Day 48 - P&H 'Capella 167'

I paddled the Capella twice today. The first run was this morning with the Aqua Adventures "Wednesday Morning Paddle". I managed to convince most of the group to land near the roller coaster and portage back over to the bay like I did the other day with the Avocet. Only one of the crew got rolled in the surf landing (Mark's first time) and things continued to go well as our parade of five sea kayaks marched down the street across Mission Blvd. and back into the water behind Misos sushi. It's a long story, but we managed to upset a woman from New York City along the way...go figure. The crew seemed to enjoy the break from routine and were already hatching ideas involving kayak carts and money for coffee.

On our way back into the marina Jay spotted a white pelican which is a rare sight around here. I'm not entirely sure of it's actual name, if anybody can identify this bird please let me know exactly what it is. It seemed a bit larger than the usual browns we see around here and had black tips on the back edges of it's wings.




The second paddle in the Capella was tonight with a very lively group of freshmen from UCSD out for a last fling before everyone scatters to the winds for the summer. Early today after one lonely thunder cloud rolled through with a sputtering of rain and three (and only three) cracks of thunder (a freak occurrence around here) we got a phone call from the groups coordinator wanting to cancel the event a full six hours before it was due to launch. We did our best to council the terrified kids and assure them that although conditions had not been suitable for the last twenty minutes or so, we were sure that the beautiful fluffy clouds and warm sunshine we were seeing on the beach right now (behind the "storm") would be what we could expect at launch time. Thirty brave souls did conjure the courage to paddle a very pleasant evening on the bay in the aftermath of San Diego's once yearly visit from the thunder gods. The group played splashed each other seemingly having a great time on the warm evening despite all the "chaos" the big storm brought earlier today.

The Capella was fun to paddle in both outings and I enjoyed the fit and feel of the very agile boat. It isn't going to win any awards in the speed department but that's what one can expect when a little speed is sacrificed for maneuverability.

Capella 167 Review

Manufacturer = P&H
Brand = P&H
Model = Capella 167
Type = Touring
Material = Fiberglass
Length = 16'-7"
Width = 21.75"
Weight = 52.4 lbs.

Location #1 = Wednesday Morning Paddle - Roller coaster loop
Time = 7:00 AM
Distance = 5.10 miles
Duration = 1:30
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly cloudy and calm

Location #2 = Mission Bay night paddle - College group
Time = 9:15 PM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 1:15
Avg Speed = N/A
Conditions = Partly cloudy and calm (post "storm")