During a recent kayak excursion off the coast of Redondo Beach, a kayaker was greeted by a rather large ocean creature - a blue whale. The whale surfaces amazingly close to the kayaker, who described the encounter as "heart pounding" on his YouTube page. Intrigued (and seemingly experienced), the man proceeds to take a "relaxing and peaceful" dip with the whale. more ›

Marc Cross, an experienced 53-year-old kayaker, set out from Newport Beach on Wednesday and did not return. On Saturday night, the Coast Guard suspended its search along the SoCal coast, according to LA Now. more ›

There was a few of us who decided to get as close as we could to Arch Rock, one of the symbols of Channel Islands National Park. The waves were breaking dangerously under the 40-foot gateway, but from a couple hundred yards away, it was still a spectacle to watch. Paddling back to the dock at Anacapa Island, I got ahead of our kayking group, but I didn't know how far ahead I was until I heard breathing behind me. And it didn't sound human. more ›

Now with the L.A. River defined as a navigable, there's a movement afloat to make it usable for residents. Today L.A. City Councilmember Ed Reyes, who leads the city's river committee on the river and spearheaded the river revitalization master plan, introduced a motion to establish a boating program. more ›

As seen here yesterday, the first kayaking trip on the L.A. River since it was deemed "navigable" by the federal government was caught on video. Exciting as that is, the legality of holding such an urban adventure is still in a gray area. more ›

It's been done before, but not since the federal government officially declared the L.A. River as navigable, thus under the Clean Water Act. So last week river activists George Wolfe, Joe Linton and others took to a eight-mile portion of the river down the Glendale Narrows between Griffith Park and towards downtown for an inaugural trip. more ›

On a recent journey to Channel Islands National Park, just off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara, it was a stormy day limiting the accessibility of some sea caves for safety reasons. Of course, we had to go back and pray it was a calm sunny day and this weekend proved to be as such in the caves surrounding Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island. more ›

The Los Angeles region has many secrets and Channel Islands National Park is one of them. The group of islands off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara are easily seen from the crowded beaches of Malibu, but most of those beach goers have never been on the other side. And while it is one of the closest National Parks to the millions who live here, it is also one of the less accessible ones. Boats don't run as consistent as the ferry's to Catalina Island and the sometimes the costs (around $50 roundtrip and up, depending on which island you visit) stop many. more ›

Heather from the US Army Corps of Engineers was dismayed to hear that her own office had called the LA River not really a river because it wasn't completely navigable. So she got on board the group of folks determined to say it wasn't so by taking a 3-day kayak trip down the river from Canoga Park to the beach. This is Heather's story. more ›

They did it. Geroge Wolfe and the gang kayaked, from end to end, the LA River, proving that claims by the Army Corps of Engineers that the river was not navigable, thus not a river, were wrong. Looking at all of these photos says something to us. It says "we need this river for the people!" more ›

Continuing their journey down the 52-mile long Los Angeles River, proving that it is navigable by boat, George Wolfe and a group of kayakers completed their second day. Starting at the Sepulveda dam, they boated down through Sherman Oaks, Studio City Toluca Lake, Burbank and down into Atwater Village and Los Feliz. Today, the group finishes their journey in Long Beach. more ›

Yesterday afternoon was day one of George Wolfe's LA River expedition where he and a group of twelve kayakers intended to prove that the LA River is a river that is navigable, something that is contrary to what the Army Corps of Engineers concluded last month. more ›

This afternoon in Canoga Park, 12 kayakers are going to begin a 51-mile, three-day journey down the LA River to Long Beach. They have no permit to enter the river, but that's part of the point. The Army Corps of Engineers caused a stir in the community last month when they declared that the Los Angeles River was not, in fact, a river because it was not navigable, save for two spots. more ›

The shark attack near Catalina Island this past weekend is the 148 confirmed shark attacks along the Pacific Coast since 1900, according to the OC Register's Beach Blog. They say most have been investigation attacks and not predatory. “The shark was not interested at all in eating her, otherwise it would have stayed in the area and eaten her," explained Shark expert Ralph Collier. Over the weekend, a woman kayaking off Catalina was flung into the air when a shark bumped into her vessel. She landed on top of the shark, but swam to shore safely. more ›

A woman kayaking off the coast of Catalina Island had a close encounter with a shark this weekend. "I couldn't believe it and all of a sudden when I seen the fin I realized this is not a whale -- this is a shark," she told KCAL9. "By the time I thought that ... the shark was already cruising under me and lifting the kayak up with its body, and I landed out of the kayak right onto the shark's body." The shark reportedly swam away as the woman began to safely swim towards shore.
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San Pedro (or as he would say, "Pedro") local Mike Watt kayaks just about every morning and always takes beautiful beautiful beautiful sunrise photos. Here's one recent morning over at the Harbor. more ›

This last Tuesday at the crack of dawn, famous San Pedro local Mike Watt snapped this shot. "I'm paddling my kayak down in the harbor here in Pedro and I saw the Angels Gate Lighthouse being reflected down onto the water and took a shot of it as I was about to pass her and head out into the open sea. I flipped the picture 180 degrees to give it a trippy perspective. It is NOT photoshopped!" more ›

One of the great things about Pedro are the cliffs, which provide beautiful views of the harbor. At the same time, the harbor is getting some beautiful views of the cliffs ( and the Point Fermin building). Here is a sea-lion's-eye view from Watt's kayak. A Watt's-eye-view. more ›

Don't forget to enter our Labor Day Weekend Contest with the prize to see AIR at the Greek Amphitheater later this month. Recent major events for the Los Angeles Fire Department include a fire last night in North Hills contained to a 12 x 12 foot room where a twenty-something male in serious condition with smoke inhalation and an air ambulance rescue for a two-year-old boy who fell from a pony, dragging him near... more ›

We've shown you Kayaks in the LA River, we've shown you an extensive photo collection from the LA River, and we've shown you SUVs driving through the LA River. Apparently, people are catching on as evident in this video.... more ›

Hell, this may be illegal, but if the LA River plan is going to crawl upstream at a snail's pace, screw it -- the time to play is now! Not when we're 75 years of age. We caught this father/son urban adventure duo in Sherman Oaks paddling downstream towards Studio City. "Is this a tradition?" we screamed down. "Nope, it's our first time," the dad yelled back. We asked how he came up with... more ›

Though the sun has been doing a bit of a peek-a-boo with us the past few days, we can't help noticing the increase in sunshine since we made it past last week's winter solstice. Hooray sunshine! Much as we like a nice blustery day, one of the main reasons we live in southern California is the intimate relationship with have with ol' Sol down here. Esteemed musician/composer/polar bear/lexicographer of hoot Mike Watt seems to... more ›