NorCal Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing Zone => Safety First => Topic started by: VK on July 26, 2015, 08:06:48 PM
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I'm happy your safe. If your fishing with a partner. It doesn't mean you have to be with in talking range. It is more of a safety thing. That you keep an eye on each other. Again Glad your safe.
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happy you are ok!
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sounds like you made a great decision, you ditched, in a safe manner, when you knew it was the best option. you are here to tell the tale, and that is the best part. you know i solo a lot/mostly, but, as I've said before, if i am free and you need a wingman, i will always be there. we don't need to be social to be safe :smt002, cameron
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It's good you had the opportunity to land on a different beach. Glad your safe.
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I'm really happy I'm not reading a sad story.
Glad you had an escape beach to land on.
Stay safe.
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Hey Vic
You are way more important than your kayak or your equipment
Good choice my friend!
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Im stoked to hear you are safe and I know the cove you speak of. Someone ditched there a couple of years ago too. Paddling skill is essential. See you soon Vic.
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I'm the same with groups... and hook ups... for the same non-excuse. :smt002 Thanks for writing this. It's a good reminder/lesson that it's better to get off the water instead of pressing a bad situation. Glad you're safe.
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Good choice leaving the yak. It can be replace, lives can't. I do a lot of activities solo(hiking, running, biking, camping, shore fishing,etc) but when it comes to off-shore fishing I never ever go solo for many reasons. There are so many times I wanted to go solo because my buddies had plans on a good swell report but the fish is not worth the risk. glad you are ok and hope you get your yak back.
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Thanks for all the " glad your ok's"..but I gotta say what's on my mind..I Fu$&ed up.
What was I doing day dreaming out there... Doing something like that to my family damn!!!
Should have payed attention,came in earlier..
There are some very good kayak fishermen with lots of experience on this site.
A few have chimed in ,others PM'd me with some very good feed back... But a lot have said nothing and not that they have to , but....that speaks volumes to me..I saw their handles while reading responses.
I imagine them shaking their heads thinking what an ass.. I ain't going out with that guy.....And to be honest maybe deservedly so... Even some newer members thinking the same. I want to be worthy of your trust and events like this don't help.
You know when someone comes in the shop and says their new to kayak fishing and wants to purchase tackle and gear I always end up talking safety and not fishing tackle .
I add safety items as I go myself after reading articles and talking with experienced kayakers ...I took advantage of an impromptu class given by Sean Morely and even before this was planning on another class but because of my schedule put it off . Time to really take my own advice
Ok so like I said I'm just really pissed at myself and just want to blow steam.. But that's what's on my mind .
Thanks for letting me vent
I don't think anyone is shaking their head at your story or judging you in a negative way. In fact I'd much rather go kayak fishing with someone like you who knows their limits and has a back up plan in case they can't make it back to the main launch. You can't control ocean conditions and they can change in a hurry and you knew the area well enough to know where to go in case things got nasty. To me that speaks volumes about your judgement on the water. We need more guys like you out there. Just my 2 cents
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I agree with PablitoPescador . Many folks would have tried pushing forward and ended up in the rocks or having to be rescued . Many other have had similar experiences and never spoke of them; nobody learned anything from those experiences. You shared your experience and people have/will learn something from it. Mistakes are GREAT, if you (and others) learn from them! Thanks for sharing this experience.
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Hey Vic,
Glad ur venting and not drowning
Sometimes I learn the best when I F#ck up.
And man, I'm still learning!
Someday maybe we can hook-up and fish.
Scotty
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I am glad you okey Bro!!!
-Kiel
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That wind was the real deal on Sat. I wanted to go south, but I told my son we will fish north, and drift south to straight out from launch, then paddle back north. That way if need be or when we are done, we have the wind pushing us back in. Some guy showed up after we were blown off, unloaded and was going to go out, Itried talking him out of it.
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You're a good guy Vic don't beat yourself up! Even though we're just a couple of kids we would be more than happy to go out with you! We are just a PM or call away. Hope you find someone to help you retrieve the kayak. I also appreciate this post, Vic. Glad you could vent and potentially save someone else. See you at the shop!
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You did what you had to do. You improvised and made it back safely, albeit to a different beach. Knowing when to ditch a plan and take a new course of action is key to surviving bad situations. Glad you're okay.
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No need to be pissed or mad at yourself. You did what was needed. I have been to the point where I was so tired I was not sure a had any more in me to keep going. My options were to give up or float out to sea. You had an option to beach it and made that call to be safe. I had no where to go and had to fight to get back in, my last option if I could not make it would have been channel 16. Thanks for posting your experience.
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I once spent the night across Pyramid lake freezing my arse off because winds came up and crossing the lake was not an option.
I've landed on the wrong beach and had to call a friend to come pick me up.
We all get in to situations that turn to crap. You made a decision to safely beach vs fighting it out in the slop. To me, you made the best decision in the circumstances. The ocean is unpredictable and you had to deal with a curve ball thrown at you.
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Good story to share with everyone, but dont beat yourself up over it. You made the right choice. It's always a good idea to have a plan B. Keep you eyes out for such a spot where you can safely land at all times. Hope to never use the plan B, but always have it. Best advice however is if you know the forecast is calling for windy conditions from the North, don't caught farther South than you can quickly paddle back to launch. Conditions do change in a heartbeat at times. As a rule of thumb I will almost never head South if I know that wind is coming from the North. I'll always head up wind and let the wind carry me back to launch.
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I agree with PablitoPescador . Many folks would have tried pushing forward and ended up in the rocks or having to be rescued . Many other have had similar experiences and never spoke of them; nobody learned anything from those experiences. You shared your experience and people have/will learn something from it. Mistakes are GREAT, if you (and others) learn from them! Thanks for sharing this experience.
+1.
Don't beat yourself up dude.
Sh*t happens, conditions change in the blink of an eye and you have to be ready, willing and able to hightail it to safety when needed.
You made it home safe and that's the bottom line. Period.
Thanks for sharing on here so we can all learn from the experience.
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
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M :smt006
You're a trooper and a survivor.
Live to fish another day is what you accomplished.
More so thank you for sharing your experience. Knowledge is power.
You've just made me that much stronger with your experience.
Appreciate you! & glad you're okay! Life goes on, Fish On!
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Cool, got you gear back. :smt006
We've flipped yaks together and fished together. I'd fish with you any time.
Thanks for sharing your story. Sometimes that's hard to do.
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Don't beat yourself up dude.
This ^^^
Glad to see you got your yak back!
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Thanks for sharing your story. I fished TC last week and it got really nasty very quickly. Fortunately, I was able to pedal back and land safely at the launch beach. Sounds to me like you did the smart thing! No sense taking any more chances than are absolutely necessary to get back on dry land in bad conditions. As others have said; your experience serves as a learning experience for all of us.
Martin
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Thanks for the account of your emergency landing. It sounds like you made the right decision to get off the water.
I too prefer to fish alone, but on the ocean solo fishing can be a safety issue. Solution: Post a hookup, and fish alone... together. :smt001
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Glad to hear things worked out. Lots of good input. Glad I'll have a chance to see ya OTW sometime this year.
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reads to me like you handled your business right......another goodthing about these plastic boats, is you can abort if things dont go as planned.
good thinking when the tough WX showed it ugly face
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I hava lot of issues going out, PTSD being one of them as well. I also hate going out a lone, my swimming adventure at HMB taught me a lot. If conditions are not right for me, I just don't go. So I can relate.
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reads to me like you handled your business right......another goodthing about these plastic boats, is you can abort if things dont go as planned.
good thinking when the tough WX showed it ugly face
Exactly.
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Vic,
Glad you're OK man. You did what you had to do.
Mike
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Thanks for sharing your story, VK. Glad it ended well.
We can all learn from this.
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Last year I had the same experience at TC. The weather forecast was dead wrong. The wind blew from 5 to 20 plus knots in an instant. Thank goodness our Hobie's got us out safely.
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Glad you made out safely. You said your FF showed "0" mph against the wind. So I think a longer kayak would get you back in...ie Trident 15 or Tarpon 160.
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Last year I had the same experience at TC. The weather forecast was dead wrong. The wind blew from 5 to 20 plus knots in an instant. Thank goodness our Hobie's got us out safely.
yeah a hobie may have worked well....The weather changed that quick yesterday..fog ..boom sun..wind..I`ve been blown off Tomales Bay when the wind kicked up and got a good workout and made it in at a steady pace... but nothing like that at one point I looked at my FF, my mph into the wind read "0"...
was your paddle feathered? that helps out a lot when the wind is hitting you from the front of the kayak.
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reads to me like you handled your business right......another goodthing about these plastic boats, is you can abort if things dont go as planned.
good thinking when the tough WX showed it ugly face
Came to post this. Good to see it was already here.
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VK-
Like the pilots say "Its always a good landing if you walk away from it."
You employed "Plan 'B'." Always have a plan B........
One tip I try to share is having a good weather knowledge. If I know the wind is going to come from the NW later in the day, I will usually paddle in that direction to fish. Then, if and when it kicks up, it's at my back, not in my face.
EZ for me to say I know. I've been caught just out in front of SC harbor southeast fighting for my life against a howling NW wind that came from nowhere. I was just telling Polepole about it this weekend. I paddled straight in to the kelp, tied up and rested, and then paddy hopped my way back to the harbor. It was beyond tough. My plan B was to beach land, but the waves were big.
Plan C was to ride the wind east and take the time to stow all my rods and stuff, and beach land down by 14th st, past Black's Point. Figured I could just bail and let the waves wash my yak in if I had to. But I did not want to do that because I'd have to leave my gear to go get my car. So I paddled.
The final stretch there was no kelp I was paddling for all I was worth.
And then the red suit lifeguard girl starting yelling at me from the beach "Kayaker,, Kayaker, you are inside the swimming buoys. Move away from the swimming buoys!!"
I swear I couldn't even take the time off paddling to give her the finger. I would of been blown back. What a dumbass!
Anyway, everyone who's been HERE for a while has also been THERE.
There is my 2 ¢.
Bushy
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You did the right thing and will be better off going forward. It's always good to know your limits instead of being overconfident or foolhardy.
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I too do most of my fishing and diving solo.
I know the risks.
That being said, one way of looking at it is that you cut your chances of something going wrong by 50% by not having someone with you.
What if you did have a partner and he got in trouble? Now you have to help him and put yourself at risk in doing so.
If you go solo, have the experience to deal with something bad on your own. Know your limits.
If you do go with someone, know their limits.
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Bushy,
good advice.
A good rudder makes a big difference in high winds. Even taking everything out of the water and putting your rods down on the yak to cut down on wind drag makes a difference too.
Just gotta keep a steady stroke and not panic.
VK-
Like the pilots say "Its always a good landing if you walk away from it."
You employed "Plan 'B'." Always have a plan B........
One tip I try to share is having a good weather knowledge. If I know the wind is going to come from the NW later in the day, I will usually paddle in that direction to fish. Then, if and when it kicks up, it's at my back, not in my face.
EZ for me to say I know. I've been caught just out in front of SC harbor southeast fighting for my life against a howling NW wind that came from nowhere. I was just telling Polepole about it this weekend. I paddled straight in to the kelp, tied up and rested, and then paddy hopped my way back to the harbor. It was beyond tough. My plan B was to beach land, but the waves were big.
Plan C was to ride the wind east and take the time to stow all my rods and stuff, and beach land down by 14th st, past Black's Point. Figured I could just bail and let the waves wash my yak in if I had to. But I did not want to do that because I'd have to leave my gear to go get my car. So I paddled.
The final stretch there was no kelp I was paddling for all I was worth.
And then the red suit lifeguard girl starting yelling at me from the beach "Kayaker,, Kayaker, you are inside the swimming buoys. Move away from the swimming buoys!!"
I swear I couldn't even take the time off paddling to give her the finger. I would of been blown back. What a dumbass!
Anyway, everyone who's been HERE for a while has also been THERE.
There is my 2 ¢.
Bushy
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Thanks for having courage and sharing story. We all need reminders that sh#t happens and be ready.
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VK,
Thanks for posting your experience. I am a newbie and reading posts like yours just reinforce that I need to have a clue before going out in the deep blue. Right now I don't even know what I need to know. So I will be taking a few classes first then limit my outings to freshwater lakes for awhile until I have some skill level and knowledge. Thanks again.
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Glad you made it safe, the wind can change in a snap, thats why when I fished I pay attention also on prediction on wind, I've learned the hard way at Monterey...
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Bottom line, this was a learning experience for you. While some may shake their head (Not many I[m sure), others were able to learn from it. Putting your story out there for others to read provides suggestions from more experienced kayakers and opportunities to learn for the "newbies". Don't beat yourself up. Learn from this and apply it to your next adventure as others will hopefully also do. I too have been caught off guard by the wind. It aint no joke. Be safe out there and thank you for sharing.