Published on August 26, 2004
© 2004- The Press Democrat
BYLINE: GEORGE LAUER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
PAGE: D1
It's a watery, dark, delightful form of lunacy.
People use words like ``archetypal,'' ``sensual,'' ``peaceful,'' ``poetic'' to
describe the experience of paddling a boat under a full moon.
``Moonlight changes things,'' said Yvonne Young of San Francisco, a
veteran nighttime paddler. ``Actually, it's the darkness that changes things,
because you get the same feeling whether you can see the moon or not.''
``Our senses seem to be different on the water at night,'' said Bob Licht of
Sausalito, another veteran night paddler. ``You hear things more acutely, your
sense of smell seems sharper. And the water is different at night as well. It
feels more peaceful.''
Chances are you probably won't even see it, hidden up there as it often is by
our persistent marine layer, but visible or not, the moon is a big draw on the
North Coast. At least seven outfits between San Francisco and Gualala offer
full-moon paddles in the summer and fall. Some go year-round, depending
on the weather.
Moon or no moon, organized nighttime paddles usually provide memorable
light shows. Sometimes they're stellar, but more often they're civilized, with
lights from city skylines, houses or anchored boats shimmering on dark
water.
Night paddles often involve a do-it-yourself light show that has to be
seen to be appreciated. Most outfitters equip paddles with glow sticks,
plastic vials with luminescent liquid that can be seen from afar. It's partly a
safety issue, but the visuals would be worth the effort even if there was no
practical reason. In the dark from a distance, paddlers look like frenetic
fireflies leaping over the waves. A line of boats becomes an undulating
light serpent coiling in, under and up.
If you're feeling a little loony (lunatics and their affliction get their name
from the moon, which some say causes a monthly form of madness) and want to try
putting paddle to water at night, this is the weekend to try it. The full
moon rises Saturday at 7:27 p.m. Most outfitters plan two or three days of night
paddles when the full moon falls on or near a weekend.
You have several places to choose from. You can opt for the urban experience in
San Francisco, the East Bay or Sausalito. The experience gets progressively
rural as you head north to Tomales Bay and the Gualala River.
Prices, which include a brief lesson, safety lecture, boat and equipment
rental, range from $25 to $75. Some excursions offer dinner as well.
``This is an amazing time of year to be out on the water on our coast,'' said
Laurie Manarik, general manager of Blue Waters Kayaking on Tomales Bay. ``It's
generally calm, the nights are warm and there's lots of activity.''
She means flora and fauna kind of activity -- bioluminescent blooms of plankton
in the water, frogs mating, osprey hunting, seals showing off. But there's lots
of the human variety as well. Full-moon paddles are often outfitters'
most popular offerings and they tend to fill up.
A Sunday paddle in Sausalito's Richardson Bay during July's full moon
used every boat in UC San Francisco's boat house (nine double
kayaks and three singles). The moon declined to make an appearance through the
fog, but it was hardly missed.
``This is just what we needed, moon or no moon,'' said Narcisse Bakhsh of Iran,
in the front of a double kayak with Maria Friciello of Italy. ``We're practicing
for the Amazon. We'll be paddling down there in six weeks and we need all
the practice we can get, day and night.''
Lindzy Bivings, trip leader for Outdoors Unlimited, a UCSF program open to the
public, said there are advantages to having the moon hidden behind thick
overcast.
``Seeing the big round ball up there is great but it tends to turn down all the
other lights,'' Bivings said near the end of the three-hour tour. She waved an
arm across the dark waterscape to illustrate her point. San Francisco glittered
across the way at eye level. ``Look at how many lights you see and how crisp and
bright they are.''
Eighty miles up the coast, a different kind of skyline greets paddlers.
``We line the beach with tiki torches and we have a fire going. People sit
around and drink hot chocolate and look at the moon,'' said Jan Harris, owner of
Adventure Rents in Gualala.
Harris has been offering full-moon paddles on the Gualala River for 11
years.
``It started with us just going out as a family one time and the timing was so
perfect,'' Harris said. ``Because of the way the river bends, you're heading
west into the sunset at dusk and that's beautiful all on its own. And then you
turn around at the beach and head back straight into the rising moon. It's so
bright sometimes it's almost like this headlight guiding our way.''
Harris names each of her full-moon outings. Last month's was the Blue Moon
Flotilla. This weekend, because sunset and moonrise are so close together, it's
the Sunset to Moonlight Flotilla.
A climatological pocket that keeps the fog at bay -- ``We call it our own little
banana belt'' -- allows the moon to poke through more nights than not, Harris
said.
``There's something about the stillness when you turn up toward Mill Bend and
you see this huge light rising,'' Harris said. ``Sometimes it's so dramatic it's
like a Spielberg special effect.''
You can reach Staff Writer George Lauer at 521-5220 or glauer@pressdemocrat.com.
PHOTO: 4 by JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat
1: Halfway through the paddle the group pauses for a talk about the
natural history of San Francisco Bay during a moonlight sea kayak trip
with Outdoors Unlimited.
2: Glow sticks attached to paddles leave trails of green light against
the lights of San Francisco in the distance as kayakers paddle on
Richardson Bay along the Sausalito waterfront. The group was led by Outdoors
Unlimited of UC San Francisco.
3: As the lights from the Sausalito hills begin to glow in the background,
Outdoors Unlimited trip leaders gather the group to discuss the behavior of
harbor seals at twilight.
4: Yvonne Young, left, and her husband, Sam, of San Francisco paddle to
try to overtake another boat during a full moon kayak trip on Richardson
Bay in Sausalito.
Infobox:
Where to go this weekend for watery excursions under the full moon on the North
Coast.
Adventure Rents, Gualala River: (888) 881-4386, www.adventurerents.com
Blue Waters Kayaking, Tomales Bay: (415) 663-1743, www.bwkayak.com
Cal Adventures, Berkeley Marina: (510) 642-7707, www.oski.org
California Canoe & Kayak, Oakland: (800) 366-9804, www.calkayak.com
City Kayak, San Francisco:
(415) 357-1010, www.citykayak.com
Outdoors Unlimited (UC San Francisco): (415) 514-1603, www.outdoors.ucsf.edu
Sea Trek, Sausalito: (415) 488-1000, www.seatrekkayak.com
Keywords: BOAT OCEAN RIVER LIST