Sea Kayaking at Laguna Beach

Welcome back to the Webb Outdoors! This year's ambitious outdoor program got off to a hot start with a day of sea kayaking at Laguna Beach. We started by paddling out to the islet where dozens of sea lions bask every day. We then raced to a distant buoy, at which point a swim in the ocean seemed like a good way to cool down. On the way back south, we were inspired by some paddle boarders to try standing up in the kayak, which mostly resulted in hilarious falls back into the water. It was the perfect place to be on a 100-degree day. Finally, we ended up in a kelp forest, which has regenerated since a teacher and her students hand-planted it off Laguna Beach about thirteen years ago. Kelp is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth, at about two feet per day. In the kelp forest, we also saw garibaldi swimming below and tiny shrimp floating up into the kayak, both signs of how healthy the water has become. In the end, we headed back to the beach and into town for the now traditional stop at BJs for a pizookie before heading back to Webb.

Juliana and Mairin

Kaitlyn and Lauren. You can see a paddle boarder off in the distance.

Emily and Andrew, with Mr. Ball in the background

Angela and Camille in front of all the sea lions. They can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. The sea lions, that is -- not Angela and Camille.

Click to enlarge. You can also see pelicans and cormorants on top of the rock.

Xander and Rachel clapped to draw the attention of the sea lions. If we all clapped at the same time, they would put their heads up to see what the commotion was all about.

The group lines up before our race to the buoy.

And then the antics began - Camille and Angela try to stand up in their kayak...

...and failed, much to our delight.

Lauren and Kaitlyn

Mairin and Juliana seemed to have the most success, and even got in a couple paddles.

Mairin also found a crab that our guide was able to catch. It promptly snapped him. I wonder why...

Andrew, Mr. Ball, Lauren, Kaitlyn, Rachel, Emily, Juliana, Mairin, Angela, Camille, Xander, Mr. and Mrs. Potash, before stuffing our bellies at BJs.

WSC Freshmen Retreat

To start every year, each class at Webb takes a 3-day retreat, the main purpose of which is to build community within the class. The freshmen retreat is particularly important since everyone in the class is new. This year, the 9th grade boys traveled to Hanna Flat campground at Big Bear Lake, where they spent some time rock climbing at Castle Rock, swimming in the lake, and hiking in the hills around the campground. They were also led in community-building exercises by several student leaders, including members of the Honor Committee, a Prefect, and an International Student Liaison. The faculty on the trip were impressed by both the inspiring leadership of the older students, and also by the behavior of the freshmen class as a whole. From their pervasive positive outlook and their overwhelming support for one another, to their ability to engage in long activities without cell phones (!) and their sense of adventure, this year's freshmen class showed an astounding cohesiveness that bodes well for the next four years.

Student leaders engage the class in a discussion of honor, character, and Webb culture.

Following their talk, the student leaders led the freshmen in team-building activities such as this one, where the freshmen had to cross an area using as few of their feet as possible.

Solutions became more and more creative as restrictions increased.

Here, the boys try to traverse the area by stepping on the feet of a few human bridges.

The rare double piggyback.

And the classic hopping double wheelbarrow.

This activity involved transferring students from one side of the web to the other without touching the strands.

In this activity, the freshmen attempt to line up in birthday order without talking and without falling off the log.

The next day, we headed to Castle Rock, where Dave from Hangar 18 instructed the students about tying in to the belay.

Jonathan was a superstar belayer, standing in the heat for several hours belaying his classmates. If climbing is about trust, consider it earned. You can see the climber high up on the rock.

Marcos navigates the crux of this 5.9 route.

When they weren't climbing, the freshmen scrambled around the area, making it to the top of Castle Rock, which afforded views down to Big Bear Lake.

That night, the whole class gathered on a perfect outcropping to process the day. We then settled in for the sunset, a time of reflection for bonds built and the year to come.