Later this afternoon I was meeting a friend to go see the movie "Oceans". But I had a few hours until we would get together. Since I have prepared my apartment for storage of my dive and kayak gear (I can no longer store it in my car like I have done with my Ford Escort Wagon). I decided that I would load my kayak atop my Subaru Baja and head down to the beach. I have been diving with her and now it was time she learn her part in my kayaking activities.
I loaded up all my peripherals such as seat, paddle, shorty wetsuit, extra clothing and water. Then I transferred my kayak from my Ford to my Subaru and headed on down to the beach. One thing I realized with my Subaru is that I will have to get an earlier start than when I load my gear the night before and get up in the morning, hop in my car and go.
The only real difference with carrying my kayak is the Subaru is a little higher then my Ford. So lifting it up there is a little harder. And it may turn out that I have to watch my overhead clearance when going into low parking structures. Of course, with my gear in the truck bed, I must be conscientious of leaving it unattended. But that little drawback is worth it. If I follow my "No Gear In The Passenger Area" rule the interior of my car will not get stinky, like my Ford tended to get. And that is the main reason I got a Baja over an Outback.
I went to the boat launch and drove out onto the sand. This is another benefit of the Subaru Baja. It is all wheel drive. I am less likely to have trouble in the sand then with my Ford. There were a couple of times when I nearly got stuck. If it had not been for my manual transmission I would have been.
Took a picture of my Baja on the sand with the kayak atop.
Funny, my kayak looks much smaller on my Scubaru than on my Ford.
Today on the water was challenging, a larger swell and a very short interval. It made it exciting going out. But the return to the beach might be a problem. Typically, this is when I get overturned in the surf. Did a paddle out to the far kelp fishing area then turned back to the shore. It was a gray and blustery day. Plus, I had not been out in a while so I did not do a long trip. Yes, I was overturned. Even after trying to time my exit with break in the sets, and a couple of aborted tries, the waves caught up to me a gave me a nice, refreshing spill.
Back onshore I loaded up my gear to head home. Once home I unloaded all my gear, took a shower then I hung up all my gear to drip in the shower. After it had dripped a bit I put it in my closet which is prepped for my gear, plastic sheeting and duct tape on the floor and a drip basin. Nothing else but dive and kayak gear is in this closet. That is another aspect of my new car, which is a change from my past routine. I must unload my car immediately upon returning home. I realized that all these years, storing my gear in my car has spoiled me. After hanging my gear to dry I just put it back in my car. Now I must store it elsewhere. This is something that everyone else has probably always had to do.
