I have a wedding to go to in SD in July. I don’t know schedule of related events or what free time I’ll have - but curious what’s available - and what’s good to do or a “must see”.
Used to live in that area mid-late 80s. Didn’t paddle then - and doubt I’ll remember where much is.
If I can get away - I’ll need the full rental set-up. I’m so used to my boat and outfitting that should be interesting in itself! Wonder if I can still swing a euro? Was thinking a SINK - like maybe an NDK explorer/CD caribou sort, but could probably have fun on an SOT again too (probably fall right off after paddling a SINK for a year). Maybe try a basic surf boat and really get trashed? I hear you actually have waves on that ocean.
Hear La Jolla area’s a nice paddle. What else? What outfitters/rentals are good. How’s the weather week after the 4th? Water temps? GW appetites?
Try…
Lajolla Kayak Co. in LaJolla They rent SOT,and are a couple of blocks from LaJolla cove. You can surf ,or watch seals & sealions,dolphins,small sharks in the clear water,or check out the sea caves. They pick up & deliver kayak for you. Also try Aqua Adventures {Mission Bay}http://www.aqua-adventures.com/ they have touring kayaks,and equipment of all sorts,have guided tours,and trips.They will deliver,& pick up on a schedule though,and I think they rent racks too. So far we just cruised Mission Bay. Next year we want to do their Lajolla To Mission Bay tour{11 miles}. You will love the Bay area. LaJolla Kayak restricts your travel if you are a beginner. Have fun!
Happy Paddling billinpa
La Jolla Sea Caves
I took my wife and two teen-age children out to San Diego and while we were there we did a morning trip with Aqua Adventures. They were very accomodating in setting up a tour that fit our vacation schedule. We had never been on the ocean before and my kids were true novices. We all had SOTs and the two guides used WW boats. They gave us a safety orientation on land and taught us how to go out through the surf. I think we had a total of 8 customers in our group that day.
We then paddled over to the sea caves and entered 3 or 4 of them. Being from Philly we had never seen anything like them in person. It was really cool to go in and out of the caves holding your position with the surge of water as it entered and exited the caves. The guides also were good about taking pictures of us while in and around the caves. It was awesome!! Wish we could have made it more than just a morning trip because we were all having so much fun.
Then at the end of our trip they gave us a very elementary lesson on how to surf the smallish waves back into shore. They told us that we could surf as long as we wanted. I was bummed that everyone except for my daughter and I only “surfed” once to get back on land. My daughter and I tried it about 4 or 5 times and would have done it more but didn’t want to hold up our two guides since we were apparently the only ones interested in extending our surf time. That was my first time for getting to play in the surf on the ocean and it was a blast!
I would highly recommend doing the sea caves while you are out there. It was definitely one of the highlights of our West coast trip!
Jeff
Aqua Adventures
Rents out Valley ( Aquanaut, Pintail and Skerray)boats, but they do not have NDK boats anymore. Windsport could rent you a Caribou but they are not as knowledgable or as well stocked as AquaAdventures.
Second Aqua Adventures…
They’ve got a huge selection, as well as an extremely knowledgeable staff. I tried private surfing lessons with them last July 4th weekend, and had a blast. If you haven’t tried that yet, and are up for a little adventure, it’s well worth your time!
Some things to try.
Aqua-adventures is the place to rent a sink. You can sign up with them for one of their trips, check out their webpage to see what they have going on. I know sometime in July they have a trip to Todos Santos in Baja ( just about 70 miles south of San Diego.) Highly reccomended.
www.aqua-adventures.com
Also if you want to try surfing you can arrange a private class with them or for a more laid back experience call Dan Carey at Carlsbad paddle sports and for $35 bucks on a Sunday moring he will set you up with an SOT or waveski for surfing in Carlsbad. Water temps are already in high 60s. Locals think that is still cold. By
mid july it may be in low 70s but it never gets warmer than that .
Aqua adventures
Seems to be were all the addicts go, you may also try WINDSPORT if you want to rent Wilderness systems SINKS and SOTKs, or Allens Kayaks for OK SOTKs
Aqua Adventures is great except
their cat is really mean and chases me around the parking lot whenever she sees me.
Mission Bay…
We visit San Diego from Wyoming; bringing our own boats. Mission Bay is a very benign place to paddle; that inspite of water skiers and jet craft. Paddling out into the Pacific through the jetties is fun too. We’ll be there June 18-22. My family is going to Disneyland on the 21st, and get to have the day to myself and my boat!
Aqua-Adventures
Another vote for Aqua Adventures. Top rate staff and they have any kind of boat you'd want to rent. Plus since they're all paddlers, they don't stock boats that aren't fun to paddle. Be sure to check out La Jolla! Some pretty nice surfing right at the Marine Room restaurant plus plenty of harmless leopard sharks to look at. If the surf isn't cranking (usually isn't in the summer) paddle across the cove and explore the sea caves. Probably best to go with a local for this one, I've rescued quite a few people from those caves. AA also has guided trips to show you around - bay, surf, baja...whatever you want.
Ok so I'm a little biased since I used to paddle with them but they do go out of their way to make sure you have a great time. Oh and for the guy that felt pressured to stop surfing, next time don't! Having led the same trip that you described, its usually the case that some people take out early and are tired. As guides, we sometimes came in and relaxed a bit with the group, but if there were people in the water, we'd be back out eventually to share the fun and offer tips. With a group, you kinda have to split your time up with the different activities so even though I may be dying to surf, I still like to get onto the beach and socialize.
Ah yes, the Leopard Sharks!!
I had forgotten about them. Funny story, I read in their brochure ahead of time about them being prevalent in the La Jolla area. HOWEVER, I made sure not to mention them to my wife or my kids cuz I didn’t want to spook them in fear that they might back out of going paddling there.
SOOOOO, during the orientation they are going over some of the things to “be aware” of. Let me tell you, when my wife heard that there are usually SHARKS in the water she almost backed out right then and there. She said loudly, “Jeffrey!? You did NOT mention anything about SHARKS!!!” Fortunately, the guides quelled any and all of her fears stating that they are harmless. We all had a really good laugh over it all but it was pretty funny at the time.
Bottom line, we never saw one single shark the whole day and had a great time.