#2: [12-Oct-07]

#1: [29-Sep-00]

11-Sep-2008 -- 26N 50E was visited for the 3^rd time just before sunset, late Thursday afternoon.

The vicinity of this near-shore confluence, adjacent to a bombing range, did not have many visitors in the past (see narration for visit #1 in 2000). More recently, small beach resorts and gated beach compounds are being developed, and a favorite launch area for the kite-boarding community lies 1400 m south of this site.

I had been at another nearby windsurfing and kiteing beach on Half Moon Bay earlier in the day gathering some gear, and opted to paddle the 228 m distance from the shore to the confluence site via a windsurfing board and kayak paddle. A large portion of the transit to the site is less than 2 to 4 ft deep, but waters appear to be more than 5 ft deep at the Confluence, based on soundings with a 7+ ft paddle. A middling breeze of 9 to 16 mph from the NW moderated the 111°F / 44°C temp (116°F / 47°C earlier in the day). Water temp was a pleasant 87°F / 30.5°C, and only small waves were present due to the wind blowing across the short fetch from shore.

It took numerous passes to finally zero out at the Confluence. However, due to wind and wave-driven drift, and the sampling interval of my track log, I had to settle for snapshots which were slightly off from 000.

GPS showed consistent accuracy of 6 m. It also took a few passes to get cardinal direction snapshots from on-site, coordinating the paddleboard heading, compass, GPS, and camera. It was inspiring to see four kiteboarders making the most of the afternoon wind in the distance. Twelve kites were flying in the stronger winds the following day.

About 150 m from the coast in a bay of the Gulf.