Whistles might not always be enough

Trolling salmon up at Dux I was watching two guys hunched over a salmon on their deck and behind them I could see a big commercial troller coming their direction. When it didn’t turn away I pulled out my whistle and started blowing it which they couldnt hear over the engine noise

Then i started whistling between two fingers which they also didn’t hear and started a shouting campaign and they looked up at me and I pointed behind them at a boat maybe 20’ from collision

The only noise maker I carry now is an old air horn I found floating off the Marin coast. Which reminds me I need to get to west marine for a new one

Hardly any new kayakers even know to carry a whistle, let alone an air horn.  But they got motors, batteries, livescope 9" fish finders and all the other goodies.

In many decades I never carried anything but most of that I was closer to shore and in remote places with no boats around

Going offshore where boats are running it’s one of the few safety gears I carry. This i already posted but a 6 pack almost got me at HMB and a horn might have prevented that

I’m going through my gear and just threw a whistle in the trash

I think it's cheap insurance and will always keep it attached to the inside of my PFD pocket with a length of thin bungee material.  It can save your life if you sink and are out there trying to yell for help.  With every breath you can be calling for help instead of trying to yell.

What if the boat operators are intoxicated and douchey?
Flare gun shot across the operator's shoulder for the win!
Unless kayaker is intoxicated and douchey also, then it may be a flare shootout between small crafts on the water.

I carry a whistle, blade, radio, compass, bilge pump, and GPS. I think that covers a lot of the bases, but adding one of those flash mirrors wouldn’t hurt or take up much space. The older I get, the more advantages I want at my disposal if any emergency scenario emerges on the water. I recently forgot my bilge pump on a bay trip, and felt this sinking feeling in my gut knowing I left something at home that could save me or my kayak from sinking to the muddy bottoms.

I've been kayaking since 2010 and I’ve never had to use anything (aside from the GPS) in an emergency situation. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to have it all handy for that one day I do need it!

Loleta Eric may chime in and remind us that having redundant radios and navigation instruments is a good practice as well.

Whistles are really meant for you to be heard by rescuers that are intentionally listening for whistling.  The idea is that a proper safety whistle requires less energy than yelling or finger whistling so you can do it for longer when floating around waiting to be rescued.

“Proper safety whistle” is the key words there Mine was either from west marine or the yak shop that used to be across the street

It didn’t carry over the engine noise of an idling motor and neither did my whistling which is probably louder. The 6 pack that almost got me was coming full throttle and maybe even an air horn wouldn’t have been enough

As to drunk boaters ive seen what can happen up close in the ICU where i worked The damage from a spinning prop is pretty horrendous

Yeah, this did happen to one of our own yakyakyak a few years ago: https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=98756.0 

Visibility has always been a concern of mine. I've had several close calls. Mostly by boats towing Skiers. The stupid drivers rarely watch where they are going cause they are watching the skier. My Feelfree kayak is orange so it helped. My new Oldtown is camo blue and blends in to the water. I purchased a Yakattack flag and it helps. However, several weeks ago I asked my buddy if he could see me. I was about 1/2 mile away. He did spot me but not right away.
Solution: I purchased about 4' of Silver Mylar ribbon from a grocery store that sells balloons.  I cut it in 1' sections and tied two above and two below my flag.
We went out last Saturday and my buddy could see the flash from the ribbon from over a mile away.
Kevin

The young person we worked with took a lot of damage

Visibility has always been a concern of mine. I've had several close calls. Mostly by boats towing Skiers. The stupid drivers rarely watch where they are going cause they are watching the skier. My Feelfree kayak is orange so it helped. My new Oldtown is camo blue and blends in to the water. I purchased a Yakattack flag and it helps. However, several weeks ago I asked my buddy if he could see me. I was about 1/2 mile away. He did spot me but not right away.
Solution: I purchased about 4' of Silver Mylar ribbon from a grocery store that sells balloons.  I cut it in 1' sections and tied two above and two below my flag.
We went out last Saturday and my buddy could see the flash from the ribbon from over a mile away.
Kevin

Mylar ribbon. Thats a great idea.

Loleta Eric may chime in and remind us that having redundant radios and navigation instruments is a good practice as well.

 

I think having a whistle or other noisemaking device is a USCG regulation, isn't it?

Visibility has always been a concern of mine. I've had several close calls. Mostly by boats towing Skiers. The stupid drivers rarely watch where they are going cause they are watching the skier. My Feelfree kayak is orange so it helped. My new Oldtown is camo blue and blends in to the water. I purchased a Yakattack flag and it helps. However, several weeks ago I asked my buddy if he could see me. I was about 1/2 mile away. He did spot me but not right away.
Solution: I purchased about 4' of Silver Mylar ribbon from a grocery store that sells balloons.  I cut it in 1' sections and tied two above and two below my flag.
We went out last Saturday and my buddy could see the flash from the ribbon from over a mile away.
Kevin

Mylar ribbon. Thats a great idea.

Yes, this is pretty genius. Just bought a flag for when I fish in the bay and delta - will add some mylar ribbon too.

Loleta Eric may chime in and remind us that having redundant radios and navigation instruments is a good practice as well.

 

I think having a whistle or other noisemaking device is a USCG regulation, isn't it?

Sure is! 

Loleta Eric may chime in and remind us that having redundant radios and navigation instruments is a good practice as well.

 

I think having a whistle or other noisemaking device is a USCG regulation, isn't it?

Whistles are good

Just a smart thing to carry something loud

The point of the thread is more about how loud you need to be - the whistle I tossed in the trash was likely cg approved but in the situation at dux it was useless

Aside from motor noise the ocean itself can be pretty loud. Surfing/swimming Santa Cruz a few years back I kept thinking I heard screaming and finally swam toward it - turned out to be a guy with his arm dislocated floundering in the chaos on the inside. Only reason I probably heard it was I where I was swimming was inside and down a little from the lineup

The near miss I had at HMB I was shouting at the boat the whole time it was coming at me - I was paddling hard to get out of its way and it just kept turning toward me. If I hadn’t turned the tarpon parallel last second it would’ve clipped the back end and maybe sucked me under. Instead it ejected me and the kayak out to the side

I will hit up west marine and see what noisemakers they have

I dont carry any electronics and dont entirely agree about having a boatload of extra safety gear. Not saying any of it is bad but I went without any of it from ~ 1972 to sometime in the early 2000s