Paddling For Your Life

An overview of Bahia de Los Angles and  Isla Angel de la Guarda 

In 1993, I (or more precisely, J, of J and L) was kayaking off the coast near the sleepy village of Bahia de Los Angles, approximately 417 miles south of San Diego in the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California). I had been on the road a couple of weeks, kayaking up and down the beautiful, but deserted coastline of Baja.

Bahia de Los Angles on the Sea of Cortez

Traveling by himself during the age of the dinosaur, before cell phone use was common, no one knew of his exact location. Of course, I knew where I was, but without contact of any sort with the outside world, I was not aware that a potential monster of a storm was brewing directly south of Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo San Lucas was getting slammed before John knew about it

One exceptionally gorgeous and calm summer day, I struck out from the coast in my 15-foot sea kayak and headed toward Isla Angel de la Guarda – about 27 miles east of Bahia de Los Angeles through the bright blue waters.

Who wouldn't want to go to this island? 

Being younger, and not much brighter than I am today, I didn’t bother to wear a life jacket. A seasoned kayaker, sea, river and lakes, I just thought that this beautiful morning while the gulf was like glass, it would be an easy paddle to the island where I had planned to camp overnight.
Things didn’t turn out as planned – as is often the case with best laid plans of men.

Unbeknownst to me, churning up the Sea of Cortez was Hurricane Calvin, while I sat in my kayak paddling calmly across the smooth seas enjoying the serenity and beauty of the bay. Two hours later things changed drastically. I noticed the surface was getting a little rough and my paddling efforts were sluggish. The smooth glass had turned to large rippling waves.

Not a place to be in a kayak by yourself or even with others!

Determining that I had traveled 8 to 10 miles out from the coast, I cast a look far south down the gulf and saw a wall of black approaching rapidly. The winds had started to pick up as rain began pelting my face and arms sideways. Suddenly lighting was striking down from the heavens nearby. The ocean was no longer the place to be sitting in a small craft.

Being without communication, I had not realized that a hurricane had made landfall in Cabo San Lucas before heading northward – right at me. But I did understand that I was for in a world of hurt.
Realizing that reaching the island, which was still a long way off, was rather doubtful, I spun the kayak and paddled like hell toward the mainland. Within twenty minutes the calm sea broiled into swells five or six feet in height. I paddled with all my strength, forcing the little yellow kayak up the face of a wave, only to slide into the trough below, several times submerging into the foaming waters. Once or twice, the kayak was hit by an unexpected and unseen sideways swell, nearly capsizing as I paddled now for my life.

In a hurricane ,the waves come from every angle - hold on!

It was at about this time that I realized that the next time I decided to kayak – if of course there were to be another paddling adventure – I’d prefer to be wearing a life vest. Just in case!
Nearly eight hours later, shore came into view and with a rather undignified and painful landing on the beach, I gratefully touched land once more.

Shivering and exhausted, I took shelter in the bed of my truck while the winds tried desperately to tear the camper shell from the truck.
An hour later the sun was out and everything began to dry out from the drenching the arid desert had received.

So, the point of this blog? Well, there is a bit of a moral to this story:

One, be prepared whenever going out on the ocean or any body of water for that matter. Two, make sure someone who cares about you knows your exact location in case you don’t show back up – at least some sort of rescue could be attempted. Three, always wear a life jacket – being separated from your boat but floating face up is better than being separated from your boat and floating face down. Four, always check the weather conditions before exploring the waters or embarking on any adventure for that matter. And finally, don’t paddle alone. Always have a companion or two with you while paddling in any body of water – accidents can (and do) happen and the unseen can capsize a boat, even in calm waters.

Be safe and use caution as the guiding principal.

Having grown older, wiser, and having learned my lesson, I recently paddled off shore from Grace Bay in Providenciales, in Turks and Caicos, to the reef about a mile out. Bight Reef, also known as Coral Gardens, is an incredibly beautiful place to snorkel and paddle to but again one needs to be watchful, as the reef is home to not only a plethora of species of coral and fish, but also sea turtle, shrimp, lobsters, stingrays, moray eels and the occasional nurse shark.

It was a just couple of days after Hurricane Michael tore through the Florida panhandle, and though these Caribbean islands were not in harm’s way, the weather was a bit unstable. Thinking I could handle a short little jaunt on my own in the kayak, I headed down the beach. Suddenly, a still voice told me to text my wife. Although she was thousands of miles away on business, I thought that perhaps I should let her know where I was and what I was doing. See, I had learned my lesson. The voice in the back of cranium also suggested that it would be a good idea to reach for a life-jacket.
Glad that I listened to that voice. The waters grew rougher as the day progressed, but it was worth every sore muscle. Perhaps a few pictures can explain it better.

So, yes, do go explore and be adventurous, but always remain cognizant of your surroundings and put a thought or two into personal safety. A bit of common sense that perhaps I sometimes lack – but then again I’m a professional adventurer. Still, we at J and L wouldn’t want that next adventure to be the last adventure.

For a closer look at the adventure, click here.

Ode to a Work Horse

Original Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota has always built a strong and reliable vehicle but until J and L purchased the newly updated version of the old Land Cruiser did this writer know how tough and reliable they truly were. We were the first to take delivery of the 2007 Toyota FJ back in 2006 in the city of Victorville and loved the Cruiser the moment the ignition key lit the beast up and we drove out of the dealership.

'New' Retro Toyota FJ

The auto maker knew a good thing when they came up with the retro Land Cruiser from the sixties and seventies introducing one of the best off road vehicles in the world according to most industry reports. We did not realize how accurate those publications were until we took a short one thousand mile road trip within the first six months of owning the vehicle down south through Baja California to Cabo San Lucas along some of the worst roads Mexico has to offer.

Just before dusk on a lovely Tuesday evening J and L were racing down a rutted gravel path falsely listed as a road on a torn map listening to Phil Collins on the CD player belting out 'Something in the Air Tonight'. At that moment I did not realize Mr. Collins was alluding to us.

Laureen calmly looked over at me from the co-pilot seat and smiled sweetly. "Honey, there's no road in front of us."

I unconsciously shut my ears to Phil and widened my eyes to witness the front of the FJ grab air and suddenly we were the 'something in the air' that the crooner had been mentioning.

A line from Zachary Marshall, the antagonist from my novel Hunted, came into mind as he plunged a stolen Cadillac Escalade off a roadway and nose dived it onto a busy highway below. "This is going to hurt."

When the FJ finally landed, luckily on all four wheels sixty feet north and eight feet down into a dried river bed it didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all.

The FJ was amazing.

click the link below for the Ode to A Work Horse Slide Show

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d4573687k6518516o1/ode-to-a-work-horse

After that trip through the wide open deserts of Lower California the Toyota has been on countless road trips exploring and researching all over the United States and never failed once.  Heavy snow drifts, torrential rain on muddy roads or nearby tornadoes weren't enough to even slow the six cylinders down but in fact seemed to the give the FJ more power and strength.

In fact, in all the time we've owned the Cruiser not once have we ever had to put snow chains on while visiting our weekend home in Big Bear but simply slipped the transmission into four wheel drive and off we went. The wheels gripping firmly and securely while all the rest of the travelers had chains or cables wrapped snugly about their tires.

Though it has dents, scratches and overall looks like it's been through hell, much like the main driver, it is still a beautiful machine.

One well worth a mention now and then for all its given us on the many adventures from the past and we pray well into the future.