I have become way too lax

Just got back from a lovely swim in the Pacific . .just a bit South of Nor Cal.   I was out for the morning - fishing alone but not too far offshore.  I was jigging for bait and, when I got my first one, I realized that my bait bucket was still in my front hatch.  I was on my Hobie Revo which has a pretty accessible hatch so I tried reaching in there with one hand while holding the sabiki with the other.  I felt a lot of water in the hatch and just as I was thinking "what the heck?" . .I went over.

It took me a few tries to right the yak.  It was full of water - both from the apparent leak I have but also from flipping with the hatch open.  I finally got it turned over and climbed back on.  It was about 1/2 to 3/4 full of water, sitting very low and wobly.  Luckily my half-empty Nalgene bottle was floating nearby so I used it to bail out the yak through the center hatch.  It took a few minutes but I got the boat reasonably stable again and starting assessing my losses.

I was totally not expecting to flip my yak.  My Hobie is super stable and I've been fishing on it for about 2 years with no problem.  I had taken to barely clipping in the milk crate and not securing rods or gear.  I reflected for a moment on how stupid this was as nearly all my stuff - my rods, tackle boxes, wallet, car keys, cell phone lay submerged in 40 FOW.  The only items that I managed to salvage were 2 rods, a tackle box full of plastics and my sunscreen.  

With one of my rods I started fishing for the milk crate and eventually got it.  Thankfully it had the Penguin box that had my wallet, keys and cell phone still in it.  The box had not floated up because the seal failed and it was full of water!     I was stoked to get it back, though . . .some major hassles averted there.  As a bonus my Calstar rod was still in one of the rod holders attached to the milkcrate!  

I fished around some more for my other rods but came up empty.  The peddle back was majorly wobbly.  I had gotten out a lot of the water but not nearly all - plus more had leaked in as well.  When I dumped the boat at the landing it was over half full again.

The main point where I screwed up was in not making sure at least my essential gear was secured.  Arguably a waterproof VHF should have been on board (and secured), as well.  If I had been unable to stabilize my yak, I would not have had any way to call for help.  Because of where I was fishing - 63 degree water about 3/4 mile from shore - this would not have been a life threatening situation but I realized that I would rather have a way to call even if I don't need to.    

Financially - this was a disaster.  My 3 favorite rod and reels, lots of misc tools and gear,  my camera, my cellphone (dead from saltwater)....probably more that I haven't even realized yet.  Not to mention the reels I did recover are done for (one can be rebuilt, though).

I did catch a under-sized calico on a plastic before I started trying for bait with the sabiki so the day wasn't a total loss.  Not to mention I can't really be upset after managing to get my milk crate (and car keys and wallet!) back.  I have learned my lesson, though, and will be taking quite a bit more care going forward.

Thanks for sharing...it all happens in an instant...

I've come from not securing anything down, fishing way out by myself, no VHF, no anything really...and after joining this site and reading other peoples bad experinces: thought that I better get my act together...got a ton of noodles, got the VHF, try to fish with somebody, or let people know what I'm doing...

Went out the other day and made sure everything was buttoned down...

Glad u snagged your milk crate and salvaged one pole, keys, wallet... but things can be replaced and glad u made it back to tell the "Tale" for the rest of us to remind us...It can happen to anybody anytime...Thanks...

Wow!  What a story.  Glad you are around to tell about it cuz it sounds like it could have been WAY worse.  

Sounds like a minor miracle that you were able to bring up the crate - with some goods still in it.  FWIW, I always store my wallet and keys in a drybag in the hull.  And my VHF is on a pocket on my PFD.

More importantly, did you find the cause of taking on water?  Scupper hole?  Drain plug?

Michael

glad to hear things worked out.  for whats it worth, I had pelican box fail on me as well. I think the pressure relief hole sucks in water. I siliconed the hell out of it and held it underwater for hours, and it doesnt leak anymore.

Sorry for the loses glad you are OK. Just curious why six rods ?

Sorry for the loses glad you are OK. Just curious why six rods ?

That's just how we roll in So Cal    Since moving down here I have become corrupted and rarely go kayak fishing without several hundred pounds of extra gear.  I've got my eye on a bait-tank, too.  BTW - have you guys seen the KayaTank?  It installs inside the yak and intakes through the hull. Sick! 

I was planning to spend all day on the water and fish inside and outside the harbor.  So naturally I had my:
In the bay:
-casting set-up for light plastics in the bay - 3/8oz head (Saved)
-medium spinning set-up for light cranks and real light plastics in the bay (like those 2 inch gulp shrimps on 1/16 head) (lost)

In the Ocean:
-casting set-up for plastics on 1/2 to 1oz head (lost)
-bait fishing set up for fishing the bottom(saved)
-bait fishing set up for fly-lining baits (lost)
-sabiki rod (saved)


I made a quick stop by the tackle store and replaced enough stuff so I can go fishing again tomorrow (on my OK Prowler, though). 

The next project is to determine where the leak is and hopefully get it plastic-welded.

Dude.  That's quite a ride you went on.  Way to keep it together and salvage what you did of your gear and your day. 

Let me know when you're coming up to Humboldt again because it's still hard to find people to fish with. 

 

Thanks for the story.  After reading similar ones I now check my hull every hour or so.

Thanks for sharing, that was a good wakeup/reminder for all of us...... I am glad you were not injured or worse. I highly recommend carrying a hand op bilge pump just for such occasions

Yikes! Sorry to hear about losing all that stuff. Pretty amazing, though, that you were able to recover your wallet & keys - it really would've sucked to get back to shore without those.

Good luck with finding & fixing the leak and thanks for posting - another reminder of how quickly things can go bad on the water and the necessity to be prepared for these events.

wow dude, that suck u lose ur gear.. at least u got some stuff back. i flip my yak on opening day n lost 3 rods.. try fishing for them but no luck.. i think its impossible to get a rod back for the bottom, Poseidon is playing with my shit now..lol, thanks for the story..

Patt..

After reading similar ones I now check my hull every hour or so.

When I took my son out the first time that was the first thing I told -- just unscrew the hatch right in front of you and check for water once in a while, especially if the stability of the boat feels like it has changed. I tested my Tarpon, and just an inch of water made a big difference.

I haven't kept track, but it seems there have been 3-5 hull failures and a misplaced drain plug or two over the past few months, checking once in a while seems prudent to me given the odds.

Thanks for sharing MBYakker, I think complacency (as you mentioned) is our biggest risk and these posts help us all.

Ben

Wow, I can hardly believe you were able to get the crate back! That's amazing and you were very lucky to at least retrieve the essentials. Thanks for the eye opening report

My keys and wallet go inside a dry bag that is clipped around one of the scupper tubes inside the hull.
I also carry one key to my vehicle in a zippered pocket on my person in case I become seperated from the kayak.
For me two rods usually suffice. I have found it much more convenient to tie a knot rather than to grab a different rod because it has a plastic on it rather than an iron.
I have really tried over the years to whittle down my gear to what I really need. Trying to keep it simple and it is still a lot more stuff than I want.
Glad you got your wallet and keys back. That right there saved a TON of headache.
The rest is heartache.
Thanks for reminding us all about the importance of keeping things secured on the yak.

I developed a weird "rule" over the years...i only carry as much stuff as i'm willing to lose. Usually a single rod, sometimes two (usually secured), small box of whatever-the-lures..VHF on my person, keys on my person, camera on my person.

I'll fess up to a TOTALLY stupid thing though...years ago i went fishing at SWS with a couple of buddies. I forgot that i had taken the center hatch out to dry the boat. got all the way down there- no center hatch.  i used an extra wetsuit in the back of the car to stuff into the hole, and we went fishing.
luckily it was flat...