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Topic: Wipe Outs!  (Read 2170 times)

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CappyMoMo.

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I love the stories about how stupid we can be and still live to tell about it.  I thought I would start another thread sharing my stupidity and hopefully you can share yours as well.

I bought two big games about four years ago with the intention of bass fishing at lake San Antonio near my house.  Only made it out a few times with the wife and the dogs. 

Fast forward to January 2010, somehow I caught the madness and decided I had to fish the Pacific.  I called my surfer/adventure/home made glider buddy Andrew and told him we had to fish.  He said it was not RF season but agree ed to go out, maybe a sardine or two for fun.  Andrew scouted the coast from Morro Bay to Cambria and picked a spot near  a windmill to launch.  Neither one of had any experience, but you have to learn sometime right?  We decide to go out the Saturday right before the first big storm in January.  I met him at 7 at the spot.  We each had most of the proper gear, wetsuit,  pfd, but no radio.

We carried (no carts yet) each fully loaded yak 300 yards down the trail to the launch site (2 carts purchased soon after)  We suited up, dragged the yaks over to a spot between some rock piles.  We looked at the surf, tried to gauge the it and went for it. 

I had watched a few you tube videos on proper techniques for making it through the surf line so I felt pretty good.  Andrew goes out first, paddles hard and makes it out past any breakers between sets, no problem.  I am a little slower than Andrew and fall behind quickly.  A large swell comes in picks me up really high!  It felt like it was going to break so I planted my paddle and dug hard.  I popped through the top part of the wave with water coming up to my chest.  The yak slaps down on the other side, wow, I made it.  I keep paddling and try to size up to make sure everything was still on board.  The one quart glass ball jar containing my drinking water that I was holding between my legs was gone!  Poles were stowed below so the were safe, and the ice chest with my tackle was fine behind me.  I paddled out of the crash zone to find Andrew waiting for me.  We BS for a bit and decide to paddle out to 50 fow.  I unpack the yak and decide to see if I can catch anything on the sibiki. 

In one of those moments that very man fears, Andrew said "Hey, you know how everyone loves Marguerite right?"  Marguerite is his wife and the moment seems to stall in time as think  he is going to tell me in man time that he hates his wife, right?  No, it is worse, seems as if Marguerite does not get along eith the local game warden for the area.  They were college roomates and never got along.  So needless to say, Andrew refused to fish due to fears of imprisonment.

We bobbed up and down for a bit longer, watching the breakers starting to pound the coast even harder.  We saw the swells getting larger in the short time we were out.  We both looked at each other and said "your ready to go in right"

We started in, Andrew easily gets 100 yards in front of me.  I watch him negotiate the surf and disappear behind the breakers.  I start paddling hard tring to get in now that I'm out alone.  I pause near where the breakers start to form, take a breath and start paddling in.  Quickly I feel my yak rise, like really high.  I decide to go for it, you know like on a surf board and catch the wave.  I paddle STRAIGHT, I catch the wave and I'm moving.  The wave breaks, I go straight down, the bottom of my feet pound the foot pegs and it's over.  I'm tossed around, pop up holding my paddle but no yak.  I guess the paddle leash broke.  I see the yak going in with the surf and there it sit.  I few more breakers hit me, but I felt pretty good about it. 

I started to swim in to get the yak.  Andrew paddles over, grabs a line off the yak and starts to tow it over to me, fighting small breakers at the same time.

I finally get to Andrew, and work on righting the yak.  I have no practiced any type of reentry, but somehow I was able to upright the big game unassisted.  I managed to crawl in and paddle to shore without further incident.

We took a break onshore.  Andrew said he thought it would be fun to play in the surf for the rest of the morning, so that is what we did.  In and out through the breakers, working on timing etc.  Andrew really liked the big game so much so that more often than not he would catch a wave on it then stand up.  Damn surfer balance!

I guess the moral or the story is that it is a good idea to bone up on surf landings and launching and if you get the opportunity to play in the surf, take it.

PS, I got some kind of damage to my right knee but it went away after six months.
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FishingAddict

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I got one to share, over at MBK where you think its always calm.  Nope not always, specially one day last February when I was the only student on a MBK's surf zone class.

I swear there were 15 foot waves crashing a half a mile down Del Monte Beach where its more open, really ugly.
I was doing a my re-entry when a wave sneaks up from behind me and dumps me in about 3 feet of water.
I look up and my yak is pointed straight up and ready to crash on top me. :smt119
Its a good thing I was still holding to my paddle and instinctively used it to push the kayak away.  This happened in milliseconds.

Now I know why they provide helmets for those classes. I am sure glad I had one that day.
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redwoodfox

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glad you came thru ok.