Wolperts Blog

WaveRuner Trip Best Of...

This map shows the course of my 5 day WaveRunner Adventure.  The different colored paths represent the different days.  Here are some highlights:                                        

...          

1. Most Adventurous Day: Sunday, 125 miles, 1 Whale, 2 Dolphin Pods, 1 International Boarder
2. Most Difficult Day Physically - Monday, San Diego to Newport Beach, 80 miles, rough seas
3. Easiest Day Physically: Tuesday, Newport Beach to Santa Monica Pier, to Marina Del Rey
4. Most Valuable Piece of Equipment- Garmin Etrex Venture Handheld GPS Device
5. Coolest Piece of Equipment that worked most of the time: Spot Personal Satellite Tracking System
6. Casualties: ICOM Marine Radio, GPS Mount, Goggles, 2 2 Gallon Gas Tanks
7. Injuries,.. All Minor: Stab wound to hand, Burnt/Chapped Nose and Lower Lip, Misc Cuts and Bruises
8. Number of times I needed to jump in ocean and clear intake grate of Kelp: 3
9. Best Accommodations: The SS Surfas SunSeeker Yacht
10. Best On Land Experience: Catalina with my Family
11. Best Massage: Bay Club, Newport Beach
12. Most Expensive Drink: Double Pina Colada, Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey, $28
13. Number of Old Codgers I had to deal with:  Only 1!
14. Number of times I stopped for fuel: 8
15. Time I felt most victorious: At the Mexican Boarder
16. Times I thought I might not make it: 1, see number 2
17. Number of Hours of riding during 5 days: 28 hours
18. Number of miles covered: About 450 miles

It was an amazing experience.  What's next???

Waverunner Adventure Complete

Arrived Back in Channel Islands Harbor yesterday afternoon about 3pm!  More info and picts coming this weekend. 

The Old Codger,... a dialog

I had just arrived at the Del Rey Yacht club in Marina Del Rey.  It is a "sister" yacht club to the one we belong to in Channel Islands so I had arranged to park the waverunner there for the night.  As I walked out of the club I was trying to find the shortest distance from the parking lot to the street since I was carrying all my crap.  For reference that is a picture of the old codger in the red hat, "assuming the position".

I saw an elderly gentleman, herein after referred to as "Old Codger", putting boat on a Trailer

Me: "Excuse Me Sir which is the shortest way to the street"

Old Codger: "Hey where are you coming from, where did you park"

Me: "I just parked my boat (easier than saying waverunner to Old Codger) at the Dock.

Old Codger: "Hey this is a private club and you cant park your boat there"

Me, now officially annoyed: Sir, what makes you assume I don't have a right to be at this club

Old Codger: "Because you did not know where the street is so you certainly don't belong here" (My translation,... I am old and unhappy and look for the negative and you look like trouble to me so you must not belong here)

Me:  "Well Sir I am a member of the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club which happens to be a club with reciprocal privileges here at the Del Rey yacht club and I had pre-arranged to park my boat here in advance.  Why did you use that nasty tone with me.

Old Codger: "That's just the way I talk" (My translation, Because I am an old Codger)

Best Accomodations So Far

Was last night in Newport Beach aboard the SS Surfas.  Thanks to Mark for giving me the full run of his yacht for the evening.  I was so tired that I simply went to bed early but damn could I have trashed the place had I had more energy.

Too Tired to Blog or Upload Photos

Today was the most physically demanding for sure.  It was only about 80 miles but I got a late start, around 11 and the wind picked up by then.  It was pretty rough and I was heading "uphill" aka directly into the face of the swells.

Was so rough for the first 30 miles I could only go 10-15 mph.  This was the first time I seriously questioned what I was doing.  I had been out there for a few hours and my distance to go count had only gone from 80 to 60 and I was really getting beaten up.

Things got a little smoother after that and I could go about 20-25.  Took about 4 hours to go the 80 miles with constant pounding.  Really tired.  Going to leave earlier tomorrow am

1 Whale, 2 Dolphin Pods, An International Boarder, and 125 Miles

Today was awesome and exhausting.  I headed out from Avalon at about 8:30a.  My plan was to go straight to Mission Bay, about 75 miles away, then to San Diego Harbor, then to the Mexican boarder and back.

Once out in the ocean the conditions were much rougher than yesterday and I was concerned that I might note have enough gas to make it to Mission Bay without having to refuel with my extra containers (which is best avoided out in the open ocean).  So, shortly after I began I changed course towards Oceanside only about 55 miles away.

Quite a lucky turn.  About 10 miles later I came across a whale.  Couldn't have been more than 100 feet from me as it surfaced.  This has only ever happened once before.  The way I describe it to people is...imagine a land mass emerging up from the ocean.  I believe it was a Blue Whale.  He gave me a brief show out of his blow hole as I fumbled for my camera.  By the time I got the camera out he had gone back down.  I waited 20 minutes but didn't see him again.

Then about 25 miles later I came along a pod of a few hundred dolphins.  They are much more predictable and I got some great video footage, will be posted soon,

At that point the gas looked pretty good so I turned again and headed straight to Mission Bay.  I was very low on gas when I arrived there but I made it.  A quick lunch at the mini mart next to the fuel dock and it was off to the Mexican boarder.

I called the coast guard on my way down and asked if there would be markers or how I would know when I was at the boarder (I did have it programmed into my GPS but wanted to make sure) and he said, "if they start shooting at you, you're in Mexico"  I swear.  Then he chuckled and said there was a big wall and it would be obvious, as it was

Back from there to San Diego Harbor where it took me about an hour to find the yacht club because I had the wrong GPS coordinates for it.  I finally got off the ski at 5:30, 9 hours and 125 miles after I started.

To Mexico...Day 2 Waverunner Adventure Slide Show

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Bonehead Move of the Adventure-So Far...

Yesterday I was trying to fix the gps mount which had come off during the first leg of the trip to Catalina.  I knew it wouldn't work but I bought some double sided sticky tape to try it

No that's not the bonehead part.  So I was using my Leatherman Handy Dandy Pocket Tool to cut the double sided tape.  I needed to put the tool down so I, genius that I am, but it blade up in the cup holder just in front of my handlebars

Couldn't have been a minute later when I reached over into the front compartment and thought to myself, wow what is so sharp, just as I saw the blood flowing down my arm (samples of drippings in the picture) and realized what yours truly had just done.  Hopefully this will remain the bonehead moment of the trip.

Good Thing Noah Packed the Waverunner

Today I lost a few things.

1. Pair of googles got knocked off my head by a wave
2. The hoody I wear went missing somewhere in Catalina

Thankfully Noah did a good job and I have backups of each

Smilebox Slideshow of Channel Islands to Catalina

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Spot Product Disappointing....Not Finding GPS Satellite