Dude, where's my kayak?

An old friend and I dove with the NorCal Skindivers Saturday.  They were having a club meet at the end of coral street so My buddy Mike, (not on this site) and I decided to join them.  Geoff from Sonoma called on Thursday and asked if he could join so it was three of us meeting down there.  I wanted to try out my new kayak.  I traded a Riffe standard #3 for a Malibu miniX last week so this was it's maiden voyage.  We dove Pacific Grove for about an hour and it sucked.  The wind was up the vis was cloudy and there were no fish.  I had never dove there before but had heard good things about it and after an hour I decided to pack it up and head over to SWS.  This was Geoff's second time diving and I wanted him to have a great time. 

We got to SWS at 10 and paddled over to the same spot I found last weekend.  Vis was at least 30' and the fish were everywhere.  Everyone was immediately glad we decided to move.  We were diving for about an hour and mike pops up and looks around and says, "hey WTF?"  I didn't notice at first what he was talking about and then he said, "my kayak's gone."  I looked around in dis belief and sure enough, NO KAYAK.  I jumped up on mine and looked around and still, no kayak.  It took a  few moments for me to spot it.  I searched the shoreline first, then the cove, then out to sea and at one point I caught the peak of a wave at the same time as Mike's kayak.  There it was, over a quarter of a mile away right next to peek a boo rock and headed for it.  I paddled like crazy out to it and did a quick grab to get it away from the rock.  I towed it out far enough to give me some time to tie it off better and went back to our spot.

At the end of the day, I had two kayaks and a 23" cabezone.  I looked in the same hole we were hunting last weekend but this time I crawled up inside and saw a passage through to another opening and this beautiful cabezone was looking out the other hole.  I shot him right through the back of the head and out his other cheek.  Execution style!  Geoff had a nice stringer of fish too and for only his second time diving, he was happy.  He started getting the hang of where to look and how to hunt so I can say without a doubt he's hooked.

That's is a nightmare of mine... Losing the kayak, diving way off shore, lol

That's is a nightmare of mine... Losing the kayak, diving way off shore, lol

+1.

Josh, did the kelp clip pull loose or the kelp break off or?

Last tuesday, flipper's kayak floated away on him too....luckily Jason B was able to track it down and tow it back.

I do my best to keep an eye on mine and/or not get too far from it...especially if swell is up...

Glad you were there to help him out, and congrats on the toad cab!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

That's is a nightmare of mine... Losing the kayak, diving way off shore, lol

+1.

Josh, did the kelp clip pull loose or the kelp break off or?

Last tuesday, flipper's kayak floated away on him too....luckily Jason B was able to track it down and tow it back.

I do my best to keep an eye on mine and/or not get too far from it...especially if swell is up...

Glad you were there to help him out, and congrats on the toad cab!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I think his kelp clip ripped through the kelp.  It was my kayak but his clip and when I snatched it from the eddies around peek a boo the kelp clip was bent so that it was kind of open and wouldn't close all the way.  I know it was a new kelp clip so it shouldn't have been bent previous to the dive.  I lend my yaks out all the time but I don't have a kelp clip on the loaners because I always clip mine off and clip the loaner to mine.  This was the "one time" I broke protocol and that's my lesson learned.

That's is a nightmare of mine... Losing the kayak, diving way off shore, lol

+1.

Josh, did the kelp clip pull loose or the kelp break off or?

Last tuesday, flipper's kayak floated away on him too....luckily Jason B was able to track it down and tow it back.

I do my best to keep an eye on mine and/or not get too far from it...especially if swell is up...

Glad you were there to help him out, and congrats on the toad cab!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I think his kelp clip ripped through the kelp.  It was my kayak but his clip and when I snatched it from the eddies around peek a boo the kelp clip was bent so that it was kind of open and wouldn't close all the way.  I know it was a new kelp clip so it shouldn't have been bent previous to the dive.  I lend my yaks out all the time but I don't have a kelp clip on the loaners because I always clip mine off and clip the loaner to mine.  This was the "one time" I broke protocol and that's my lesson learned.

Gotcha. Just glad you got it back and that everyone made it in OK.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Thanks Jim, That secret event was to be taken to Davey Jones locker : ) Nonetheless, it's in my backyard now. 

Keep the stories coming Flipper lol   

Thanks Jim, That secret event was to be taken to Davey Jones locker : ) Nonetheless, it's in my backyard now.

LOL! No worries Flipper...it happens to all guys sometimes. 

Seriously though...I think you guys learned some good lessons that day, and everyone made it back into the beach safe and sound and still smiling, and that is the most important thing.

 

Looking forward to the next time!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I shot him right through the back of the head and out his other cheek.  Execution style!

Execution style.......... nice!

Glad you got your yak back safely and thanks for the report

Antonio

Glad you got the kayak back and some fish too!

I use an anchor, don't trust no kelp leash.

Do you use a shock chord to attach your kelp clip line to your kayak?

The wind was up the vis was cloudy and there were no fish.  I had never dove there before but had heard good things about it and after an hour I decided to pack it up and head over to SWS.  This was Geoff's second time diving and I wanted him to have a great time. 

Don't feel too bad about Pacific Grove not being too fishy... those good things you heard were probably lies.