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Western Sea

Kayakers

Welcome to Western Sea Kayakers!


Who we are

Western Sea Kayakers (WSK) is a San Francisco Bay Area sea kayaking club with about 150 members. WSK was formed in 1995 to promote safe, fun paddling.


What we do

WSKers love kayaking in the Monterey and San Francisco Bays, Elkhorn Slough and the dynamic coastal waters from Point Reyes to Carmel – actually, just about any waters between Alaska and Baja. Many of our members also enjoy kayak camping, whitewater kayaking and kayak surfing, and can even be found participating in an occasional kayak race.


Our annual car camping trip to Mendocino provides options for rock gardening, coastal journeys, and flat water river paddling. The annual holiday party includes a fabulous potluck with turkey and vegetarian options, and a chance to enjoy a fun evening where we're slightly more 'dressed up'. And the annual summer potluck picnic is preceded by paddles for all skill levels.


A sample of our upcoming public Events are shown below. These often include some of our flat water paddles, and rescue practices. Certain paddles are posted to Meetup; so that guests can meet WSKers and learn about WSK: Meetup: Silicon Valley's Western Sea Kayakers


Many more paddles are available on the Calendar available to Club members. Information about joining the Club is available here: About Membership


In-person meetings

WSK currently holds in-person meetings in Mountain View or Redwood City in the Fall and Winter. These are always open to guests.

Past presentations have included:

  • Members' expedition and international paddling trips.
  • Conservation topics related to the ocean and San Francisco Bay.
  • Gear selection for new paddlers.
  • Topics relevant to kayaking, such as: understanding tides and reading tide charts, navigating in a kayak, and using wind, weather and swell forecasts.


SELECT TRIP HISTORY

Number of trips led, by year:


  • 2025 - 69
  • 2024 - 76
  • 2023 - 93
  • 2022 - 95
  • 2021 - 140
  • 2020 - 109
  • 2019 - 87
  • 2018 - 72


Upcoming Events
Upcoming Public Events

Trip report from recent flat water paddle

Foster City Paddle

We met at the Foster City boat ramp at 10 am. After introductions and a brief safety talk, we launched at 10:30 am into overcast sky, with a slight wind and temperature in the low 60’s. Paddling in a counterclockwise direction, Micheline took the lead and Ken N served as the sweep. We paddled 3.5 miles to Sea Cloud Park, stopped for a stretch break and snack at San Miguel Park then returned to the launch area total distance about 6.5 miles. A wonderful way to share Valentine’s Day with good friends on the water.  


Trip report from recent advanced, open coast paddle

Davenport Landing to Greyhound Rock

We met at Davenport Landing as scheduled. After getting boats and kit to the beach, we had a good safety talk inventorying Kit and reviewing the CLAP for safe coastal paddling.


The weather was amazing – 70’s and sunny with pretty flat seas, although there was a long period swell with a 16sec period that sprinkled a little spice on things from time to time. We had an ebb tide all day that was dropping to a negative 1 foot at about 2:00pm. This strip of coast is shallow and has a lot of rocks, so we expected a fair amount of boomers throughout the day, growing larger as the tide continued to ebb. 


We launched on time into very calm water and swung wide around the breakers on the north side of Davenport Landing. Once we were around the point, we were able to get closer inside near Scott Creek Beach and follow the coastline checking out numerous waterfalls on the cliffs fed by recent rains. Winds were advertised as negligible throughout the day, and they basically were. We did get a decent NW wind for a bit while paddling north, but much of this trip is in the lee of Ano Nuevo.


As we approached Greyhound Rock it looked like we would be able to approach the beach from the South. As we got a little closer, there were some large sets that came through and we had a few people in the group who did not want to land at Greyhound rock. We were able to find an alternate beach for lunch just south of Greyhound Rock and we were able to land the group safely.


After Lunch, we were launching into some bigger waves and we did have a capsize. The paddler and boat were brought back to the beach to sort things out and give it another go, which proved successful. 


We had a leisurely paddle back (a bit too leisurely for my liking, but it was a gorgeous day, so what the hec). We again swung wide around the breakers at the north point of Davenport Landing and landed the group safely without incident. After getting boats and gear back to the cars and packed away, six of us went to the Whale City Bakery Bar and Grill for some food and drinks. If you have never had one of their homemade Cannoli’s – you are missing out! Interestingly, as we were walking up to the restaurant, we saw multiple whale spouts out in the Ocean – Very cool!


Thanks to all who paddled for a spectacular Day on the water!