John Vonderlin writes:
Hi June,
I started my emails by asking about Gordon’s Chute. Here are a few related photos. The first is from the top of the hill that I have to carry the tires up. 99% of the time a shot of Tunitas will be from here.
Gordon’s Chute was anchored on the first rock projection below the cliffs to the left. You can barely see HMB(Princeton?) in the distance.The second shot is looking up from that projection at the cliffs above. The third is looking seaward from the rock. The fourth captures a little bit of the hazard the ships must have faced while loading so close to the rocky shore. The last is of an unusual feature in the nearby tidepools that is generated when waves repeatedly hit concretions exposed by erosion. I’ve only seen these in a few places.
I suspect the acceleration of the water causes this feature in the same way that an airplane wing derives lift from its shape by accelerating the air and subsequently lowering the pressure along its upper surface. Enjoy. John
One other thing. Just as Tunitas was the End of The Line for the Oceanshore R.R., Gordon’s Chute is the end of the line for beach explorers. I believe between there and Martin’s Beach is impassable despite a mention in an old book about the possibility during low tide.
I’ve been there at extremely low tide and it looks scary even to me. We are planning an attempt with wetsuits, boogie boards, cell phones, and a small, light ladder some time later this year when the lowest tides are happening. If you go to California Coastal Records Project Picture # 200506431(Gordon’s Chute’s location) or “Tunitas Tidepools” and keep hitting the Northwest 1 Button, you’ll fly along the most heavily sea caved (20+) area I know of around here. It looks pretty gnarly, but that’s why I want to see and photograph it.
