Words & Photos from Allegra N. & Bryson H.
Day 1: On the first day we met at derby and got all our water gear ready for the next two days. Once we were all in our wetsuits and had all of our gear, we took the bus to Gonzales beach and the weather was beautiful with clear skies and lots of sun. After we arrived, we helped unload all the kayaks and pack our gear. Once everything we needed was on the beach and we picked our kayaks, the instructors taught us some important things to know before we ventured out. We paddled for quite a while, taking small breaks along the way until we got to Trial Islands. We paddled around the islands and practiced different techniques in the unpredictable currents until we saw a lighthouse on one of the islands. We saw plenty of wildlife, including seals, birds, and even a sea lion. Then we paddled around to find a nice beach to eat our lunches on. After lunch, our instructors taught us about unpredictable outcomes and weather that could happen on the water, and how to navigate through them. We learned how to plan a kayaking trip and how to check tidal charts and the weather forecast before leaving. Once we’d packed up, we practiced angling our kayak and strokes to pass through strong currents around the islands, and then we “ferried” to cross the ocean to kayak along the coastline. We made our way back to the beach and carried our kayaks into the truck’s racks and packed our gear to hang dry back at derby.
Day 2: On the second day we met at derby again and collected all our gear that we let dry the day before. Once we had everything we went to Gonzales beach again and helped unload all the paddleboards onto the beach since it was our turn to paddleboard. Once everyone was ready, we practiced balancing and paddling on our boards, and then we launched onto the water successfully which was a surprise compared to our last trip. We then paddled to the right of the bay for quite a while and we all started to get pretty hot under the hot sun, especially since we were wearing lots of layers. We stopped halfway to take off a few layers and then continued paddling. Once we made it around the point we found a nice part of the beach to eat our lunches on. After lunch a few of us tried building a small fort out of long sticks while the others rested a bit longer and then we ventured out again. On the paddle back we all decided to jump in the water to cool off and then we had a battle on the boards to test our balance on our way back. Once we were back in the bay, we had plenty of time left so we swam for a while and then brought in all the paddleboards and gear. We then went back to derby after a successful and fun day and then washed all of our clothes and gear that we borrowed. This trip was even more fun than our last one and we especially enjoyed our paddle boarding experience for the chance to swim in the ocean!