Day 38 - Ocean Kayak 'Mysto'

This morning had me giving an introductory surf lesson to a gentleman named Scott who just learned to roll last week. Thing of it is that rolling is all Scott had ever done in a kayak, so some more basic instruction was needed before we hit the waves. Scott wanted to be in a decked boat thinking that his roll was solid enough to allow him to handle things if he got knocked over. Of course rolling in a pool is one thing and rolling in the surf is another, so I wanted to bring along a SOT surf boat so I could swap with Scott if need be. The Mysto is a new SOT surf boat from Ocean Kayak which I haven't been in much so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

What we did was drop in on the San Diego river just across the street from the shop and paddle out to Dog Beach about a mile away. Along the way we hopped into an eddy to get out of the incoming tide flow to work on some basic strokes. The Mysto paddled pretty nice on the flat water of the river and didn't feel as slow as many surf specific boats I've been in. After an hour of practice Scott looked solid with the basics of the basics so it was time to hit the knee high surf at Dog Beach. Scott did well in his first go round in rough water and impressed the hell out of me by pulling off several combat rolls in the waves. After working with Scott in the waves I had a chance to take the Mysto for a couple rides and it did alright. If I got lazy and let the boat wallow in the soup a bit it tended to scoop water with its down wave edge and despite my efforts it would resist being brought back upright. As long as you stay on your game the Mysto surfs pretty well. I'm going to have to get back out on some cleaner waves to really give it a fair test.

Mysto Review

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Ocean Kayak
Model = Mysto
Type = Sit On Top (surf)
Material = Plastic
Length = 9'-9"
Width = 31"
Weight = 43 lbs.

Location = San Diego River to Dog Beach
Time = 9:00 AM
Distance = About 2 miles
Duration = 2:30 hours
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Sunny and nice