Photos by Neil Farrell and Danna Dykstra-Coy
“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble…”
So sang Shakespeare’s trio of evil witches. Wonder what he’d say about the Witches and Warlocks harbor paddle, where an estimated 400-costumed characters plied the Morro Bay Harbor on Oct. 26 for the annual celebration of Halloween?
The colorfully, zany event has been a tradition since its inception in 2013, when a handful of local gals got together to celebrate their October birthdays.
Annette Ausseresses said she was among that first group and imparted some of the event’s remarkable history, that’s seen it grow from a small group of friends out for a laugh on the water, into something that’s now watched by thousands of folks lining the waterfront from Tidelands Park to Morro Rock, and draws paddlers from all over.
“It did start as a birthday celebration in 2013 with about 12 of us,” Ausseresses said. It was an immediate hit here, she said, and started to spread.
“A woman from Portland was walking along the Embarcadero,” Ausseresses said, “and two-years later held a Witches Paddle up there. They called the local press and got a lot of attention. A story went out on the AP wire.”
Meanwhile back in Morro Bay the event was growing in popularity. “I paddled with Pale Kai Outrigger and the SurviveOars,” Ausseresses said, “and a lot of my teammates wanted to participate, so the event was growing here.”
The paddle happens on the bay and as readers can probably attest, the conditions can be anything from warm and sunny with no wind, to cool, windy and even foggy. This year’s event was held under a hazy sky and close to slack tide.
“One year it rained on the scheduled date,” Ausseresses said, “so it was postponed. The original group paddled the next day. When word got out it was held people were upset they weren’t notified, but since it was all word of mouth there was no way to expand the communication.”
So she set up a Facebook Page for the event. “That’s when I decided to create the Paddle SLO group on Facebook,” Ausseresses said, “so that everyone had access to the information. Boom! Now the event draws hundreds of paddlers and spectators from in and out of state.”
The Harbor Department said they had no issues during the somewhat chaotic paddle parade, with all manner of self-propelled vessel — from stand-up paddle boards, to kayaks, and a gondola — plus rented electric boats, day sailors, and, in what looked like a real blast, the Lost Isle Tike Boat — which boasts a full bar — combining for a little madcap mayhem.
Photos here show some of the Witch’s Paddle participants from the 2024 event.
