Day 23 - Wilderness Systems 'Ripper'

This morning I got the pleasure leading a La Jolla Sea Caves tour for Boy Scout Troop 668 from Escondido. After reviewing the surf report last night I was a bit concerned that the conditions would be too rough to get off the beach. Thankfully a 6:00 AM recon at the beach revealed 2-3 foot (and sometimes larger) swell and otherwise smooth conditions. It was a go for the trip but I knew we wouldn't be getting into the caves. All of these young men had paddled before and it showed as we geared up in record time and joined the parades of kayak geared tourists walking to the beach. The scouts and leaders loaded up on Malibu II tandems while I brought along the little 8' Ripper from Wilderness Systems. Most of these tours go very slow so I thought I'd be able to keep up without any trouble in such a short boat. Unfortunately, I forgot that these kids knew what they were doing, so as we made our way toward the caves I had to work a bit to keep up.

While we watched set after set of chest high waves bash into the cave openings, it was obvious to everyone that there would be no caving done today. After a few quick lessons on some of the local fauna (loads of sea lions and pooping Cormorants) the scouts took an interest in the local flora in the form of a detached and dead Bull Kelp float and holdfast 'root'. Stretched out it went at least sixty feet from the float to the end. Built to hold floating kelp plants in place the root was incredibly tough. The scouts towed each other around with the improvised rope and we set up a tug of war to test our (and the kelp's) strength. A scout also tested the durability of the spherical kelp float itself against the crest of his helmet. All of this interest in the kelp gave me an idea to forget about the caves tours and run La Jolla kelp forest tours. Lord knows how the city would want to regulate that.

If the Ripper wasn't so darn slow it would be great for these tours. The Ripper's maneuverability allowed me to scoot around between the tour boats but most people would get frustrated trying to keep up with longer faster kayaks. Of course that excellent maneuverability allows the Ripper to be controlled fairly effectively on waves. I snuck in a nice surf ride at the very end of the tour and felt the potential of the Rippers surfability. I'll have to get back out with it to give it more time on the waves. While slow, this little boat is still much more cruisable than most 'surf' kayaks so someone looking for a boat that they can toodle around with on flat water and/or get into the surf zone on occasion this would be a good choice.

Ripper Review

Manufacturer = Confluence
Brand = Wilderness Systems
Model = Ripper
Type = SOT
Material = Plastic
Length = 8'-0"
Width = 30"
Weight = 41 lbs.
Capacity = 225 lbs.

Location = La Jolla Shores - Sea Caves Tour
Time = 9:00 AM
Distance = 3 miles
Duration = 1:45
Avg. Speed = N/A "Tour speed"
Conditions = High fog gentle breeze and warm - 2' swell