by Alan Marshall Editor’s Note: Though the Tsunami Rangers went their own wild way, the Bay Area Sea Kayakers and the Rangers have cross-pollenated. One of the founders of BASK, Penny Wells, is a friend, as is past BASK president Barbara Kossy, who is married to TR John Dixon. BASKers attended the Tsunami Sea Gypsy […]
California Coast Sea Kayaking
Paddling Humboldt Lagoons State Park
Editor’s note: last time I visited the Redwood Empire, friend Rebekah Kakuk gifted me a copy of Sea Kayaking the Redwood Coast (2011) by Explore North Coast, a local kayaking club in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The book contains many routes from protected flat-water paddles to exposed, inaccessible stretches of wild coastline, most of […]
Kayak Trinidad – Humboldt County’s New Paddle Shop!
Yay! This spring Jason Self of Kayak Trinidad in Humboldt County opened his new paddle shop in the beautiful town of Trinidad on the Northern California coast. One of my favorite places to paddle, Trinidad is situated on a stunning section of coastline. Noted for its public beaches and offshore rocks, Trinidad is part of […]
A Rock Gardening State Of Mind
by Bill Vonnegut Editor’s note: Bill Vonnegut of the Neptune’s Rangers is an old friend. We’re pleased to run his article on rock gardening versus rock bashing. If you find yourself paddling on the open coast from San Francisco to Oregon, you could possibly run into Bill. He has a passion for paddling and holds British Canoe Advanced […]
Tsunami Ranger Retreat 2.0 – October 2021
Everything changes, and to both survive and thrive, adaptation is imperative. In 2020, Covid 19 brought changes to the Tsunami Rangers, not least in that for the first time in over 30 years, we didn’t hold our annual retreat. That was a bummer, but we adapted. In 2021 a fully vaccinated Ranger crew met in […]
Caves Are People Too
by TR Steve “El Rey” King Editor’s note: This post is a lyrical tribute to sea caves. Included are many photos of sea caves we have known over the years. Each cave has its own personality. We hope you enjoy this post as much as we’ve enjoyed meeting our friends, the caves. Many Tsunami journeys […]
September Love – A Tsunami Retreat Retrospective
Editor’s note: Thanks to Michael Powers, Steven King, and Jim Kakuk for their photos of past retreats! Thanks also to Dave, Don, Eric, Misha, Steve, Deb, Paula, Scott, Jeff, Cate, Dennis, Michael, Gordon, and Jim who are all represented in these photographs. What a team! The Rogue Valley was blazing and whole neighborhoods vanishing in […]
Tsunami Surf Session at Pillar Point
It’s a wonderful life. On May 13 I drove down to TR John Lull’s house on the Northern California coast in El Granada. Hung out for a few hours catching up and then headed over to TR El Rey’s place in Moss Beach. Had a great salmon dinner courtesy El Rey with his family and […]
Boats on the Brain
by Jim Kakuk and Nancy Soares Nancy: It was a celebratory weekend. I drove down to Guerneville on Friday to help with the setup. Capt. Jim and his lovely gal Patti were having a party, and what a bash it was! Jim and Patti had recently returned from an epic trip to Oaxaca only to […]
Cover Blown at Thunder Cove – Tsunami Retreat 2018
Editor’s Note: This poem The Autumn Wind was written by former NFL Films President and co-founder Steve Sabol. The poem was first used for the Oakland Raiders’ official team yearbook film in 1974, of the same title. It also epitomizes everything that happened on the Rangers’ annual retreat this year. You can read the full […]
Whale Watching From a Kayak – Gray Whales in Trinidad Harbor
On May 8 I went kayaking with whales. Because it was a spur of the moment decision I didn’t go over to the coast and spend the night as I’ve done before so it was necessary to leave at about 3:30 am in order to get to Trinidad Harbor by 8. I love the drive […]
Kayaking Angel Island – It’s All About the Blueschist
By Nancy Soares and John Lull “The best way to study geology is by kayak” – Tsunami Ranger Capt. Tortuga You probably don’t know this, but Capt. Tortuga and Tsunami Ranger John Lull are geologists by trade. On Monday, April 9, John and I drove from his place in El Granada on the San Francisco […]
Tsunami Retreat 2017 Part 3 – Holy Shibooty! I Become a Tsunami Ranger
Capt. Kuk: It has been a long progression for Nancy over the last 22 years and even though she was always capable of gaining the skills to be a Ranger, she chose to keep some separation to give Eric space. Starting with her martial arts and fancy foot work playing hacky sack, Nancy has since added the […]