2006 Ocean Kayak Day Trip

Kayaks launching:

We always do this adventure with the safety and confidence of everyone in mind, so all the trip participants wait to start paddling until everyone has left shore. Below, another group photo:

We spotted our first seals and the first close-up otter soon after starting out:

A seal popped up near part of the group then swam under the kayaks to look at us.

We all know to keep our distance from marine mammals as we paddle. After watching an otter we moved on:

Out just a little beyond the Monterey Bay Aquarium we stopped and sat still for awhile, able to see an otter eating and grooming, and seeing it especially well with telephoto lens or binoculars:

Then an otter seemed to be swimming closer to us:

People should never paddle close to marine mammals, but if they swim close to us and we sit still it's okay.

This otter pup swam among the kayaks while mom watched.

First it came to one side of our kayak,

and I thought I was about to get a great picture, but it surface dived:

only to reappear on the other side of the kayak and come close to check us out:

And swam back around to the right side again:

I had stowed a paddle while we sat still and it seemed interested in it. (The mother of the otter pup waited nearby.)

Then it went out among the rest of the kayaks:

Sudharian and Bharathy were holding on to some kelp to stay in one place as the pup and mom otter approached:

Some of our group saw another otter surface with a rock on its belly and pound a crustacean on the rock to crack its shell and be able to eat it.

At sea otter visits Shannon Mathey's kayak Monterey 2006 you can see the otter pup visit one of our group and seem to be interested in the carrying handles at the ends of the kayak.

When coming back in to shore, one kayak comes in at a time:

You don't want to miss the looks on the faces of Hoang-My (Mimi) Dunkle and Imelda Terrazas at the page of pictures of landings at the beach.

ocean kayak landings 2006

Before we went kayaking, some of us got practice climbing back into a kayak from a swimming pool. It wasn't required, but it gave people more confidence. (And, no, no one fell out of their kayak on this trip.)

Details and rules about this trip are at: Monterey ocean kayak day trip