Preparing to die at Bean Hollow

Adam, you got hit on my birthday.  Now it's going to be easy to remember.     I'm still not going to Bean.   I went to Linda Mar and didn't realize it was SMC until eelkram told me.  I felt uneasy all day.

Yeah I watched that show 1000 ways to die. died while having sex was the one i still shake my head. it's all avoidable and stupidity plays a lot of death on that show. I do agree the title of this thread is really harsh and should be changed to perhaps prepare for the worse. Yes, statistically the chances of eaten by GWS is low but to me if there are multiple attacks in or around the area that statistics just went up. 

I hope to fish with you one day but not at BH   

If you are hit by a GWS, you can title your warning messages however you like! 

This thread isn't too harsh at all.  This shit is real, and until you've been there you have no idea.  Thanks for bringing it back bro.....

HT and I had our "encounter" at BH the week before Adam was hit. Our encounter had the massive white break the surface (at least six feet of it's body cleared the water) about fifty feet behind us. Sounded like a boat was gonna run us down so I turned just in time to see it clear the surface. I screamed like a little girl!! HT didn't see it but knew from my reaction (turned ghost white) so he asked what I saw...no answer. Told him to get close and we made out way to the light house launch still over a mile away.  Once ashore I grabbed HT and gave him a big solid hug and told him what I saw. He said he figured what went down.

I feel so guilty for not posting or warning others...kept it bottled up. Sorry Adam, I should have warned everyone of our "encounter" but for some reason I didn't. I still carry the guilt. We will NEVER go back to SMC including Linda Mar. We know they are everywhere.....seen one kayaking at Salt Point years before and plenty out off Tomales while mooching for salmon in our boat over the years.  We had one stalking us while scuba diving off Cardiac Hill over twenty years ago too. Be safe, be prepared for it to happen at any time.

A good reminder.
Every year we get the "bloom" of SMC fishing, but there is always a chance it can go majorly sideways. Be prepared. think about it, decide.
Folks new to that area need to know such talk of sharks isn't just locals trying to spook them off a spot, or a hazing of some sort, but instead it is just raising awareness. Often it is easy to get lulled into the "it wont happen", but then unfortunately sometimes it does.

what will you do if your kayak begins taking on water? have the right gear.
 Could you give directions to your location via radio? know the area.
how much do you know about the behavior of White sharks? study up.

these are the kinds of questions to make a plan around.

Folks new to that area need to know such talk of sharks isn't just locals trying to spook them off a spot, or a hazing of some sort, but instead it is just raising awareness.

X 1,000....

We joke around a lot on here about a lot of stuff....newcomers need to understand that when we talk about this area we are NOT joking...

Sincerely,

Jim

As someone who doesn't fish the salt(in a kayak anyways) but would like to someday, I really appreciate a lot of the sentiments expressed here in this thread. As Big Jim said, this is all just good information and it allows others to process it and make their own decision. Obviously, we all know the "if the water is salty, there's sharks in it" motto and that every launch spot along the coast has sightings or attacks, but as someone who sees this all from a distance, the elevated sense of respect and additional awareness comes across in everyone's posts about BH. 

So, I just wanted to say that I appreciate the discussion and how candid everyone has been about the dangers there. Another reason why I enjoy being a member of this group.

As someone who doesn't fish the salt(in a kayak anyways) but would like to someday, I really appreciate a lot of the sentiments expressed here in this thread. As Big Jim said, this is all just good information and it allows others to process it and make their own decision. Obviously, we all know the "if the water is salty, there's sharks in it" motto and that every launch spot along the coast has sightings or attacks, but as someone who sees this all from a distance, the elevated sense of respect and additional awareness comes across in everyone's posts about BH. 

So, I just wanted to say that I appreciate the discussion and how candid everyone has been about the dangers there. Another reason why I enjoy being a member of this group.

which is the ONLY reason I headed this thread what I did.......we all prepare for it, but you need to really prepare for it there.

This thread isn't too harsh at all.  This shit is real, and until you've been there you have no idea.  Thanks for bringing it back bro.....

I feel so guilty for not posting or warning others...kept it bottled up. Sorry Adam, I should have warned everyone of our "encounter" but for some reason I didn't. I still carry the guilt. We will NEVER go back to SMC including Linda Mar. We know they are everywhere.....seen one kayaking at Salt Point years before and plenty out off Tomales while mooching for salmon in our boat over the years.  We had one stalking us while scuba diving off Cardiac Hill over twenty years ago too. Be safe, be prepared for it to happen at any time.

Dont feel sorry at all......i was so locked into that place, i still would have gone out. 

I attracked and invited alot of people there, through open hookups and reports. I needed to warn others that the place is a "hot spot" and you might encounter a SouthAfricanLaunch. I've been back there about 10 times and it's hard on my mind, when i'm out there.

Be Safe,,,,,Not sorry......'Bropeup! 

Another important thing to consider is if a kayaker needs assistance OTW beyond his buddies capabilities.

You make a call on your vhf radio.  The closest first responder by boat is the Half Moon Bay Harbor Master.
Thats approximately 22 miles away.  They can make the run to BH or send out a radio request to PBers in the area to provide assistance.

Or the USCG will send out a helicopter.  All this takes alot time to happen.

I remember fishing the Hollow years and years ago with Stuie... way back before it was on anybody's radar. That place always got me nervous... not because of sharks but because of the crazy launch. I took my lumps there... big ones. One day, an older couple that were locals talked to me afterwards and asked... "aren't you afraid to be out there?" I said not really. Then, the lady said... "there's a resident out there. We see him often..." I laughed it off but it was usually in the back of my mind when I was out there. I never really was able to relax while out on the water there. Thinking about what may lie beneath or thinking about getting bombed on the landing. That place used to be a helluva great place to fish... Personally, it isn't worth it for me anymore. The risks just out weigh the rewards. Even without the Landlord looking for rent, that place has always been a sketchy place to launch from.

If you feel the need to fish there... be careful. From launch to landing... that place can be a beast.

Freddie

I remember fishing the Hollow years and years ago with Stuie... way back before it was on anybody's radar. That place always got me nervous... not because of sharks but because of the crazy launch. I took my lumps there... big ones. One day, an older couple that were locals talked to me afterwards and asked... "aren't you afraid to be out there?" I said not really. Then, the lady said... "there's a resident out there. We see him often..." I laughed it off but it was usually in the back of my mind when I was out there. I never really was able to relax while out on the water there. Thinking about what may lie beneath or thinking about getting bombed on the landing. That place used to be a helluva great place to fish... Personally, it isn't worth it for me anymore. The risks just out weigh the rewards. Even without the Landlord looking for rent, that place has always been a sketchy place to launch from.

If you feel the need to fish there... be careful. From launch to landing... that place can be a beast.

Freddie

I still get butterflies from landing despite of all the time I put to it. And Yes Jason and I noticed something in the water, I did not even bother to stop just went straight to the group. Sean Ted and I also heard something splashing on the water and we saw breaching we cannot confirm what it was, in the back of our head we kept saying porpoise 

 

  Good post Adam!  I've only fished the bean a few times...... from the beach!  I've said this many times, " I like being on top of the food chain, NOT part of it!"
  I only hope that, that people new to the site don't take this post lightly.  I remember when both Dan and you had their kayaks tasted.  It was scary to read the accounts then.

Troy

First AND LAST time I ever went there I was truly creeped out! Never had such a feeling that couldn't be ignored. I came in and never looked back… Gotta listen to your instincts...

Thanks for educational posts like this! I've been kayak fishing for 2 years and have stayed safe in all of my adventures thanks to being well informed.

Well for me, if we are looking at statistics, no one has died from a yak shark attack out there. In fact I have not heard of anyone even getting so much as a scratch. Yeah I know some kayaks have received some damage, but I think the fact that no one has gotten hurt is good indicator of how safe you really are in a kayak.

Now I am not saying be stupid about it, I mean whites are not exactly cute and cuddly, but I don't think we need to be psyching ourselves out every time we go out there. I am actually more afraid of getting in a traffic accident getting to the water then I am of a shark swinging by for a visit.

Bean Hollow sounds like a dangerous place.  I looked into the danger of shark attacks and wanted to share what I found. 

I can only find one recent record of a GWS attacking (and harming) a kayaker in CA.   That occurred in Malibu in 1989.  In the last 20 years, there have been a half dozen GWS attacks in CA and all involved surfers or swimmers.  But this has not stopped people from surfing and swimming in CA. Today, for example, Kim Chambers is swimming from the Farallon Islands (GWS habitat) to San Francisco in nothing but a bathing suit.  Is she crazy or does she recognize that the fear of GWS might be overstated? 

Turns out that it is more dangerous to drive a car or fly on an airplane.  You are 30 times more likely to be hit by lightening than attacked by a shark.   Digging sand holes at the beach is more dangerous than going in the water.   A recent study found that 13 people were injured by sharks in a given year, while 200,000 were hurt in accidents involving ladders, toilets and chainsaws.