Kayaking in San Francisco

A friend was turning 25, so to celebrate, my friend E organized a night time guided kayaking tour of the SF Bay. The tour was put on by SF Kayak.

All day at work, as I was obsessively checking the weather reports and indignantly noting the increasing cold and winds, I must admit that I was getting less and less enthusiastic about going. However, 4:00 came, and it was time to drive up.

Of the ten of us that did this, four of us motored up together, including the birthday boy.

He had no idea what we were doing. All he was told was to bring a fleece and a ski cap. We parked at Pier 38, and walked along the dock. While we were being blasted by the cold wind, my friend, girlfriend of said boy and organizer of this clandestine conspiracy plan asked him to guess what we were doing. Peering at the row of kayaks, he said, "Well, it can't be kayaking, because a) C (other person in our carpool, who in this case ended up serving as a "decoy") is with us and she's not into activities like that, and b) I'd be pissed." We managed to keep a straight face for about 3 seconds before we all started rolling over with laughter.

So kayaking it was. The outing started a little past 8 p.m. After being outfitted with high-tech waterproof stuff, signing waiver forms and being coached on the fine art of paddling without acquiring blisters, we started out at pier 38 and practiced our strokes, turns, etc. for a bit. Most of us (myself included) were beginners. Once we were all comfortable with our paddles, we set out towards the bay to behind Pac Bell Stadium. Decoy girl and I were paddling partners. For someone who has a reputation for being "not into activities like that", she was a great paddler.

Although this was just a "special outing" for most of us, I was surprised at how many sea tailgating "regulars" there were--some dressed up, some sporting SF Giants attire, some with long nets eagerly awaiting for that stray homerun ball, some with elaborate picnics, some with their supply of narcotics--all having a blast. After perching out for a while here and enjoying the spectacle, the people-watching, and resting, we ventured on under the pier to a quieter area.

The journey under the pier was itself an adventure. It felt like we were in a scene from some suspense thriller, undertaking some surreptitious plan. Well, other than the fact that we were all saying "cool!", it had the right ambience: dark, narrow space, murky calm waters, muffled sounds, etc.

After we got through the pier, we paddled around for a bit, went under some more low structures, and then eventually ended back behind Pac Bell park. By the time we returned, the number of sea tailgaters had dwindled--perhaps because of the score (9-0 with Giants leading at the time), and perhaps because of the drop in temperatures. The noise emanating from the stadium was as vibrant as ever.

Our organizers provided us with box dinners. I normally don't get too excited by tomato and avocado sandwiches, but given the odd setting, the ambience, the crowd, our hunger factor, etc., it could've easily been the best sandwich I've ever tasted. They even supplied us with champagne. Again, normally not something I like, but how often do you get to toast champagne in kayaks in the dark with 15 other people during a ball game?

Around the time that a nice little buzz was kicking in for me, the fireworks started. By this time, I was quite cold (my waterproof mitts were completely drenched. . .), but it turned out to be well worth the wait. Quality-wise, I've seen better fireworks in Japan, but this was probably the most dramatic show I've ever seen. The fireworks were being shot from a boat in the harbor, so we had the best seats. Plus decoy-girl and I somehow managed to drift very close to the boat, to the point where several times, the fireworks felt so close that I found myself yelling and paddling backwards for fear of the fireworks falling on us! Or at least, that is how close it seemed, which made for a thrilling and exhilarating effect.

It's hard to tell how long the fireworks lasted, but my guess is about 15-20 minutes. By the time we paddled back on shore, it was past 11 p.m. Decoy girl and I managed to get ourselves wet when we climbed out of our skirts, so we were quite cold!

We concluded the evening with rich warm hot cocoa at Giradhelli Square. A perfect end to an adventurous evening.

At the end of the evening, we asked the birthday boy if he was still pissed. He laughed. We took that to mean no. We were all exhausted, but all had a fantastic time.

Some more pictures are posted here. (Password is my name in all lowercase.)