For this Labor Day weekend, I decided to head back out to Point Reyes National Seashore in Western Marin County and explored Drakes Estero. The Estero (estuary) is named after Sir Francis Drake, an English explorer who supposedly was the first European to explore the area in 1579 during his circumnavigation of the world. There is also a Sir Francis Drake Blvd which goes from near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (I-580) all the way to the lighthouse inside Point Reyes National Seashore. There are also Drakes Bay, Drakes Beach, Drake’s Head, etc. Nathan Drake of the Uncharted series would have had a field day in this area =) For those who are interested in history, Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. On another note, Queen Elizabeth II passed away today as I was writing up this post =(. May she rest in peace!
It took a little over an hour to get from my place to the Estero, which involved driving the last 1/2 mile on a gravel / dirt road. When I got there at 10am, the parking lot was almost full, with only one “official” space remaining for my car. It turned out that there was a kayak tour of the estero hosted by Blue Waters Kayaking, a local water sports shop at Point Reyes Station, and their two instructors were going over stroke lessons on dry land for their 10+ customers. A couple of other kayaks not affiliated with the tour were already on the waters; it looked like I’d have plenty of company for this paddle today.
When I bent over a couple of times prior to launch, the water in my Osprey bladder spilled out and I lost quite a bit of drinking water. Here, you can see the parking lot behind me, which is no more than a few steps to the beach where I launched my SUP. Wear good water sandals, for the beach is filled with (oyster or other crustacean) shells and your feet could be cut if you’re not careful.
There used to be a Johnson’s Oyster Company here at this location a few years back, but the National Park Service declined to renew their lease, opting to return Drakes Estero to its natural setting. With the company no longer around, kayakers are about the only people to be found here nowadays. While the electric pump blew up my RED board, I organized the stuff I’d bring on my SUP later on. There is also single vault toilet here for our use, and a bulletin board with some description of the area. The most important piece of information that you might gleam from that? Be prepared to encounter lots of harbor seals here. The estero is closed from March to June of each year to accommodate these harbor seals giving births and raising their pups. It also warns us to stay far away from these seals, otherwise one could be considered wildlife harassment, for which fines and prison time might be applicable.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!The prediction for the day was low tide of 2.97 ft at 9:46am, and high tide of 5.87 ft at 4:26 pm. There was a North-northwest wind blowing as soon as I exited the car, and this wind persisted for much of my paddle. It was great with the wind at your back in your paddle out toward the Pacific Ocean, but coming back might be more laborious. Complicating the matter was that fact that I spilled some water from my Osprey water bladder when I bent over to inspect my board. This would play an important role later on in my decision to turn back earlier than expected.
Here I ran into a mud flat and waited around for a bit taking in the view while deciding where to go next. This was just outside of Home Bay.
I launched shortly after the tour group went on the waters. Even though we had about 3+ ft of water, many of the areas were very shallow, and if one is not careful, one could be stranded in the mud. I trailed behind the tour group until they reached and went into Home Bay, one of the five arms of the Estero, at which point I decided to continue onward. And shortly after, I ran aground at a mudflat with lots of birds hanging about. I stayed and took a couple of pictures, then stepped off my board, dragged it across the mudflat by its tail end so the fin wouldn’t be in the way, then was on my way again.
Some time later I’d veer left (east) and approached the eastern shore to avoid what seemed like a couple of big islands (mudflats) with lots of birds and harbor seals on them. As I was warned to stay at least 100 yards from the seal, I paddled close to shore, stopping to snap two pictures with my phone. Since they were so far away, I thought nothing good would come out of the pictures. I planned to use my bridge camera on my return paddle to get a closer shot, hoping that I’d get a clearer view of them to show off here on my blog =)
A little while afterward I was near the mouth of the Estero, but I felt the wind and waves were getting stronger and bigger, and it seemed like I had drunk the last gulp of water from my Osprey bladder (recalled that I spilled water a couple of times on this trip while bending over). I could see the Pacific Ocean from this flat mud, and another 10-15 mins would have gotten me there, but I decided to play it safe, took a short rest, and turned back they way I came from. Supposedly, it was not that pretty near the mouth of the Estero anyway, with lots of cow dungs on the [Limantour] Spit (a long section of sand bar / beach separating the Estero and the ocean; you can see it on Google Map). Well, true or not, that’d be my excuse for not going there on this day =D
The first stretch of my paddle back was rough, with lots of wind going against me, so I made relatively slow progress until reaching the island with lots of harbor seals on it. Landing on the beach by the eastern shore, I opened my Pelican case to take out my bridge camera (Canon SX40 HS) and zoomed in to grab a few close shots of the animals. Unfortunately, the camera ran out of battery the minute I started to zoom in…. this was probably due to me playing too much with it the day before when I bought it off Craigslist from someone in San Francisco for $20 (don’t laugh, it really is working great!). And I had neglected to charge and bring along the extra battery as well, you all will just have to trust my words that there were lots of harbor seals on this island =D
Just when I was about to leave, the tour group arrived and paddled past me toward the mouth of the island. I waved and said hello, and told one of the kayakers that my camera battery ran out, to which he jokingly said that hopefully it was only my camera battery, and not my internal battery. He did have a point though, without my water, I had got to be smart about my energy expenditure.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!The northern wind settled down significantly as soon as I turned into Home Bay, so I figured I might just as well explore it and see for myself what is in this neck of the wood. The water here was very shallow, especially if you keep close to shore. I’d see a leopard shark from time to time (I counted a total of 4 on this paddle), and also lots of smaller fishes as well. Gulls and other shorebirds were plentiful, and just beyond on the Estero Trail further ahead, I’d occasionally spot a hiker or two. It was really peaceful in Home Bay, and I thought it was the greatest place to SUP thus far in Drakes Estero.
I went half-way into Home Bay, then crossed the bay onto the other side and followed the shore to go back to my launching spot. There was a huge group of shorebirds congregating at Bull Point, and I could see two people in a double kayak stopping to take pictures of the birds, just beyond in the main channel of Drakes Estero. As I neared Bull Point, the wind picked up again, and would remain strong for the rest of my paddle back.
In fact, the lack of drinking water and the head wind tired me out for a bit, and I decided to rest along the shore a couple of times to recover. Luckily the parking lot was not too far away, and I managed to make it back in one piece. First order of business? I drank half a liter of water from my spare bottle in the car, and knocked down two bananas to recharge my body battery =) Then I was off to hike the Estero Trail (that I saw previously from paddling in Home Bay), and walked another 3-4 miles before signing out for the day and driving back to Richmond. It was a great Labor Day, I escaped most of the crowd in Point Reyes, and had most of Drakes Estero to myself for much of the day =D. I’ll definitely come back another time and try to explore the remaining arms, e.g. Creamery Bay, Barries Bay, and Estero de Limantour.
So for the day, I paddled some 7.5+ miles, but definitely could do a bit more if I did not lose some of my drinking water before launching. One advice that I read from elsewhere is that to avoid mud flats, one could begin the paddle by staying close to the western shore, exploring Creamery and Barries Bays if one wishes, then continuing hugging the shore until reaching Drake’s Head. In going back, one can then first paddle northwest to avoid the mud flat near the mouth of the Estero, then again hugging the eastern shore to return to the parking lot. I’ll likely try this route the next time I visit Drakes Estero.
