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Topic: Know when to call it a day....by Mike / Tote  (Read 3724 times)

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mooch

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  Know when to call it a day
« on: October 11, 2005, 03:55:25 am »   

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BY Mike / Tote

Took advantage of the 3 day weekend and headed to the Van Damme / Elk Area.
Got there at 10am Saturday knowing the swell report was not favorable. Checked out a few coves in the area including Elk and decided Saturday was NOT a day to be on the water. As I was driving past Van Damme I noticed 2 kayakers on the water so I pulled into the parking lot to watch them come in. The surf was big and I knew they were going to get pummeled. Much to my surprise they both made it in no problem. They were on little surf SOT's with no gear at all. After the safe landing they decide to go back out.
The 1st guy makes his move right into a GIANT breaker and gets HAMMERED. Lost his paddle and his kayak washes up on the beach. I can see his paddle just outside of the surf, so his buddy decides to go for it in his kayak. He gets hammered, but hangs on to his paddle. After 3 attempts he finally makes it past the breakers and retrieves his buddy's paddle. Comes back in enough to try to 'javelin' the paddle back to his buddy, then gets caught by a breaker and is hammered in the surf. As his kayak washes up buddy # 1 makes another attempt, and seems to be making it ok so buddy #2 starts out. Well buddy#1 wasn't so lucky and gets dumped and pushed back towards the beach as buddy #2 is going for it and getting drawn towards the breaker. I could see a rescue in the making as the 2 collide. WHAM! Remarkably neither was knocked out. After a few more attempts they both make it out.
I figure the Stooges show is over so I turn towards the parking lot headed for my truck when what do I see? A TANDEM gearing up to go ab diving. Well this I gotta stick around for.
These guys had dry suits and weight belts on..recipe for disaster.
They get their kayak to the surf, brace for the incoming breaker and get knocked on their asses! Kayak comes back and drills them both, but they recover. Get lined up, brace for another breaker and get knocked on their asses again. Now as they try to stand the kayak takes the legs out of one of them and he falls on top of the kayak and gets sucked into the next breaker. WHAM! If I only had a video camera. These guys are either real troopers or real idiots, you decide. They get lined up,  breaker comes, then they hop on make it through the next breaker, but the guy in back falls off. As he tries to get back on he dumps the other guy off. Just outside of the surf line. I am thinking of how much these guys are toast; when by an act of some miracle, the sea lays flat, in an instant. They dumped another 3 times, just outside what had been huge breakers all day. After almost 4 minutes they finally got under way when the big ones started coming in again non stop.
I got up at 2:30 in the morning to drive to The Mendocino area to fish and dive. No way is my life or health worth a fish or abalone.
Know when to call it a day so you can have other days to enjoy.
We went out on Sunday and Monday. Check out the fishing reports.
 
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You learn a lot of things on your way to 500; but none more important than this....................( Knockaround Guys )
« Last Edit: May 31, 2006, 03:04:25 PM by Mooch »


mooch

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 Know when to call it a day
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2005, 06:27:12 pm »     

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I had a bad experience at Linda Mar this year....I hooked up with Kevin after work to recon for Salmon. The swells were big and Kevin did the smart thing by backing out. I, on the other hand, wanted a salmon really bad. So I launched and barely cleared 4 breakers before I got to the safe zone.....after 5 minutes of getting my trolling rig ready,  I realized there was NO SAFE ZONE   I was being tossed around by the swells and could not even keep my yak on a straight heading. 10 minutes into trolling, I stopped and decided to head back. As I was looking for a window of opportunity to paddle back to shore without being crushed by the swells, I realized that the sets were constant AND consistently BIG. I SAT FOR AN HOUR on my yak hoping that the conditions would die down  - it only just got worse   I knew I was going to flip my yak on the way back so I just decided to go for it. I paddled in backwards (that's how I usually land my yak at Linda Mar) and sure enough I got hit again and again and again....and again by the incoming waves - and I got totally drenched by white water. My deck was flooded and the yak got really heavy - so I gave everything I got just to point my bow towards the HE-UGE breakers. Sure enough, after what it seemed to be forever, my paddle touches the sandy bottom and I quickly jumped out and struggled to get in front of the yak. I managed to grab hold of the carrying handle up front and I could not believe I made it with my yak top side. I was very lucky and learned an important lesson - no fish was worth ANYTHING on that particular day   
 
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Joel "da Mooch"
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« Last Edit: May 04, 2006, 02:41:21 PM by Mooch »


guitarzan

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Thats some freaky shit to think about. Before I got a yak, I would use the float rings, but at least 1/3 of the times I drove up, I would bag it because of the hugeness of it. But I still  cant stop chuckling about a stowaway garter snake...
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Malibu_Two

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My brother have been out in nasty surf in our tandem, and every time we prepare to land in such conditions, we think about the D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan, and we joke that at least there are no angry Nazis waiting to blow us away...it could always be worse!
May the fish be mighty and the seas be meek...


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It was an unusual (for me) afternoon go-out in early April 2004.  Windy and choppy, but I had to get out there.  Salmon had been reported in 80 feet of water just beyond the mile buoy. While leaving the Santa Cruz Harbor, I had to wait as the surf was breaking off the West jetty. Not too bad though, about mid-tide with a 6-foot swell.

I paddled in horrible conditions, choppy and windy maybe 15-20 kts against the wind out to the mile buoy where I decided this was going to have to be it for me.  I'd just fish for halibut again, and wait for a calm morning go-out for the salmon. So, I dropped a big herring in 55 FOW.  Caught a kingfish that pissed me off.

I pinned the kingfish on to my stinger rig and dropped back down......BAM!!  Nice halibut on board. 

By the time I got the fish caught and stowed and the gear straightened out, i had been blown nearly to Black's Point.  Paddled back and dropped another big herring in the same spot....BANG!!  Another twin sister flatty.  Hee hee.  Again I was nearly at Blacks so I decided to call it a day.

When I paddled back to the harbor the tide had dropped and the swell had picked up.  Sets were closing out the jaws of the harbor.  uh-oh......Solid 6-8 foot lines and sets of 12-15 waves. Damn!   I stowed everything below decks and battened the hatches, literally.   I waited and waited trying to get the timing right.  Finally I made my move.

Starting as the biggest wave approached, I hauled ass towards the East jetty corner, hoping to slip in.  About halfway there, I realized that I really couldn't see past that last wave there, and I got spooked.  I stopped paddling, turned towards the horizon, and let it pass under me.

Intuition was working for me that day.  Holy Cow, the next wave was a monster!  Maybe 10' definitely solid 8, lined up all the way across the harbor mouth and well into 7th Avenue beach, straight like a razor and nearly vertical already.

Oh man..... I paddled as hard as I could straight at the wave, and then straight up the feathering face.  When I got to the top, I looked behind me over my left shoulder.  Nothing but air under my boat.

Plop.  Made it.  After that was a huge lull and paddling in was no problem at all.

While I sorting out my gear and fish on A dock, I was approached by a yachty looking gent who told me he walks the jetty every afternoon.  "I saw a kayak out there and I could see that big wave and thought 'this guy's in trouble,' then you turned towards the wave and I knew that you knew what you were doing.  You know I always bring my digital camera with me just in case the perfect shot needs to be taken."

I looked up dizzy with the prospect of actually having a photo of me playing teeter-totter on a ten foot wave with my fishing kayak....

"Sure wish I would have brought it today."
« Last Edit: May 05, 2006, 10:23:55 PM by scallen »

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Ya, I was there when that happened. And i have to admit it was hillarious to watch. But it really sucks when your the one in that position. Im sure almost every Ocean Kayaker has had an experience like that. Yes that does include me! And it was not any fun. I would have to agree, that it is not worth getting injured over.


JohnGuineaPig

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i was with fish'n'dive at anchor bay about 2 months ago and the swells were pretty big about 8' and facing directly into anchor bay. we were out in pukey waters all morning and as i was coming back in the waves were forming right below me. i stowed everything inside and started paddling as fast as i could thinking i could surf the kayak in like at linda mar on a calm day and the wave picked me up from behind and flipped me head first towards the beach. i guess my speed was not up to par as a wave caught me and came up so fast. that was fun.

i hope to not have to do that again. i could totally see someone getting bonked in the head and drowning from something like that.

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ZeeHokkaido

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I'm still a newb to kayak fishing but a vet when it comes to surfing. So glad I have the stupidest mistakes (knock on wood) behind me when it comes to surf. When I was younger there were so many days I or my friends looked out and thought "I can handle that." Had to learn the hard way everytime and really scared the F outta myself many, many times.

One thing I did learn after all this is "when in doubt don't go out." If you're thinking "weeeeeell...." forget it!! Go surf/fish somewhere safer. You gotta learn your limits as fast as possible and abide by them. Also, before you go out, spend some time looking at the ocean/surf. Spend at least 10 minutes and look for rips, time sets if it does have some size, and mark your line out mentally. It's amazing how one second the ocean looks so serene and another it looks like the Perfect Storm!

Safety is very cool!! :smt004
« Last Edit: August 27, 2006, 05:51:55 PM by Zeelander »
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JohnGuineaPig

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this thread is funny, what i find funnier sometimes when i watch friends paddle into the surf is thet sometimes stop paddling and just sit waiting for something to show its ugly head. then when it happens they are faced with a wall that comes down with great vengeance. its worth it for a laugh though. as long as im not the one! i always have the "you look sooooo tired!" comment ready when they finally make it out or back in. :smt005 :smt005 :smt005


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I have the true pain of being a very seasick prone person.  My "know when to call it a day" moment came in the 2005 fathers day tourney in Santa Cruz.

I was sort of hung over that morning (strike one) and there was just a medium swell, probably like 4 feet.  Very little wind.

I paddled out and pretty quickly started feeling sick.  I stayed near shore in the early part of the day looking for stripers and getting sick.  No stripers so I decide to go out and look for halibut.  By this time I'm sick and have puked a couple of times but I kept telling myself that I was in a tournament and needed to fish through the pain.

I got past the mile bouy and tried to fish but I was really sick and getting sicker.  Still I kept telling myself that I had to fish through it.

Finally I realized (pretty late) that I was about to be in a (already in) dangerous situation of being completely incapacitated sick on a piece of plastic all by myself a mile out in the ocean.  I make the decision to call it and start paddling back.  I am virtually hallucinating sea sick at this point, blurry vision and very weak.  I'm totally dehydrated from being hung over and vomitting 20-30 times.  I came very close to calling for help, but I was able to make it back to safe harbor.....

Very sketchy and scary.

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t-bone

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ya guys are idiots. hey mooch its tyler (bigfoots lil deamon). sounds like a fun time XD


 

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