Rough Waters Turn Chumash Paddlers Back to Shore
By EMILY PARKER, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Paddlers work hard in the channel crossing to Santa Cruz Island, but rough water forced organizers to call off the expedition 11 miles short of its goal.A tomol pushes across the Santa Barbara Channel on Saturday morning.
SPENCER WEINER PHOTOS
September 9, 2012 7:05 AM
The annual Chumash Tomol Crossing was canceled halfway through the Saturday paddle.
Chumash paddlers set out from Oxnard's Channel Island Harbor on schedule at 3 a.m. Saturday, but had to stop 11 miles shy of their destination on Santa Cruz Island because of rough ocean water, said Mike Traphagen , spokesman for Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, in a statement.
"The ocean dictates everything, and today she said, 'This isn't a good day for a paddle,' " said Reggie Pagaling, a tomol captain and Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians tribal elder.
Two tomols, which resemble plank canoes, were supposed to make the 21-mile trip this year, but due to harsh water conditions, only the larger tomol attempted the crossing, Mr. Traphagen said. The 30-foot vessel, named Muptami of Kalawashaq, which means "Memories of Santa Ynez" in the Barbareno language, started taking on water 11 miles short of Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, he said.
When organizers decided it was no longer safe to continue, support boats rescued the crew and towed the tomol safely back to Ventura Harbor, Mr. Traphagen said.
"The swells were coming in at every three to five seconds," Mr. Pagaling said. "That's very rough. We're used to swells at 11 to 20 seconds. That gives the paddlers enough time to react and recover between swells. This was just too rough."
Historically, various Chumash tribes in California used the 8- to 30-foot tomols, which were historically made by using stone tools and redwood tree trunks pulled from the ocean, to trade with neighboring tribes.
The annual crossing retraces an ancient Chumash trading route and can take up to 13 hours to paddle, depending on currents, wind and fog.
During this year's paddle, Mr. Pagaling wanted to reflect on loved ones who have recently passed away, Mr. Traphagen said.
"I did accomplish one (of) our goals— I placed our traditional prayer in the water to honor the memory of my uncle Manuel Armenta, Victoria Lopez (the mother of tomol captain Marcus Lopez Sr.) and our family friend Don Sorenson," Mr. Pagaling said.
"And about 20 seconds later, a big gray whale came to the surface, blew out a flash of seawater, and when it went back down it gave us a tail salute as we left."Three years ago, the annual event was canceled before the launch because of rough water, Mr. Traphagen said.