Moonlight Paddle

Last night I had the opportunity to go on California Canoe&Kayak's moonlight paddle. I've gone on this trip several times before and really enjoy being on the water at night. The group gathered just before 7pm, aside from the instructor and myself there were six other people. We donned all our gear including spray skirt, pdf and paddle jacket and headed down to the dock.. The instructor assigned people to boats, I was in a single kayak while the others who had limited paddling experience were in doubles. After fitting everyone into their boats we gathered for a short paddle talk. The instructor went over a few basic strokes, how to use the kayak and what to do in the event of a capsize, a very rare event in the double kayak. We were soon on our way into the evening. As we headed out of the dock area into the estuary I caught a quick glimpse of the fiery sunset between fog banks. We paddled up the estuary, stopping to hear a bit about FDR's yacht the Potomac and the light ship Relief. The wind picked up just a bit, the fog rolled in and the beautiful full moon made an appearance as we paddled across the estuary toward the Alameda shore. Night on the estuary is so beautiful. The water is inky black, few boats disturb the quiet and the Oakland lights twinkle in the hills.

We slowly made our way past the houseboats, along the shore toward Coast Guard Island. The current was going our way and the wind died down which made for a very relaxing paddle. Once out of the glaring lights of the Port and Jack London area the estuary becomes a bit darker and very peaceful. In the distance I could see the bright lights of the coliseum where the A's were actually winning a game. Just past the boats of the Encinal Yacht club the group rafted up and the instructor brought out juice and cookies for a light snack. The fog had come in, low enough to cover the top of the tribune building and obscure the moon. The wind had also picked up by this time meaning we would fight both it and the current on the way back. So rather than go all around Coast Guard Island the group opted to cut straight across the estuary then turn for home. As we paddled back along the Oakland shoreline the wind died and the fog lifted again so the paddle back was less strenuous than expected. The easygoing pace of the trip made for a relaxing night and we were back at the dock around 9:30. After pulling the kayaks up on the dock everyone headed up to the shop to rinse out the gear, collect belongings and call it a night. Even though the moon was fogged over for most of the trip, a beautiful way to spend a Saturday evening.