My Good Deed for the Day

This is not a fish report, but it is a report that might provide some safety information to someone new to our sport.

This morning I slept late, not intending to fish, but I had to go to the Harbor (Santa Barbara) to drop something off for a friend.  I thought it would be fun to paddle my Trident 15 around the harbor area for a while, leaving the fishing gear at home and get a little exercise.  I launched at a leisurely 9:00 AM, calm wind and no swell,  and shortly afterward saw a couple of guys fishing next to Stearns Wharf about 2 or 300 yards off of the beach, a place guys like to fish Halibut.  I was about 50 feet away when I noticed that one of them was hooked up.  A few moments later, splash, he rolled his kayak.  His buddy came over and took his fishing rod and drifted off.  The fellow in the water rolled his yak upright and tried to get on and didn't come close.  I paddled over to him, he was breathing hard, looking pretty stressed, and not knowing what to do next.  I asked if he needed help and got an emphatic YES!  He was a big guy in a pretty small kayak, maybe a Scrambler, which he had borrowed, not wearing a PFD (it was strapped to the bow of the yak), and did not appear to be comfortable swimming.  We drifted through the pier pilings, then I pushed down on the port side of his yak with all of my weight to keep his yak from flipping while he climbed on from the starboard side.  He got part way on, rested for a bit, then was able to get all of the way on, turn around and get into a sitting position.  I don't know if that was proper rescue technique (Sean or Aron could fill me in there), but it worked.  We introduced ourselves, he thanked me and he seems like a nice guy.  My new buddy's friend came over and said the fish was a ray and had cut it off.  The last words I heard were "I'm going in".
I'm not into teaching or lectures, but there are some things to be learned here.

When I first started kayaking, I spent a day out at Millerton Lake with Brian G practicing self rescues on both of my kayaks.  One being my Cobra Escape, it's a small wide boat, compared to my Tarpon, which is long, stable and narrow.  We must have practiced for hours, and the next day my legs looked as if they had been hit a couple dozen times with a baseball bat, but I felt confident, that should I flip, I'd be able to get back on.  As for the PFD  My mom says if I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.... Survival of the fittest (or at least the smart, responsible people).  I figure if you choose not to wear one, then you are also choosing to be ok with drowning that day.   

I'm not into teaching or lectures, but there are some things to be learned here.

How fortunate for the guy that you were on the scene and went right to his assistance. Hopefully, a lesson was learned and adjustments will be made. Congrats on your good deed!

Congrat on your good deed Jim.  I don't understand why people not wearing their PFD when kayaking especially in cold water.  It's wet sport, soon or later everyone will be in the water, and having a "life support" vest on sometimes can be the difference between life and death!

Thanks Jim, good deed indeed and good story.

You did the right thing, as for his "buddy" well there's several lessons here.......

WTG rendering aid is better than catching the big one

Good deed and story! He could have drown while his friend was busy catching his fish! When I got my yak, and all yaks after that, we went to Del Valle and made sure we could get back in after falling out. I was surprized it seeded fairly easy. Of course it was hot, sunny, no swell and there was no gear in the boat!! Hope it is that much harder when its a real situation. Anyways you should be getting hooked into a hog for thegood deed!!!

For the sake of the poor guy whose "buddy" chose a fish over helping his "friend"-thank you Jim!

I think when someone goes over & is in the water, doesn't that take some precedence over a fish on the line? Especially when the swimmer is not wearing a PFD?!!! Crazy.

Yep, you did it exactly right. Realistically any way you can get the person back on the kayak is the "right way" IMHO, but there is really only way that is easiest, & that is what you did. Someone owes you a big frosty beer!

I'm going in....?   

You did good Jim.

Way to be brother! I am reel surprised that they don't make it a law that you have to wear one on any boat not just carry one cuz it is reel hard to put on a life jacket if you are unconscious in the water! Even if you don't survive it is a lot easier to find your body. Thanks for practicing good seamanship and coming to the aid of another paddler. Good luck, Eric

Good job Jim--we all need to look out for each other and you done good.

As far as boarding technique goes, anything that works is the right way.

Given that your pfd may sometimes be uncomfortable, hot, or chafe your armpits after an hour of paddling, it still really does come down to a Darwin decision about survival, doesn't it?  Keep on living, keep on spawning...

Even so, I have to say I have done many stupid and short-sighted things in the water, risking life, limb & the opportunity to spawn in the process.  I was lucky but I certainly understand the brother who did not wear the pdf--more than likely, he was wanting to enhance that feeling of freedom and maybe too wanting to put a little spice of danger on top.

Not smart, but most of us have been there...

Tight lines...

  Nice work.

 For myself, I'd rather just wear a wet suit and preserve my swimming speed and my maneuverability. Wet suits are so buoyant that I'm uncomfortable getting around in the water in them.
  It's a trade off with the possibility of being unconscious tho. But at that, it's fun to lie around on your back in a wet suit and float just like a sea otter.
  As for requiring that a life jacket be worn, are you also going to require surfers to wear them?

Jim, I got a man dog with your name on it on your next visit to Nor Cal 

Jim, I got a man dog with your name on it on your next visit to Nor Cal 

Thanks, Mooch.  My mouth is watering already.

I just like to think that kayakers on the water with me have assessed their abilities and are adequately prepared to be safe.

Jim thanks for sharing that incident with us all. I've always been a firm believer of the importance of saety. Now it's time for my friend to learn this!!

Glad that everyone was alright.