One thing you should never lose

Just off the wires.

I paddle clip everytime I go out. How about you all???

Pretty embarrassing...and expensive...

Rich



Coast Guard rescues distressed kayaker from bay
Bay City News Service
Article Launched: 06/25/2008 01:43:25 PM PDT


The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a distressed kayaker today in the San Francisco Bay near Hunters Point, an officer said.
Around 10 a.m., someone inside a Coast Guard helicopter spotted a kayaker who had lost his paddles in the water, and sent a boat to save him, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Laura Alcon said.

The Coast Guard then brought him to land, where emergency personnel were waiting, Alcon said.

The man suffered from hypothermia, she said.

Copyright © 2008 by Bay City News, Inc. - republication, re-transmission or reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

Leash and spare

ZOINKS!  Up Hunter's Point without a paddle...

I leash my paddle for this very reason; with my luck, I could easily be this guy.

I had to swim for my paddle  ............once.  Now it's leashed.

I felt pretty stupid last weekend. I always just let my paddle float beside my yak, on a leash of course.
I finished getting my rig setup while on the water and wanted to paddle closer to the mile buoy and went to reach for the paddle and it was gone, nowhere is sight.

After looking for a while (actually about 20 seconds but seemed like forever) I freaked! I was sure that it was leashed...
After trying to figure out how I was gonna get back to shore and hollering to my buds..

Nothing


finally a swell came by and there it was, still on the leash and still attached, it had floated under my yak and I couldn't see it.

I felt like a fool, but was glad to have it back.

I will now buy a backup and keep it inside the yak. Better safe than sorry.

Stoggie

Thanks for the comments everyone. I clip my paddle to the leash and then attach the leash to one of the deck line cleats on my P13. I figure if I hook it to my crate and I lose that( its tied down but who knows the moods of the surf gods), I'm screwed, so better to keep it with the yak.

The leash I have is a Scotty and its pretty long, can't wait for the time I hook a big Hali and can freely throw my paddle overboard to make a clear theatre for the landing, but damn, so far in Santa Cruz, nada.......

I'll get there.

Rich

My paddle float away me once when i fell asleep fell over and flip my yak. Luckily my buddy was there to help me retrieve my paddle. Now i leash and carry a spare paddle.

Do coast Guard charge you to be rescue? How much?

You fell asleep on your yak?? You been working on too many beetles and jettas or something??

Rich

I also keep a spare in the hull, but never kayaking alone is the biggest thing you can do to keep stuff like this from turning into major disasters.  Your friend might bitch, but he'll tow you back in in a pinch.

Like most, I always leash mine. If it is a surf launch, I wait until I get through the surf. If it is a cake launch, I leash it before I even launch. Actually, there isn't much of anything in my yak that isn't on a leash.

I was up at Ft.Ross acouple of weekends ago and forgot to CLIP it onto the yak.
I was dealing with a fish and just let it fall off my lap (usually it's clipped). I released the fish, looked to grab the paddles leash as it was floating in the current behind me about 20 feet away....OH SHIT! Others were farther out and could have helped, but my quick thinking(grabbed my watershoes) and hand-paddled back to my paddle.
Could have been worse and could happen ANYWHERE in windy conditions.
~~imagine this scenero......you jump out of the yak and swim to your paddle, and now your YAK is now blowing away, faster than you can swim. Because you've got that paddle in your grip.
There's an old ancient saying ....."an empty kayak travels fast in the wind!"

I was up at Ft.Ross acouple of weekends ago and forgot to CLIP it onto the yak.
I was dealing with a fish and just let it fall off my lap (usually it's clipped). I released the fish, looked to grab the paddles leash as it was floating in the current behind me about 20 feet away....OH SHIT! Others were farther out and could have helped, but my quick thinking(grabbed my watershoes) and hand-paddled back to my paddle.
Could have been worse and could happen ANYWHERE in windy conditions.
~~imagine this scenero......you jump out of the yak and swim to your paddle, and now your YAK is now blowing away, faster than you can swim. Because you've got that paddle in your grip.
There's an old ancient saying ....."an empty kayak travels fast in the wind!"

Duane - Good on you! Doing the hand paddle was no big deal, was it?

In a non-pigboat an average paddler can do about 2-3 mph for quite a while using just their hands. Sure, it's not fun, and maneuverability goes to near zero, but in many situations you will be able to retrieve your errant paddle, or even get yourself back to shore. If you are the average person out on a kayak (and not a competitive swimmer), remember this important fact: YOU ARE FASTER IN YOUR KAYAK PADDLING WITH JUST YOUR HANDS THAN YOU ARE SWIMMING. And that's on top of all the other reasons why you normally don't exit the boat.

Now, if you do find yourself away from your boat, with paddle in hand, you can actually swim in a sort of crawl using the paddle rather your hands to propel yourself. It's funky and awkward feeling, and something to try out for yourselves beforehand. However, when I tried this, my speed was about equal to that of a regular crawl while wearing full immersion apparel and gear. Much much higher than my speed while holding a paddle in one hand, while trying to use the rest of my body to propel myself forward.

NOTICE: Kayaking is a potentially dangerous and deadly sport. I am not a professional kayaking instructor. At best I consider myself merely a reasonably knowledgeable individual. All advice offered by me is for informational use only, and to be used at your own risk. Seek professional kayaking safety instruction.

Regards,
Scott

I also keep a spare in the hull, but never kayaking alone is the biggest thing you can do to keep stuff like this from turning into major disasters.  Your friend might bitch, but he'll tow you back in in a pinch.

It would be my friend towing ME if he lost his paddle....not the other way around.