First a little practice paddling before launching
We had some returning paddlers and two first-time paddlers as well as two club officers who just came to do photography.
The paddling included coming back to the dock and climbing out of the kayak and trading places in the kayak so that people could get used to the differences in paddling from the front or rear position (seat) of a kayak.
People figured out fairly quickly how to paddle simultaneously (both people pulling their paddle through the water on the right hand side of the kayak at once, then both people paddling on the left hand side at once).
The slightly cloudy skies did not bring us any rain.
Putting all the paddles into one of the kayaks makes it easier to transport them back up the dock ramp to the kayak trailer:
As we were finishing loading the kayaks back on the trailer, a man approached us saying that he was trying to find help and no one knew how to get help. He said that a man had launched a rubber raft, had been blown by the strong afternoon winds to the far side of the inlet, was trying to paddle back, but could not do so.
(The man looking for how to find help saw us with the trailer full of kayaks and figured we might know how to get help.)
He was correct, since we always have the phone numbers for the Bayland Head Park Ranger and Palo Alto dispatch with us (on a sticky-note on the dashboard of the club advisor’s SUV used to tow the kayak trailer). Outdoor Club President David Femmel called dispatch and club advisor Mary called the head Ranger and told them of the plight of the man in the rubber raft.
His raft (that you can barely see on the far shore) is in about the center of the photo below:
Within minutes the Ranger arrived and was talking through a bullhorn to the man in the rubber raft.
She asked him to raise both arms in the air if he was
— having a medical emergency
— or was in injured
— or was just stuck.
He raised his arms to signify just stuck.
(The man in the stuck rubber raft did not have a lifejacket on.)
As she was finishing questioning him from afar, fire and rescue trucks from Palo Alto and Menlo Park started arriving.
We were told that they were also asking for a boat to come from up SF bay.
We watched and discussed when to call (or not call) 911 or dispatch while on our upcoming trip to Grand Teton Park.
The man in the rubber raft tried again and again to paddle but the wind was too strong and he could not move.
A kayaker who had launched earlier came paddling from out on SF bay into the inlet and asked the various officers standing on the dock what was happening. He volunteered to paddle out to the raft, tie it to his kayak and try to paddle it back to the dock.
He was successful. When the kayaker who did the rescue carried his kayak past us on the ramp from the dock to the parking lot, we applauded him.
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The next De Anza Outdoor Club trip for a kayaking lesson and practice paddling will be detailed at Baylands kayaking.
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Most of the photos on this webpage are courtesy of De Anza Outdoor Club President David Femmel.