Sunken Dinghy

I left town for three days and when I returned the dinghy was submerged by sand.  I showed up at 11pm after a long day at school and I couldn't believe it - the dinghy was nearly buried, sand filled to the rims which was wet and hard like concrete.  

The oars and things were still inside, which I discovered as I started digging with my bare fingers.   It took over an hour, and incidentally the tide was creeping in, higher and higher, so it was a rush against time.  I strategically dug the sand out in piles that would block the incoming tide. After I had most of the sand out I still couldn't budge the dinghy - it was stuck in the hole.  I dug around it, my hands and finger now feeling raw and sore.  It could rock the thing back and forth, but only after a big wave sent water to the edge of the dinghy, did I bring out the "mom whose baby is stuck under the car and lifts it" superpower, and got it upside down, draining water.

Soon I had the dinghy afloat and was rowing back to my boat, still sweaty from the exertion, way after midnight on a calm night.

Smashed Toes

In early May, sailed back to campus point.  The first thing I noticed was there is a lot less sand on the beach.  The winter storms had washed most of it away, which should be replaced over the course of the summer.  I tie up the dinghy about halfway between the steps at campus point and the Goleta Beach rocks; the rest is all cliffs.  Hence I need to walk along about 700 yards of beach to get to the skiff.

The morning after the stubbed toe

After finishing school around 10pm, I was surprised that the waves were crashing right onto the cliffs - the tide was high.  The new moon made nearly 7ft high tides in synch with the time I need to commute.  I waited 2 hrs one night, and the other I skipped out and went to my girlfriend's house.  

Then my friend Miles came into town and really wanted to come visit.  We walked down the steps, got down to our boardshorts in the pitch black, and walked into the swirling shorebreak with our packs above our heads.  When the surf receded and the beach became visible momentarily I ran for it, to gain a bit of distance, but ended up stubbing my toe really badly.  Miles also hit his, but mine ended up broken, as I found out the next day.  Still, the cold water kept things numb for the rest of the evening, and we made it out to the Black Pearl.