Drakes Bay

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Elephant Seals of Point Reyes Lifeboat Station

It’s always nice to head out to the Pacific Plate, a mere 90 minutes from my humble abode.

On this holiday Monday I was heading out to the outer point of Point Reyes National Seashore. My destination, Chimney Rock and the Point Reyes Lifeboat Station.

The new lifeboat station was built near Chimney Rock in 1927. Lifeboats could be quickly launch on rails into the calm waters of Drakes Bay. And over the years the lifeboat of Chimney Rock saved many a sailor.

With the advent of Coast Guard cutters and helicopters the station became redundant and was decommissioned on December 16, 1969.

The rails that launched lifeboats into Drakes Bay.

For over 150 years, no elephant seals were seen in Point Reyes and then in the early 1970s (after the lifeboat station was decommissioned), they returned to beaches at the Point Reyes Headlands. In 1981, a breeding pair was discovered at Chimney Rock. The seal population at Point Reyes has been growing ever since.

The beach on either side of the station was being used as an elephant seal birthing beach. The seals were mostly female with a few pups and one male beach master (featured sketch).

At the lifeboat station you could get surprisingly close to these large marine mammals.

I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw the blubbery contours of the beach master. He was very accommodating, spending much of the sketch playing silent statue.

After my sketch he reared up and bellowed, claiming his patch of the earth and his harem.

The beach master in full bellow. Yes I was so close I could almost smell his breath!
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Chimney Rock

I headed out on the Chimney Rock Trail at outer Point Reyes. There were just two other cars in the parking lot.

Ravens and turkey vultures were my avian companions as I headed southeast on my way to Chimney Rock. Below, on hidden beaches I could hear the bellowing of elephant seals.

The trail view of the Historic Point Reyes Lifeboat Station with Drakes Bay.

The out-and-back trail is just under two miles and affords great views of Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean. On clear days you can see the Farallon Islands.

The Farillions seem much closer on the outer point.

On my return journey I sketched the Point Reyes Headlands from the trail (featured sketch). I liked the lines of the earth from this view and thought adding watercolor to the sketch would dampen its effect so I left it unpainted. With a sketch it is sometimes important to know when to stop.