Point Lobos State Reserve
It was about 50 degrees out when I arrived, so for the first time ever kayaking, I wore long pants, a rain proof jacket, and thermal under-layers. Since I had never worn anything but a t-shirt and shorts before, I wasn’t sure if I’d be comfortable or not, but it worked out just fine.
I pumped up my stand up board and got in the water relatively quickly. I started going to the east part of the bay without paying attention, when sudden movement caught my eye. Three or four seals who were lounging on the small beach were hauling ass down to the water. This puzzled me as I was still at least 200 yards away. Why were they so jumpy? Usually the seals at the harbor don’t even bat an eye until you’re within 25 yards of them.
I then noticed why. There were baby seals on the beach and they were trying to protect their young. I stopped immediately and starting kayaking towards the north part of the bay. The adult seals watched me carefully from about 100 yards away in the water.
I kayaked all around the bay and had an extremely relaxing kayaking experience where I took a million breaks and even laid down to just enjoy a great song while floating where-ever the current took me. This relaxing pace was in-line with the tempo of the wild life that I saw: seals, otters, and various birds were lounging around too.
I forgot to mention that one of the things that make this bay such a fun place to kayak is that it is a kelp forest. These kelp trees are tall structures that create a habitat for many different aquatic creatures. What makes them fun is that to avoid getting tangled and slowed down, you have to navigate between the kelp trees. It’s kinda like a slalom course!
After about an hour, I got out, and drove back home. Unlike last time, there was no drama and I rather enjoyed the relaxing kayak experience.
What I Learned:
I can kayak just fine in long pants and a jacket. It was much better than being cold, that’s for sure.
When I called the ranger station a few days before the trip, they informed me that I needed to have a life jacket on board the standup board, but that I didn’t need to have it on. So I just used it as a pillow whenever I laid down.
I was worried that the compressor would make too much noise, but when I came out of the bay, the scuba divers were playing music out-loud. So much for the quiet rule.
I really need to bring my camera into the water. I regret not being able to take high resolution pictures of the wildlife.
Cove Review:
Whaler’s Cove itself is small, but a wildlife rich area. It was nice to go for a simple relaxing ride around the bay, but if I were more active, I’d ran out of things to see after 20 minutes due to its size.
To kayak here, you have to make a reservation on the Point Lobos website. Maybe it was because the forecast said that it’d be a cold day, but there were no other kayakers/stand-up-boarders on the day I went.
I could have exited the cove, but the high waves at the entrance of the cove made me rethink that plan. If the water was calmer, I could even explore Carmel beach.
There are a lot of divers, that day. I counted 6.
The hikers around the bay will gawk and point at you.
The boat ramp is slick with algae, so one should watch their step!