What is considered unsafe sea condition?

I started wearing a helmet for surf launches 3 seasons ago and I don't care what anybody thinks.  I had a scare on the ski slopes and it made me think I should probably wear a helmet in a lot more situations.

Well I guess it's right there in your handle

I started wearing a helmet for surf launches 3 seasons ago and I don't care what anybody thinks.  I had a scare on the ski slopes and it made me think I should probably wear a helmet in a lot more situations.

Well I guess it's right there in your handle

You guys are killin' me , let the winter games begin...

I started wearing a helmet for surf launches 3 seasons ago and I don't care what anybody thinks.  I had a scare on the ski slopes and it made me think I should probably wear a helmet in a lot more situations.

Well I guess it's right there in your handle

You guys are killin' me , let the winter games begin...

Wait for it

I started wearing a helmet for surf launches 3 seasons ago and I don't care what anybody thinks.  I had a scare on the ski slopes and it made me think I should probably wear a helmet in a lot more situations.

Well I guess it's right there in your handle

You guys are killin' me , let the winter games begin...

Wait for it

Studying for kayak surf landings...

I started wearing a helmet for surf launches 3 seasons ago and I don't care what anybody thinks.  I had a scare on the ski slopes and it made me think I should probably wear a helmet in a lot more situations.

Well I guess it's right there in your handle

You guys are killin' me , let the winter games begin...

Wait for it

Studying for kayak surf landings...

You bring the kayak and I'll bring the drone. You'll be a legend.

You been talking to my wife??? 

This thread is great! I just got my first kayak -- a Hobie AI. I got it because of the versatility, but also in the hopes that it would be much more stable, and, because of the sail, could handle windier conditions with no risk of being blown out to sea, or in to rocks.

I've been looking at the forecasts -- 8-9 foot swells might be a bit much even if it is a long period? Wednesday out of HMB seemed reasonable with 4-5 foot swells, but according to windy.com, it looks like there's a secondary swell from nearly the same direction also with 4 foot swells --those would add up to 8-9 footers at times, right?

I'm looking to head into SF bay instead, out of Palo Alto. I did a short shakedown run near Coyote Point last week. Probably makes sense to stick to the safer bay again.

My quick and dirty formula:

If wind speed in kts + wave height in feet <=15; and
waves in ft <= (wave period in seconds)/2,
then fish
else beer.

I've fished in way worse than that but it's decent enough till you get your sea legs and figure it out yourself.

So, I went out a few Sunday's ago from Pillar Point Harbor. Wind was negligible, just enough to get the AI moving under sail. The swell was supposed to be about 4'. I'm not sure what it was, but when I got out of the harbor, it was pretty intimidating and choppy. It also seemed like there were a lot of wave reflections off the breakwall.  Is that normal? Should I expect less choppy a hundred+ yards out from the wall? I didn't go much more than 100' outside.

Also, I saw what looked like crashing waves way out on the reef -- would that happen in just 4' swells?

Any advice on what conditions a beginner should be looking for? I've only looked at weather this winter, so I have no idea if swells less than 4' are a common or extremely rare occurrence.

I've been looking at the forecasts -- 8-9 foot swells might be a bit much even if it is a long period? Wednesday out of HMB seemed reasonable with 4-5 foot swells, but according to windy.com, it looks like there's a secondary swell from nearly the same direction also with 4 foot swells --those would add up to 8-9 footers at times, right?

That is correct... then add in wind waves and you can get some snotty conditions with smaller primary, secondary and tertiary swells.

So, I went out a few Sunday's ago from Pillar Point Harbor. Wind was negligible, just enough to get the AI moving under sail. The swell was supposed to be about 4'. I'm not sure what it was, but when I got out of the harbor, it was pretty intimidating and choppy. It also seemed like there were a lot of wave reflections off the breakwall.  Is that normal? Should I expect less choppy a hundred+ yards out from the wall? I didn't go much more than 100' outside.

There are eddies, wave reflections, under currents, etc. right outside of The Jaws (the opening from the outer harbor into Half Moon Bay).  It can get hairy there and calm down farther away from the breakwall and the reef just to the west of the breakwall.  Just remember that you have to come back that way, too.

Also, I saw what looked like crashing waves way out on the reef -- would that happen in just 4' swells?

Any advice on what conditions a beginner should be looking for? I've only looked at weather this winter, so I have no idea if swells less than 4' are a common or extremely rare occurrence.

The reef you saw just to the west has some washrocks on the north end that will cause white water on the calmest of days.  They are exposed at low tide, so for the entire tidal range of their exposure, they can cause white water.  Farther to the west is the reef that causes the world famous Mavericks waves to break.  When the right swell hits that reef, you can see a 15' swell turn into 40' breakers.

Advice is to stay east of that reef if it makes you nervous.  There are days where there is a 6' swell, thick enough water, and a long enough period that you can fish that reef very comfortably without issue.  In other conditions, a 3' swell makes that reef deadly.  As you come out of The Jaws, identify the green can (#3) just to the south.  Stay east of that if the reef looks uncomfortable.  That leaves you the entire bay to the east to explore.  Once near the #3 buoy, you can decide to continue south past the red can (#2) and explore the southeast reef, which is less treacherous in the conditions that make the north reef treacherous.  You can continue south or east to stay within the bay or you can head west between the red and green cans and explore the ocean.  Just keep in mind, those reefs are what make the waters inside Half Moon Bay calmer than the ocean, so expect rapidly changing conditions as you head west.  Plenty of water to explore staying in the protected waters, though.

Study up on this chart and memorize where washrocks are, where breakers are indicated, where safe water is, and your options for landing if you get too far away and can't make it back to your original launch spot.  Remember that becoming a search and rescue case trying to get back to your original launch point is a lot worse than trying to figure out how to get your kayak home from a beach you safely landed on 20 miles south of your launch point.  The Pillar Point Harbor Master monitors VHF-16 and -74, so have those at the ready if you need emergency assistance.

Hope that helps.

So, I went out a few Sunday's ago from Pillar Point Harbor. Wind was negligible, just enough to get the AI moving under sail. The swell was supposed to be about 4'. I'm not sure what it was, but when I got out of the harbor, it was pretty intimidating and choppy. It also seemed like there were a lot of wave reflections off the breakwall.  Is that normal? Should I expect less choppy a hundred+ yards out from the wall? I didn't go much more than 100' outside.

Also, I saw what looked like crashing waves way out on the reef -- would that happen in just 4' swells?

Any advice on what conditions a beginner should be looking for? I've only looked at weather this winter, so I have no idea if swells less than 4' are a common or extremely rare occurrence.

Just saying "I" went out, not "we" went out under those conditions is a red flag.  Being a beginner, you should be going out with someone who has some experience.  Whether conditions are unsafe or safe has a lot to do with your comfort level which comes with experience.   

Tedski, thanks for the details on HMB conditions -- very helpful.

SOMA, agreed I should be going out with others. How do you all coordinate meet-ups? Is there a board for that?

"GALE WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM PST SATURDAY...

* WHAT...Northwest winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt and seas 13 to 18 feet at 16 seconds."

That's unsafe sea condition, but someone paddled out at Doran today anyway. Henry 1 was dispatched for an overturned kayak, but it's not clear to me whether they were rescued, or made it to shore on their own.

dang. sounds like balls of steel. i keed... be safe out there

This thread is great! I just got my first kayak -- a Hobie AI. I got it because of the versatility, but also in the hopes that it would be much more stable, and, because of the sail, could handle windier conditions with no risk of being blown out to sea, or in to rocks.

Pretty cool that you're starting with an AI, as it took most of us AI owners quite a while to work up to it.

But, I would caution you that it is incorrect to say that there is "no risk to being blown out to sea". The AI does not "point" into the wind very well, meaning that you cannot effectively sail at much of an angle towards the wind. Yes, you can tack back and forth, but by the time you do so, under some conditions, you will have lost ground.  In fact, there is a very real risk of that a strong offshore wind can push you out to sea, and you could even end up exhausting yourself trying to pedal against it. There are some horror stories on the Hobie forum of this happening, usually to new AI/TI owners like yourself. I'm not trying to scare you, but you definitely need to be cautious until you get a lot more experience with the boat under various wind conditions.

Ghio -- thanks! For some reason, I thought "hookups" meant people bragging about fish they hooked, not meetups, so I didn't look at those boards. Doh!

NowhereMan -- I took some sailing lessons on a dinghy a while back, so that helped a lot. I've tacked pretty successfully -- I can easily go 45 degrees from headwind. I think the AI was redesigned a bit with bigger amas, and daggerboard, which might help keeping the boat from sliding backwards while tacking.

But yeah, I agree I need more experience, especially with unexpected gusts, and combined with waves, I could see getting into trouble. I'm closer to the SF bay, so I was thinking I'd practice there. But I hear with it being so shallow, waves can be unpredictable?