San Pablo Sturgeon: The Perfect Storm

I'm sure this experience will instill young Jelly with a hardy respect for the ocean and what it can throw at you.  I'll always remember the experience I had as a kid that put that respect in me.  My father and I were out crabbing when the wind came up fast.  We were a mile from shore in a 12' cartopper and the wind was blowing offshore.  We were taking wave after wave over the bow and the water in the boat was really causing us to roll back and forth.  The only thing my father could do was point the bow into the waves while I bailed water with a 5 gallon bucket.  If we had even quartered the waves, I'm sure the water in the boat would have rolled us.  A few hundred yards from shore we were greeted by another gentleman who had been watching us through the binocs.  He knew we were in trouble and was coming out to help.  While we didn't need his help at that point anymore, his words and actions really sank home to me the potential danger we were in.  I'm sure at the time I didn't appreciate the severity of the situation as much as I do now looking back on it.

I'm glad everything worked out for the best for all you that were on the water this weekend.

-Allen

I'll bet Jelly now has a better appreciation for why Dad hasn't allowed him go along for sturgeon outings in the past. 

Erik-Funny you should mention that...on the paddle out he was harrassing me..."whats the big deal about this, why would't you let me come...blahblahblah."  On the way back I was thinking to myself I can't believe I let him come".  The only good decision I made that day was leaving his tourer at home and putting him in a Marauder.  His Tourer is largely so fast because it has no rocker...no rocker and monster chop are a no go.  I had the same negative experience in an extreme once.  His Tourer is great outside, but it would have been a mess on the bay that day.  Although it was a little wide for Jelly, the Marauder handled the chop easily.  Paddling both boats back beat the hell out my shoulders, I am still super sore, no swimming this week. 

Pole-I had a similar situation when I was about Jelly's age on Pyramid Lake.  We lived in Reno then and we went there almost every weekend.  My dad had a 10 foot aluminum!  We didn't have a 5 gallon bucket, but we did have a coffee can that we used to pee in...I was bailing like crazy and remember the floor boards starting to float as my inspiration to bail harder.  We made it back, and shortly there after we got a new boat...a 12' footer! Ooooo Ahhhhh. Seemed much bigger at the time!

Sean-Jelly-Rockhopper- Man!! I am glad you guys are all safe! Remember there is always something you can do. That is what my flight instructor and all my pilot training books keep saying. I am glad you were able to keep your heads. Now we just need a good break in the weather and get out there again on a nice day. Hopefully, we'll keep putting better experiences into the mix.
Brent

I just keep thinking what a great dad!

You recognized the risk, mitigated it (with the wider boat), then helped to bring him safely back home.  That experience will last a life time for both of you.

I can recall loads of times that my pops pushed me a bit, then helped me get out safely when i was whupped.  I like to believe that it made me more confident, and more aware of how to assess risk-- I also like to think that the learnings from those trips kept me alive in some really hairy situations a couple of decades later.

Just hope I get to impart that same sort of guidance to my young-un in a few years time.

raising a glass for ya now

WTG, White family on surviving!  Sounds like you're almost ready for Humboldt again!   

Aking-ready for duty!

Steve-thanks man...I fully realize that I am BLESSED to have the kind of relationship I have with Jelly and my little girls.  I couldn't live with out them around, and all of sharing the things we all love together.  Some of my co-workers have quite the opposite situation, and it looks damn ugly. 

Besides just getting along, Jelly has really evolved into an amazingly capable little human...he can do it all himself nowadays, and even off the water he's really got his act together.  I can't wait to return to baja this summer, as I am sure this is the year all of Jelly's hard work is going to pay off and he is going to whack something spectactular...especially for a 12 year old...and there will be an A+ crowd this year to share in his glory.

In light of what happened with Sean & Jelly, I thought I'd post this helpful link......

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/Safety/Towing.html#scenarios