Steve and Paula, There are 100's of past messages posted at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kayakmorrobay/messages - some of them
relevant to new paddlers on the Bay. You will learn a lot by scanning them.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kayakmorrobay/message/217 is just 1-2 of many I recall
are at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kayakmorrobay/message/475 and the threads that follows
Much of the discussion regards safety - we do not recommend using sit-inside boats on Morro Bay unless you are confident in being able to do an unassisted self-recovery in the event of a capsize.
Winds can pick up fast and the water can get challenging.
Check the weather first at http://morro-bay.com/weather/
Go to http://morro-bay.com/ front page to get tide chart generator links -
on a falling tide you can get stuck in the mud easily.
Tide Chart Generators:
* For the Morro Beach Coast including Estero Bay -- From sc.edu - graphic; (more from tides.info)
* For inside Morro Bay and the Estuary (typically lags ~15- 20 minutes, ~1/2 - 1 foot less) From sc.edu - (best) graphic (more from tides.info)
*** Alternate mobilegeographics.com Morro Bay (Estuary) tide chart
Tide Chart Generators:
* For the Morro Beach Coast including Estero Bay -- From sc.edu - graphic; (more from tides.info)
* For inside Morro Bay and the Estuary (typically lags ~15- 20 minutes, ~1/2 - 1 foot less) From sc.edu - (best) graphic (more from tides.info)
*** Alternate mobilegeographics.com Morro Bay (Estuary) tide chart
Channels in the bay are shown at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kayakmorrobay/links and
The best put-in is at the State Park Marina by the Museum across from the golf course.... this gets you quick access to the back bay nature areas w/o boat traffic (which is never bad actually)... but if you want to paddle by Morro Rock you can put in at Coleman Beach across from the three smoke stacks by the power plant. Warning, on a fast outgoing tide you may be challenged returning in the main channel near the ocean mouth if the winds are also working against you.
You can pretty much paddle the whole length of the bay in a long day.
A popular itinerary is to paddle to the sand spit peninsula and take a break, and walk over to the ocean (you have to find an approved corridor across the dunes, as much of the area is fenced off much of the year for Snowy Plover protection).
Give the wildlife plenty of distance - there are many seals and birds that are distressed by aggressive kayakers.
Enjoy!
Mike Baird mike at mikebaird dot com http://PhotoMorroBay.com http://bairdphotos.com http://morro-bay.com http://mikebaird.com http://eysu.org Morro Bay, CA (805) 772-2044 To assure I receive your e-mail, add "must read" to the subject line.
From: kayakmorrobay@yahoogroups.com [mailto:kayakmorrobay@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of steveg_reno
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 9:08 PM
To: kayakmorrobay@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [kayakmorrobay] Oct kayak trip
Hello,
This is my first post. My wife, Paula, and I will be in Arroyo Grande
for a wedding in Oct. We are planning on kayaking the estuary on Mon.
Oct. 9 and/or Oct. 10. We would appreciate any advice and possibly
someone may like to join us. We kayak the Sierra mountain lakes near
Reno and are not used to dealing with tides.
We would be glad to take anyone kayaking if they come to the
Reno/Tahoe area.
I have a Seda Swift and Paula a Seda Gypsy.
TIA Steve and Paula
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