Saturday, I headed down to Dana Point, South of LA, for the 2012 mongoose Cup. It was the third annual event. Basically, it is a fun day of clinics, exhibitions, and fun around the sport of stand up paddling. I awoke bright and early, grabbed a Starbucks venti Vanilla Latte and cruised down as the sunny broke over the mountains west of the city. it was a gorgeous morning, warm and dry with just enough coolness in the air to make everything fragrant. The cities east of LA are compact with green islands between them which made for some pretty vistas as i tooled along. I finally saw my exit for the Harbor. Dana point harbor is clean, green and vibrant. It is very well kept and in great shape. As I drove tot he far end where the event was going to be held I passed walkers, joggers, bikers, and skateboarders at 8 in the morning. I pulled into the parking lot next to baby beach and found a parking spot, felt like finding that $20 bill in the pocket of washed jeans. I was parked right by the Pilgrim, the tall ship replica that once carried the namesake of the Harbor, Richard Henry Dana, who mentioned the area in his 1830 sea log. I got to baby beach just as the fun paddle was beginning. Paddlers of every description under the sun were visible.
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Some folks were so excited they couldn't wait to take their turn, they just climbed on whoever's board was closest.
There were boards of every type and size and color.
This guy was cleaning his board after taking it out of the water.
Gotta love wooden tall ships. I was drooling.
A shot from the pier.
Sailors memorial.
You just have to expect weirdness in Cali. I can just smell the coconut oil and sexwax.
standup boards weren't the only craft in the water.
the day consisted of clinics after the social paddle. about 30 minutes a piece: beginner, turning, kids, yoga, multi person, racing tips, quick starts for racing. I started at beginner. It reminded me of my balance board except you are trying to go forward at the same time. The board I was on was a bit tippy, but i slowly got it. The paddling part was easy, the balance part and my fear of falling in the cold water had my toes literally gripping into the pad on the board. Within 15 minutes, my calves were cramped knots from balancing. I went back and tried it a couple times, being a bigger guy, I think I need a bigger board until I really get the hang of it.
The cliffs behind the harbor are beautiful. The tops are lined with houses and restaurants.
Jack Sparrow found a boat to 'acquire'. He was in the market as it were. No Miss Swan though, too bad.
Houses on the cliffs.
The guy from Riviera was awesome. He helped all the newbies, me included and this 70 something fella.
They were beaming images live to 125 countries.
Stealth bomber board.
The final event after lunch was the Mongoose Cup. 4 person teams were drawn at random and competed in a short leg course in the harbor. Each team had a pro/well-known anchor paddler. Here is the starting line on the beach.
On your marks, get set, GO!!
Here they are headed round the buoys.
One of the exhibitions was a slack line. Kind of like tightrope walking.
Some wahines were out showing off their new swimsuits.
More of the Cup race. This is the exchange section for the relay.
I saw this cool electric car in the parking lot.
It was a gorgeous day with temps up in the low 80s and all sunshine.
During a lull in the action I wandered down the harbor and ran into 3 other events. First was a classic car show. Beautiful cars, awesome paint jobs and lots of old geezers sitting around talking history. I visited for a short while. Then I meandered on down and smack into a clam chowder competition. $10 got you all the chowder you cared to try from 10 different area restaurants. Lots of Chowder variations, some with curry, lots of potatoes, veggies, and cream. My favorite was a mexican restaurant, not too heavy, light potato, very fresh clams and just a hint of briny saltiness. It hinted of sea salt, so fresh and light. I had 3 samples. Yummmy. Further down was a kind of kids festival going on, I didn't hang around for that one. Back to try the paddle board again. After the race, I was tired and my eyes were bothering me, come to find out the sun lotion I had cried out of the corners of my eyes didn't protect a damn thing. The only part that got sun burnt was the wrinkled corners of my eyes.
I decided after the last race, I didn't really care to wait in line to get Mickey's autograph and instead headed up the PCH to check out some of the towns in the area, like Laguna and Huntington Beach and to hit REI on my way back north. I saw the paddleboard I want to buy. it wasn't on the sales floor, they are still trying to get rid of winter crap. So I had the sales associate take me in the back to see it. Now I just need to save up some cheddar, of course, after I pay Uncle Sammy his due. Ugh. Anyone interested in robbing a bank????
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