"El Primero", first Humpback ID of 2011 Season
I believe “he” is a 2-3 year old male due to various combat scars on his dorsal fin. Had it not been for Marilyn Pomeroy’s suggestion we go out (very short wind window last week) and Alan Pomeroy’s “spotting”, Vicente and I would have missed him. He was real close but a short way behind us and his blow was not heard by any of us. We followed him for about an hour until I got this shot and then Alan asked, “now can we go in”? (he loves to swim with them as much as I do). Unfortunately we missed our chance because by the time we were geared up he went down and we lost him. I’m going out again Tuesday or Wednesday, as the winds are dying a bit.
The winds have been real good for the world class “Lord of the Wind” kite/wind surfing competition in Los Barriles right now. I went to watch the Masters Free Style event and got some photos but the wind wore me out before I could enjoy the after competition nightlife. After dinner tonight I may just drive back in and check out the scene. Some friends are in town and I may see them. They are coming out here to El Cardonal Monday to go with me on my search Tuesday. The more eyes the better!
A couple of posts back I mentioned an old friend, Frank Denney, who I buddied with as a kid and later off and on as a fellow traveler on this trip called “Life”. While rereading a book from the past I found this picture stuck in the pages. That’s me on the left and Frank on the right sitting on the deck of a place I built in Potter Valley, CA, must have been around 1975. I was in a REAL low place in my spirit at that time and Frank helped me out of it. Muchas gracias, amigo.
Me & my buddy Frank Denney, 1974
On a bit lighter level, this is what can happen driving in an arroyo around here. This is not my vehicle but one of a friend. Finally took another friend, Jose Martin and his backhoe, to get the SUV off the rock. One of the things about it all was that there was not even a grimace on anyone’s face the whole time. John Hensley was there too and it was just 4 friends solving a problem while still enjoying the beauty of Baja.
I don’t have a picture of the next event but Alan and I went out to his mooring buoy the other day to retrieve his anchor. He was going to tank dive down to it (it was stuck) while I watched from above to help lift, clear etc. All went well and I mentioned to Alan on the way in (each in our kayaks plus an extra kayak for the anchor, buoy and 100’ of rope) that we pulled that off like old pros. Alan laughed and said we weren’t through the surf yet and on the beach.
Well, I went in first, beached and waded out as he came in to stabilize the second kayak so it wouldn’t broadside in the surf (it was roped to the stern of his kayak). All looked good, Alan went in fine but I couldn’t steady the second kayak because a bit of a roller was coming in just then so I shoved the second kayak so it would ride as straight as possible and not mess up Alan as he was pulling out (remember he is still roped to the second kayak). Bad decision,
I shoved the kayak right into Alan as he was getting out and suddenly both kayaks are askew, Alan is trying to control them and I am in the surf unable to do a goddamn thing. Alan goes over on his back and does a graceful backward somersault and I stumble out of the surf like a shipwrecked sailor. We really must have looked like The Keystone Cops and no one appreciated it more than ourselves. For about an hour after we would break out laughing just thinking about how we looked after all that “professional” appearance out at the mooring.
This last picture is of my daughter Kersti and her husband Bill Evans. I put it in just because I think they look so good.
No comments:
Post a Comment