My HMB Lessons

These are my personal lessons from a recent dumping at HMB.  You may see it differently and that's ok - I just thought I'd share MY lessons.

But before my lessons...I was out today in the harbor practicing self-rescue and saw a couple of young guys in a tandem kayak/canoe Sports Authority special heading out with crab traps, wearing T-shirts and shorts like it was Hawaii.  No wetsuits, no PFD's, no VHF, etc.  really scary stuff even if it was fantastic calm water today.  If I had been wearing what they were last weekend, I wouldn't be here to write this.

My lessons, specific to HMB and me:

  1. Stay away from reefs and Kings Rock!  Know where you are - Navionics?
  2. Know your limits. If the water feels too big, it’s too big for you, don’t go out even if others are.
  3. Self-rescue needs to be fast and confident, with multiple working methods, practiced regularly.  Prefer the “no gear” methods, e.g. the scramble with paddle float and rescue ladders as backup.  KNOW that it works every time even when you are tired.
  4. You need to be in great physical shape, strengthen upper body with weight training, reduce weight of lower body.  Exercise!  Reentry requires you to lift your body, wetsuit, and gear clear of the water, all while balancing in swells.
  5. Keep the deck clear, be prepared to chuck anything on deck to make it clear.  That means dumping rod holders, compasses or other crap that is going to make reentering harder.
  6. Do not tie things down except your paddle - make them floatable.  Line will tangle you and tangles consume your energy.  Even the paddle keeper can be a pita in this regard.
  7. Wear the warmest neoprene you can handle - both in farmer john (3 mm min) and NRS long sleeve shirt (1.5 mm)
  8. Make sure VHF radio is charged, floats, is waterproof, and you know how to use it.  Make sure volume is up, make sure you can get the orange protective tab off the panic button.  Make sure it is secured to your PFD with a lanyard - do not rely on a clip.  However, do not assume a Mayday will result in a fast rescue - it could be hours before anyone finds you, even if you are close to the harbor.
  9. Take the minimum amount of fishing gear, especially when there are big swells.  Keep fishing gear immediately available to you, small amount of weights, small amount of terminal tackle, bait, etc. right in front on deck.  Focus on one type of fish to minimize gear.  Have your one pole rigged and ready to fish before you leave the harbor.
  10. Make sure you can keep your kayak floating and stable - that means pool noodles…many, many pool noodles, and a pump where you can reach it.
  11. Gear stored inside the kayak will shift unless you velcro it down.  You can’t reach a paddle float or pump if it’s wedged inside at the back of your kayak.
  12. Store a lightweight pair of swim fins in the yak where reachable; when all else fails use them to swim for shore.

Great write-up! I found this super helpful. Thanks

Very, very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to write this up and share your experience and tips. For those of us that are new and just getting serious about the madness, info like this is really useful. As you said,  glad that you made it back safely to offer your insights.

Definitely great advise.
Need to add that it is always good to do your research before you attempt to fish a unknown body of water.
Dangerous areas and how to navigate out to your destination. If a first time out to an area. Ask someone who has been there and what to look out for...
May save ya some time and heartache, if not save your life!!!

Alex

We don't talk about #12 a lot but it's something I practice.  Glad you're ok.

That is a great list.
OK, after reading it multiple times, I think I will be ditching leashes for rod floats this summer.

I can't thank you enough for this great write up.  I have gleaned all of this good info here from reading pos ts over the years, and it is just the way it should be do?ne unless you have a death wish.  You see some scary stuff even on lakes but disregard for your personal safety on Big Blue, is a tragedy waiting to happen.

Lots of great advice there. Thanks!!

Very good lessons listed here for many to learn from.  Especially if one is to be surf launching, take every point into consideration he has listed here.  Thank you for sharing!

#2,4, and 9. Spot on advice you don't hear folks giving all that much. Great write up! Thank you! Never thought of the fin idea... That's a great one!

Great words of advice.  I see people post how they rig their kayaks and often cluttering their cockpit with a lot of gear.  Once they flip their kayak they will learn the hard way on how to keep things simple.

Spot on, well done!

Those should be the answers to a kayak-fishing safety quiz. Well done.

Great words of advice.  I see people post how they rig their kayaks and often cluttering their cockpit with a lot of gear.  Once they flip their kayak they will learn the hard way on how to keep things simple.

Plus 1. Or plus 2.

Thanks for sharing the lessons you learned through experience, Piscis. Very helpful.

Thanks for the write up. Very helpful for newbies. PM me when you are ready to fish HMB again and I will guide you. I keep the starboard side of all of my kayaks free of rigging for re-entry and landing big fish.

Scott