Lost in the Fog

I went out of Albion (about eight miles south of Mendocino) on Sunday morning with a buddy (very experienced) and only one of us made it back to the launch spot on the river. Rough day.

We launched about 7:45 -- such an awesome launch there when you catch the tide going out. You can drive right down to the river near the mouth and unload your boat right on water's edge and the current will float you out, under the bridge and into the beautiful bay. It's really sweet.

Just before launch I asked him to turn his radio to channel 69 so we could make sure things were working and it turned out that he didn't have a radio. Argh. And his wetsuit looked to be a thin, maybe 3mm Farmer John (not ideal for an extended swim out there). No kayaking jacket. At least he had a life vest, but I was not pleased.

Oh, and it was really foggy. Maybe 100 yards of visibility.

He'd been out there once before, going north out of the bay -- it was my first time going on the ocean there. He suggested we try it to the south where a friend of his had had a lot of luck, so we paddled out through the foggy mist and first dropped around the big rock that's furthest west, at the southern edge of the mouth of the bay. Spent a fair bit of time there, pulled in and released a couple of dinkers, and then made our way south.

Really slow bite, and then a strong current, going north, kicked in big time, and we turned around and went with it, leap frogging each other, staying in view of one another in the fog, and ended up back at that big rock where we'd started fishing, at the southern point of the opening of the bay and he fished the shore side and I was on the ocean side. Super slow bite and not much to show for it.

So after a couple of drifts I'm looking for him and can't see him so I paddle around it to where I last saw him and... gone! I paddle back around the rock and then, knowing he likes to fish shallow water, head toward more rocks and shore and look and look and nothing! Poof!

He'd been out at Van Damme for five hours the day before (Sat.) and he'd mentioned he was a bit tired from that, so I knew he wouldn't have paddled the half mile across the mouth of the bay, especially knowing he'd be fighting the strong current/wind on the way home. And he wouldn't have just left me like that, going that far north, without telling me. And he wouldn't have gone south again, against the now quite strong current. So WTH?

So after paddling all over the place and not finding any sight/sign of him, I'm really worried (if something bad happened) and pissed off (if he just took off like that without telling me, that he doesn't have a friggin' radio, and that he's wearing a thin-ass surfing Farmer John).

Just about then I see a kayak through the mist but it's a tandem. I paddle over and ask if they'd seen a guy in a green kayak and they say, yep, he said he was heading in and if they saw me, tell me. WTH?

Now I was pissed. He couldn't have told me himself, leading to me frantically paddling around for an hour searching for him?

So I paddle in. I was only out for about three hours. The tide was going in by this point, so I just cruise up the river to the launch spot and land and look around and... no buddy! No kayak. His truck is still there. No sign of him whatsoever.

I pack up and wait. Eventually I head over to the campsite office to see if anyone had seen him (or maybe they had a bar/restaurant there that I didn't know about and he's having a beer?), then look at the docks up there for a green kayak, check the campsites (maybe he bumped into an old friend?), and... zippo. Back to the beach, staring west, waiting for him to appear out of the mist.

And wait. A couple of hours go by. I decide that six hours on the water is the limit. Then I'm calling the coast guard. Maybe should have called in the coast guard already. I'm still struggling with that decision.

Then, with 45 minutes on the clock, I get a text from an unknown number: "Hey, it's me. I'm at Van Damme."

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Van Damme is five miles north of Albion.

He's fine. Major relief.

I drive up there and pick him up and bring him and his 13" black-and-yellow rf back to his truck in Albion.

So here's what happened on his end.

When he had last seen me we were fishing around that rock off the southern end of the bay. BUT, he didn't realize it was the same rock where we'd started fishing. He didn't know it was the southern side of the bay. With the fog, you couldn't see more than 100 yards, so you couldn't see the bay (or the shore, for that matter). We'd been working our way north, leap-frogging one another, and he likes fishing near the rocks, so he made his way to the next rock to the north that must be out there in the fog, assuming I would catch up with him shortly. Then after paddling for a bit he bumped into that tandem kayak and they yacked it up for a bit, with that strong current pushing him the half mile right across the bay without him even realizing it. When he told them he was heading in, there turned out to be a misunderstanding there: he didn't mean to imply he was going in right away. And in his mind, Albion was further north anyway.

Oh, no reception for his phone.

So some rocks appear (unknowingly off the northern point of the bay) and he fishes there for a good hour waiting for me, pissed off, not realizing where the hell he is. Then he heads north a bit further, finds some more rocks, fishes, and keeps expecting to see Albion Bay. But, of course, that's not gonna happen. Eventually it dawns on him that he must have totally f-'d things up and missed the bay in the fog, so decides to aim for Van Damme to the north, which he knew he couldn't miss if he stuck close to shore.

Luckily the wind and swell never kicked up big time, as can happen unexpectedly around here. If that had happened... the ending here could have been very different. He eventually made it to shore safely and borrowed someone's phone to text me.

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If you're reading this and do not have a friggin' VHF marine radio, please get one NOW. And some kind of functional GPS device.

~James

Yikes. Some serious lessons to be learned here for sure, and thank goodness it wasn't at the expense of anyone's well-being.

I always keep two VHFs with me (and a third in my bin of crap I keep in the truck), and I've lost count of the number of time's I've loaned out a spare to someone without one. When you fish in remote areas like the Norcal coast, having no service is almost standard, and the VHF can be a critical lifeline. Having some kind of navigation device also could have helped prevent this mis-hap, as you said. Even the most basic Garmin fish finders that cost $150 have the ability to generate tracks, which can help get back to where you started. When there is cell service and it's foggy, sometimes I like to use the "find my friends" app (in agreement with my partner(s)), so that you can check your phone and know exactly which direction your buddy is in.

Thanks for sharing your ordeal.

Oh, no reception for his phone.

If you're reading this and do not have a friggin' VHF marine radio, please get one NOW. And some kind of functional GPS device.

~James

There are multiple apps out there for phones that will make your phone into a GPS.

Navionics, iNavX, etc.

Most are free with the basic NOAA maps. 

Harrowing situation to be in for you and your buddy both. Glad things worked out in the end. I wouldn't be out in the fog without a radio with no sense of direction. Did he not have a fishfinder with gps as well?

All I can say is that you're a good friend to your buddy.

Harrowing situation to be in for you and your buddy both. Glad things worked out in the end. I wouldn't be out in the fog without a radio with no sense of direction. Did he not have a fishfinder with gps as well?

No fish finder. No compass. No Navionics or GPS app on his phone. And it's not like he's some noob -- been out at least a hundred times. Humans!

Wow, I’m glad that it all worked out. That’s a scary situation to be in. I would not go out in thick fog without having some good navigation aids.

A group of us were fishing in thick fog once. We all dropped a gps pin so that we could have a reference point to meet at or give directions from while talking on the radio to each other.

It's pretty easy to get turned around in the fog! Been there, done that.
Before gps I used a compass and was extremely careful about knowing where I'm at. Also, being in a spot I've been in before also helps. To be familiar with your surroundings helps.

I am glad your buddy was safe. 
You could use my New Ocean Fishing Buddy Checklist.
https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=100326.0

I waste many hours trying to communicate and locate a buddy without a VHF radio.

Paul

A group of us were fishing in thick fog once. We all dropped a gps pin so that we could have a reference point to meet at or give directions from while talking on the radio to each other.

This is a really good idea on super thick foggy days...

Glad you both made it back safely! 
 

Glad you both made it back, James.

Thanks for sharing your experience, it's a good reminder for several things we often take for granted.  Paul's on the money, a checklist is a fantastic idea. I remember the first person I agreed to take out showed up in jeans and a t-shirt, but I went out with him anyway, and he took a dunk and I had to rescue him and tow him back in.  Never again compromise on safety.
 

Learned a lot from this thread as a newbie, thanks for sharing and glad y'all are safe. Having spare VHF's is pretty smart.