San Francisco Reef Divers June 2017 Volume XLV No. 6 1 SUP DIVING
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San Francisco Reef Divers June 2017 Volume XLV No. 6 SUP DIVING VS. KAYAK By Mike Staninec urchins and kept looking into cracks and holes for On Saturday, May 20th, some of the dwindling fish, without much luck. After an hour or so Gene and aging freedive contingent of the San Francisco showed up and told me he had been diving in the Reef Divers assembled in Sausalito, eh, that would same cove, just a bit closer to shore. He had his limit be two of us, Gene Kramer and myself. The forecast of abs as well and had not seen any fish. I pointed for Mendocino coast was quite bit rougher than for out a spot where I had seen some small blues earlier Sonoma that day, so we had decided to stay and he said he'd check it out, and jumped back in. I south. We drove up to the coast through Bodega worked the bottom some more, and was very happy Bay, trying to scout to find a medium size China rockfish in a crack, out the conditions which I invited home along the coast, for dinner with my 38 starting at Salmon Special. Creek. The swell We were both ready was supposed to be to head back. I tried 4-5' which is usually various positions on mild, but the surf at my SUP, but it was Salmon Creek did hard to get not look all that comfortable for mild. For the rest of paddling and my the drive the water progress was very was shrouded in fog, slow. Gene saw me making it impossible struggling and offered to tell what the ocean me a tow, which I was doing. We gladly accepted. I was decided to make lying on the board Timber Cove our first stop and took a quick look at kicking and holding on to the tow rope with my the water from the top of the cliff. At that point we hand. We got back around the point and landed back could see enough to tell it was definitely diveable, on the beach. I was tired from the kicking and so we paid our fees and drove down the ramp to started to cramp up in my calves as well as my abs, drop off Gene's kayak and my SUP (stand-up but I managed to struggle out of the water and drag board), which I had found quite useful on a previous my gear out. dive in Stillwater Cove, Carmel. Overall, we were both happy with the dive and the We paddled north around the corner and by the conditions, and the catch was reasonable, if not time we rounded the corner I lost Gene, as I was spectacular. I do have some thoughts about using the much slower on my board than he was on his kayak. SUP for diving. I tried one in 101 Surf Sports, a I thought he had perhaps gone around one more great new paddle shop in San Rafael. I have corner, so after a bit of looking around, I just extensive kayaking experience, but almost no SUP decided to dive in the middle of that cove, as I did experience, and it was very evident that standing up not want to paddle further. The bottom was 15-25' in the usual fashion made for some very slow going, and the vis was an amazing 20' or so. Interesting around 2 knots, by my GPS. Then I tried sitting on it structure with some small caves and holes. Not a lot and paddling with a kayak paddle, and what do you of kelp, lots of small urchins and the occasional ab. I know, I could push the thing over 5 knots fairly went about my business and it was not too difficult well. I decided to buy one and rig it up for diving, as to get a limit of abs around 8"; I did not see anything bigger. I also grabbed about eight medium size Continued on page 3 1 San Francisco Reef Divers June 2017 Volume XLV No. 6 REEFER’S RAP - 2017 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 01 - New Year’s Day 02 - Groundhog Day 11 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 14 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 11 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Doc 12- Daylight Savings Time 16 - Martin Luther King Day 14 - Valentine’s Day 15 - Fermentation Lab, 1230 Market 18 - Almanac Taproom 15 - l'emigrante wine bar, 2199 Street 2704 24th Street @ Potrero Mission Street 17 - Saint Patrick’s Day 20 - Inauguration Day 20 - President’s Day 28 - Chinese New Year APRIL MAY JUNE 01 - April’s Fools Day 05 - Scuba Show - Long Beach 10 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 08 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 17 - Movable Feast - Broken Record, 21 - Ali Baba’s Cave, 799 Valencia 19 - Barebottle Brewery, 1525 1166 Geneva Avenue Street @ 19th Street Cortland Ave., near Bayshore 29 - Memorial Day Holiday (before freeway) JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER 04 - Independence Day Holiday 12 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 04 - Labor Day Holiday 08 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 16 - Movable Feast - TBD 17 - 19 Peace Dive Boat 19 - Movable Feast - TBD 20 - Movable Feast - TBD OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 09 - Columbus Day 05 - Daylight Savings Time Ends 16 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 14 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 11 - Veterans Day 20 - Movable Feast - TBD 18 - Movable Feast - TBD 19 - Sanctuary Dive Boat - K Dock 15 25 - Christmas Day 31 - Halloween - Movable Feast - TBD 23 - Thanksgiving Day . 2 San Francisco Reef Divers June 2017 Volume XLV No. 6 shop was open and the sign “Yankee” Sullivan, as well as the SUP from page 1 beckoned me in to take the tour first governor of Alta California it is much lighter than a kayak of the chapel, basilica and the under Mexican rule; Don Luis and very simple. It worked well cemetery. Antonio Argüello. for me in Carmel, but that was a In classic San Francisco short paddle, just to the rocks in fashion across the street from the front of the Stillwater Cove pier, Mission is the Saint Matthäus- maybe a quarter mile. One Kirche. We tend to forget that advantage is that I did not have Yuerba Buena before the Gold to anchor it, being light and Rush was a very small town. In gliding well, I just tied my gun 1846 there were around 200 line to it and dragged it behind people living in what we now me with little effort. However, on call San Francisco. Between the longer Timber Cove paddle, January 1848 and December the sitting position got pretty 1849, the population of San uncomfortable after a while and Francisco increased from 1,000 it was hard to paddle with my to 25,000. wetsuit top on. I did not have a good place on the board to stow the top. Lying on the board and kicking is another option, but it It’s a remarkably peaceful was pretty slow. For longer place, especially on a weekday paddles, I will definitely go back when you have it all to yourself. to the kayak, for short paddles it There are four marked burial will probably work. places in the Chapel, William Leidesdorf, a prominent African American businessman, the Noe Family, Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and the Very Reverend STAMMTISCH Richard Carroll, the first pastor at By Pierre Hurter the Mission after San Francisco Among the many people who became an Archdiocese. came to seek their fortunes were German immigrants. Within four years of the beginning of the Gold Rush there were consuls in San Francisco representing Meckelenburg-Schwerin, Hanover, Hamburg, Bremen (remember Germany as we think of today didn’t yet exist), Austria and Switzerland. In the 1870’s there were four German Lutheran congregations, a Reform On one of my meandering congregation and a Catholic ambles … absquatulating … German parish. As early as 1851 around town, I found myself in there were at least two front of La Misión de Nuestro synagogues serving the German Padre San Francisco de Asís or My favorite part of the Mission speaking community as well. On Mission Dolores. Founded on is the cemetery. The headstones a side note the first Jewish June 29, 1776, give evidence of a time when services in the City were held on by Lieutenant José Joaquin people died young and came Yom Kippur (5610), September Moraga and Francisco Palóu (a from the far corners of the world. 26, 1849 on Montgomery Street. companion of Juniper Serra) and The dead include three victims of both members of the de Anza the Vigilantes: James Casey, Expedition. The door to the gift Charles Cora and James Continued on page 4 3 San Francisco Reef Divers June 2017 Volume XLV No. 6 Stammtisch from page 3 my favorite, Best Place to Walk in March. That’s way to long to Four Blocks without Hearing be out of the game. Muscle English. memory only lasts for so long, if The First World War was tough you want to be a reasonably on German speakers; some states competent diver, you need to banned the language, even for dive. Just a theory on my part, church services. During World but it’s like going golfing for a War II all of the other German week once a year; do you really language churches in San think you will ever get any good Francisco stopped holding at it? services in German except for So, on Memorial Day a group Saint Matthews. They’re still of us decided to brave the waters there and they still have German off of Monterey and go for the language services on Sundays.