Full moon. First paddle.

With the change in daylight savings time this past weekend, Tuesday marked the first evening paddle practice for the SFOCC. Having not been in a boat for close to 5 months (?!) it was great to be back behind Sports Basement with familiar faces, the big boats, the routine, the SF Crossfit group running back and forth while we maneuvered boats around them, the views of the GG Bridge and my mistress of adventure, Jessica.

We set out in a brisk wind with a mild chop to the water, paddling out towards the GG bridge. I was trying to recall all the advice I'd been given over the last season, the things to keep in mind, how to hold my arms, pull with the lats, twist the torso, paddle in/paddle out, smooth recovery, feather the blade, match the stroker, call out the count. With my "mastery" of a pullup I thought the transition back into paddling would be fairly easy. I'd been religious with Crossfit afterall. But, while it wasn't crushing, it was definitely tiring. We did a straight 15 minute set in the other direction towards the Bay Bridge and by the time we reached the Marina I was grateful for the few minutes of rest.

By then the sky was streaked with orange and pink, the sun setting in the West as we glanced over towards Oakland in search of the full moon. We did a few laps in the calmer waters of the Marina working on stroke recovery, getting familiar again with all the mechanics. Turning back towards home, we paddled into choppier water as the sky continued to change, the colors melting and fading into the horizon. I was with a strong boat of paddlers and we pushed the pace, tired but focused; wet, a little cold, but having fun. We paddled out past our landing point to the pier so that when we turned to make the final push home, the full moon hung HUGE in the sky. It was a fabulous finish to a perfect first night out on the water.

And then, back on terra firma, I opened my car, started it to fire up the heater, closed the door.... and locked myself out. Despite Jason's best efforts to jimmy it open I had to call AAA who came 25 minutes after they said they would because someone at dispatch got my location down as Mason and Sutter. Sooo, almost a perfect first night. Perfect until we hit land.

Footnote: I would've taken my camera out on the water to capture the sunset and full moon but the last time I was in a boat it was a 2-man with Jessica and we flipped three times. It was a little unnerving being back out and having the sensation that every time I paddled to the right, the boat was going to flip. I've only flipped in a 6-man once before and that was as we were leaving the shore and just hit a small wave the wrong way. Dur.