Destination: Cabo - The Long Way

[wavster]

Well, after 2 years of thinking about it and some serious planning
I've committed to an expedition that I expect will change my life:
paddling solo from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, a nearly 1,100 mile trek.

My plan is to paddle my Trident 15 from San Diego and hit every great
fishing spot along the way. I've done a lot of research, made some test
runs, spoke to others who have sailed it, and have done of my homework.
This trip will not be easy, but I expect to encounter a lot of great fishing.

I have several reasons for making this trip, including documenting the
status of the oceans and fisheries along the way. I've got several cameras
mounted on my kayak as well as hand helds. Hopefully, I'll get some great
footage along the way, which I'll share when I return.

I've got some great sponsors, including Surf to Summit, Werner Paddles,
and my personal favorite, Stone Brewing Company. They've agreed to
supply me with all the IPA I want along my route.

I'll be posting more before I go but, if anyone has any constructive
comments, connections in Baja they could share, or would like to help by
helping me resupply along the way (driving or on a boat), that would be
great. I expect the trip to take between 45-60 days, so if anyone is
heading south during July and August, the timing might coincide.

If you want to learn more about the trip, you can find it here:
http://wavster.blogspot.com.

Wish me luck.
Dave

[steveooo]

Dave, That sounds hard core! Should be an epic journey. I look forward to the reports and probably reading the book that I'm sure is already in the works
Good Luck

[old_rookie]

Incredible!! This is awesome. I'd like to see some pics of your rig, and I'm sure there will be pics of you starting off on your adventure. I'll be monitoring your site for updates (using www.changedetection.com). Will you be doing updates along the way? They simplest way I can suggest is cell phone texts, but that would mean using one of the social network sites - Facebook - not sure about the others. Just a thought. Besides, I don't think there is much cell reception along the way.

Good luck Dave. I'd say this can go on your bucket list.

[wade]

Pure insanity and I'm lovin every word of it!
Can barely wait to hear & see more of this!!
You should see if Depends wants to sponsor this adventure as well..

May you lock onto a nice Mexican taxi early on, who will hopefully shave eighteen kilometers off this trip in the right direction!

GOOD LUCK!

[DESTROYER]

Be Safe Dave! God Speed!

[T-Rex]

Wow...should be an awesome trip! I've sailed to Cabo and back a couple of times and each trip was memorable.

One suggestion would be to bring a marine SSB transceiver or radio so you can get long range weather forecasts. July and August always have the chance of a hurricane.

Good luck on an adventure of a lifetime!!!

[miguelitro]

"In this age of laboratory science, I applaud those who set off to discover first hand."
M. Candra

[wbrewski]

may the fish gods be with you

[the dude]

I'm sure the question we're all wondering is 'how the heck are you gonna keep all that beer cold?'

Good luck dude, hope it's a fishy trip for you. Look forward to the pics.

[TCS]

Godspeed Dave. That's a a true adventure.

In terms of a baja network, I would suggest that you post you journey on BajaNomad.com. They have a tight network of old baja hands who can provide a lot of support.

[h2ofishfo]

hardcore!!may u have a sweet seat to keep your back in tact & arms of a god!!!!i wanna see some great pics

[tattuna]

You're a brave and ambitious man...I like that! I've never met you, but I'd like to offer any support I can. My only Pacific side of Baja connect is in Erendira. I can put you in touch with some fisherman that are (3 generations) native to the area if need be. PM me for details, I'd be happy to help. Best of luck and safety to you

[T Bone]

we all know IPA sucks when it gets over 50 deg.

Good luck.Interested in how you plan on resting,camping ,showering, sleeping etc.

How many miles you cover per day will depend on 2 factors I am sure,weather and fishing.Dont let yourself run out of fresh water and hopefully you habla espaniol a little....

[Billy V]

My advice is to not cut any corners on safety gear.
I'd like to hear what you will be carrying on the kayak.

SAT Phone, EPIRB, offshore life jacket, good laser flashlight, water, salt tablets, potassium, Bullfrog with titanium dioxide, etc.

Good Luck - be safe.

[GregAndrew]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Might want to contact a couple of the San Diego Sportfishing landings for sponsorship. That time of year there will be boats down there virtually every day which could supply you. You would have to figure an angle that is good for them though.

[rdahl]

Good luck to you. I don't envy all the surf launches and landings. I assume you have read the book titled "We Survived Yesterday". If not, it is a must read for a trip like this. How long are you planning to take for the trip? I suggest you take a sail kite or something like that as I expect you will have many hours with a 10 plus knot wind behind you. I strongly suggest you get set up with a rudder too if you don't already have one.

Rick

[Mo Betta]

Hi Dave,

My boys and I are southbound July 27 +/- for the East Cape. We will be Northbound August 5-6. I will be in a F350 CC LB 4x4. Just thought I would toss it out there.....PM me for my digits, cell works in Baja

Bahia Ascuncion contact would be Shari @ http://bajabnb.com/php/ They are right out on the point, good people.

Frank

[j mo]

I’m sure you have read the book "We Survived Yesterday: Kayaking from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas"

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Detached from civilization in double kayaks, paddling nine hours a day for 34 days straight, this 1200 mile voyage from San Diego, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico was a true man against nature adventure. The rough water and rocky coastline had been anticipated, but the rats, mice, ants, crabs, coyotes, mosquitoes and wild pigs that either ate our food, stole our gear or tried to sleep in our sleeping bags with us we had not anticipated. We learned that the human mind and spirit can endure, create, and problem solve better than we ever imagined.

I also think that there was another two man team that did this last year out of cbad /Oceanside to raise awareness for cancer, but I never followed up on the story. I’m sure if you haven’t already; you could get a hold of these two and get their thoughts...

Too bad you can’t take a board. You are going to pass some world class spots and some super secret places accessible only by 8 hour jaw breaking washboard roads or boat....


Can you list your potential stops/campsites?

Good luck

[wavster]

Thank you all for the advice and the offers of contacts. I contacted Shari
Bondi in Asuncion last week and she's already hooked me up with a couple
of contacts. She's definitely good people. If you fish Asuncion, stay with
them.

I did speak to the guys from Carlsbad about their trip. They only made it
5 days and called it quits after hitting 20ft+ surf out at Todos Santos.
Bob Wilson (the main guy) was very nice and offered some advice.
Still trying to figure out why they went out there. Maybe to set a surfing
XXL record.

I am definitely taking my 6'2". Are you kidding me? The surf is going to be
great at so many places, there's no way I could pass it up. I've already
figured out how to transport the board and took it on my 33 mile paddle
last weekend, but the new rudder has put a small kink in that setup. Back
to the drawing board, but definitely coming.

I'll post a photo of my rig once I get everything complete. I've had to make
some major adjustments and took a minimalistic approach.

Rudder has been added. I think it would be impossible without it.

As far as keeping the Stone cold, well, they told me that they would
provide me as much as I wanted for my support crew to bring to me, so
anyone who's up for the challenge, will have plenty of cases of Stone in
their truck. I would just need to know that a few bottles make it to me
every week.

[MalibuJohnny]

Stop off here in the way down...you got balls, you may need a few more of these! Good luck