Self Rescue Practice and then my First ocean kayak attempt

It might be another Tl;Dr post.  But I just wanted to share my experience.

Having purchased a kayak last weekend, I eagerly waited for my Pfd and other safety items to arrive. 

To many of your advices, I headed out to Half Moon Bay to practice self rescue this morning.  And boy, am I glad that listened.

I wore a wader with wading jacket.  I read many threads of how waders could be just as effective and safe... Or at least people having different views on it.

I walked out my kayak until the water reached my chest. I tried to float and grab both handles while thrusting up.

Got close but my kayak is 32 inches wide.  I couldn't reach the opposite side.  I grabbed just one side... The side closed to me... And tried to lift up, but it started to tilt the kayak too far.

In the water I go... And by now water is seeping into my wader.

I tried to jump again, but as more water got in my wader the attempt became more and more difficult.

I tied a rope to one of the handle to use it as a rescue ladder.  And boy, it's not easy trying to put your waterfilled wader boot into a knot of rope.

Instead of a foot hold, I tied a loop closer to the handle that I couldn't reach.  The idea was to grab the loop since I couldn't reach for the handle.

Finally, it worked.  I pulled myself up on the kayak and sat there for a minute... Then turned the kayak on the left side.  Back into the water.

At this point, my wader is pretty much filled with water.  And yes, while it didn't make it any heavier while in the water, it made it extremely difficult to get out of water... And onto my kayak.

I repeated this cycle 5 times.  But it took longer to rescue by each attempt.

After my 6th rescue, I didn't want to find out how long the 7th one was going to take.  So I walked out.  I figured 6 was enough.

I am now a firm believer.  No wader for Kayaking.

I changed my clothes, washed up a bit at the restroom.  The water in front of HMB KAYAK Co is pretty nasty.

I hopped on my kayak... Finally feeling somewhat safe... But pretty drained from that whole exercise.

I started paddling thinking I'll take it easy today.  BABY steps.
But by the time I got out of the harbor, I was ready to head back.

Wow, for all you paddlers, I have mad respect for you guys.

I made it a bit past the north jetty.  drained out of energy, I asked myself if I thought I could do a self rescue right there. Not being confident, I turned it around and called it a day.

I am estimating that I did little less than 4 miles of paddling today. ..  And I was drained.  How are you guys able to go 6+? And still have the energy left to fish?

I didn't get to fish today.
But I made sure Today wasn't my last.

I'll be back out tomorrow. 
Perhaps I'll get a chance to fish.

Kayak fishing is no joke!

I am estimating that I did little less than 4 miles of paddling today. ..  And I was drained.  How are you guys able to go 6+? And still have the energy left to fish?

Kayak fishing is no joke!

It takes time, practice being efficient at paddling, muscle memory, and a whole lot more. Bottom line is go out practice, while fishing of course.

I am now a firm believer.  No wader for Kayaking.

Never tried waders when kayaking, but that just sounds like a really, really bad idea. Get yourself a farmer john wetsuit.

As for distance, it depends on the kayak, and even more so on the "engine". I'd suggest that you don't push your limits. Unexpected things can happen, and you want to be sure that you can get back to shore.

..and don't go out w/o buddy (at least initially, though better never)

Keep at it!  Improved reentry techniques will save you energy.  Better paddling technique will also preserve energy.

Beyond that, as you become more comfortable on the water, you may end up trading/upgrading your current kayak to something narrower, which translates to a more efficient paddling. Keep trying though!

Credit given where credit is due!
You did all the right things.
Keep at it. Soon enough you'll be out all day long, logged many miles and wonder where all the time went.

Glad you did not test the wader in deep waters.
set goals as for today to paddle about 4 miles, next time make it 5 and so on.
some places you do not need to go far to get fish, Sonoma coast is great for that, look for the hookups and let people know that you are a newbie so we can all keep an eye on you. carry a floating VHF radio on channel 69

Waders kayaking? Seriously? I had a scary experience in waders after falling in while poke poling recently. And I was wearing the belt.  Makes me consider either wearing a wetsuit or PFD while hopping around on the rocks from now on...

Waders kayaking? Seriously? I had a scary experience in waders after falling in while poke poling recently. And I was wearing the belt.  Makes me consider either wearing a wetsuit or PFD while hopping around on the rocks from now on...

No shame in that at all. I'll wear a PFD if I'm shore casting and either water conditions or shore slope make me uncomfortable.

I am estimating that I did little less than 4 miles of paddling today. ..  And I was drained.  How are you guys able to go 6+? And still have the energy left to fish?

It's a lot easier to do if you've not spent a couple hours fighting water filled waders and practicing self-rescue! FWIW, I find the exertion from one self rescue about the same as maybe a strenuous half mile of paddling, or a mellow couple of miles.

Good on ya for taking the time and energy to learn how to keep yourself safer on the water. It's something that's really easy to overlook. I know it took me about 6-12 months, and seeing my wife get tossed by a wave before I (and she) took it seriously.

This thread motivated me to practice self rescue today out of my fairly new Hobie 12' pro angler. I seen you-tube videos showing self rescues from the rear of the boat but usually I have an H-crate, fishing rods, and wheels on the back: seems like an obstacle course.

Wearing my PFD in choppy water (not ocean swells and not cold water!) I could re-board fairly easy by kicking and pulling up the right or left side of the bow - just in front of the H-Rail.  I could get up to my belly over the boards the PA's have for mounting accessories - throw my leg over the front hatch and crawl in.

One lesson I learned today is not use those boards for mounting any accessories because that's my lane back into the boat. I'm using the H-Rails for everything.

I'd sure be interested in hearing how people were executing self rescues on the pro anglers - they're big boats with more freeboard then I'm used to in a kayak!

A wader is a death sentence in a choppy sea.  Even if you can get the straps off, it will be hard to get it completely off.  Think about what happens to you if you fall down and your wader is filled with water, in a river bank.  'glad you tested that out. 


Use a wetsuit, it's much better and it will keep you warm.  Keep in mind that most of the time you will be out of the water, so the thicker may not necessarily better for the paddling duration.  I get exhausted if I am too warm, but I always do keep in mind the drinking part.  Of course you need to judge this for yourself. 


As far as the stamina, practice makes better.  I am not a good paddler myself, but you can work on it during the off season 

So I went back out on Sunday.
I took an old wetsuit for surfing.  Cut off both arms near shoulder.
Put that on with a quick dry long sleeve shirt.  (This setup will have to do until my farmer john arrives)

Saturday night, I searched all over internet on proper paddling methods.
And like you guys said, my technique needed to be fixed.
On Friday, I was doing more of a bicycle peddling motion.  Upper body stationary.  Just arms going in a circular rotation.

Few youtube videos covered about how you need to use the whole upper body rotation rather than arm movement.
One video talked about how you need to use your legs to dig in with heels to transfer the energy.

With all this new knowledge, I headed out HMB harbor.
And wow, proper technique makes a huge difference.

I was able to cover 7+ miles today pretty easily especially with that whole heel digging motion.

I even got to fish a bit... though didn't catch anything significant.
I was more focused on safety and finding out how my kayak handles

While out, I saw this young couple on a tandem by the green buoy taking pictures of sea lions laying on top of the buoy.
They were in short sleeves and shorts.  wearing no PFD.
I didn't say anything... but I kept looking over to check...
Thank God water was quite calm.

Six self-rescues in ocean water will take the starch out of you. To paddle four more miles after that is nothing to be ashamed of. About the couple: I used to be bashful about  making suggestions to people I don't know. Now I figure if I piss them off, so what? If they went in, it is extremely likely they wouldn't survive. You're doing them a favor by at least mentioning it, even if they son't see it that way. Keep paddling!

Sounds like you've got the kayaking part mastered.

It's not unusual to see unsafe things like that. A while back, as I was coming in, a guy was launching who had a pfd, but wearing short pants, no radio or other safety gear. I mentioned that a radio is a good thing to have, and he said that if he fell in he'd yell really loud.