAFETY NOTICE:

This is a intermediate-level paddle of at least 7 miles, not intended for beginners.

There will be a lot of power boats, personal watercraft, and sail boats on the bay during this event, so we need to stay close to shore and the end of the B Street Pier (where we can watch the SS launch).  When we go down to the Midway, we need to stay close to the piers also. When we cross the open water between Harbor Island and the B Street Pier, we need to stay in groups of 3 or more, in order to be more visible to other boaters.

Caution: The ramp at our Liberty Station launch site can be very slippery, so be careful when you walk down that concrete ramp.

WHAT TO BRING:

Bring your hat, sunglasses, camera, water and snacks for the paddle. There is a grassy area to clean off your boat, so bring water for that. Bring all safety gear and a VHF if you have one. Life jackets are mandatory, and must be worn. Please read the Disclaimer at the end of this post. 

OUR PLOTTED COURSE TO THE B STREET PIER IS IN YELLOW:

DIRECTIONS TO LIBERTY STATION LAUNCH RAMP:

From I-5 south and I-8 west, take the Rosecrans exit (which is Hwy 209 on the map). Take Rosecrans to Lytton Street (at the Sail Ho golf course) and turn left. Take the first right, into Liberty Station. Follow the one way street to Sims Road and turn left. Turn left on Historic Decatur, a one-way street which takes you back toward the entrance. You will immediately see another street named Perry on your left. Turn into the parking lot on your right at that juncture. The ramp is at the east end of that lot (LS Launch on the map). There are restrooms at the golf course and the park.

PLEASE NOTE:

These paddles are not sanctioned San Diego Kayak Club or Aqua Adventures events. The announcer of this event is not the leader of such, merely a “coordinator”.

Disclaimer: We will have experienced paddlers on this trip, but they will not be responsible for telling you what is or is not safe for you to do. We watch out for one another and assist one another, but all individuals are responsible for, and manage their own safety. This responsibility includes assessing your gear, skill level, and physical conditioning relative to conditions and location, as well as making decisions about what you will or will not do. Participants acknowledge that kayaking on the open sea or bay is inherently dangerous and can lead to physical injury including death as well as property damage. Participants, on their behalf and on behalf of their heirs and assignees, agree to hold the announcers and other participants blameless in the event of such injury, damage or death. Please join us if you want to mildly stretch your capabilities, but please stay home if you would be wildly stretching them. Participants should have bracing skills, be able to self-rescue and assist in the rescue of others. They should be able to launch and/or land along the rocky bay front.

California Canoe and Kayak has just announced Paddle Golden Gate. This three day event will be held February 5-7, 2016 at the Marin Headlands. No further details have been released. This is the replacement for the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium. This new event will offer classes for SUPs according to Sean Morley, event organizer.

This coed camping trip is open to age 18 on up, and will be in the Lake Martinez area just north of Yuma, Arizona. The date will be the weekend of March 20-22. There are now 13 signed up to go, and we want you to join us. The photos show what the area is like: the winding Colorado and small lakes, backed up by the Imperial Dam, with many narrow canals through the reeds. A great place for kayaks to explore. The weather that time of year is ideal, with mild breezes, and temps in the mid 70’s during the day, and around 55 at night (at 4am).  This date is also past the rainy season there, and is still relatively quiet of boat traffic. We plan to launch at Squaw Lake, and go up river to camp at “Hidden Lake Island” (click on photos to enlarge).  Since we are paddling against a one knot current, decked kayaks are better suited (but if you are a strong paddler in a SOT, it can be done, so join us).

It is a 3 hour drive to the launch site, so we can drive there on Friday morning, and have time to paddle up river and set camp by mid afternoon. We’ll explore the river all day Saturday, then head back to San Diego on Sunday sometime early afternoon.

If you are interested in going, and are not yet a club member, sign up on our email list. I’ll be sending more email notices to the club on this trip, and you can then reply with questions, or sign up. Details of the trip (what to bring, etc) will be sent out at a later date to those who are going. I hope you can join in. The desert that time of year is wonderful, and this open area affords a big night sky to enjoy while we sit around a campfire.