A Learning Experience on Big Blue

Wow, really happy you came out of hat ok.  Thanks for sharing.
Jim

  I just kept telling myself its a really big ocean, and they know we are out there because they've been letting us know over the radio how hard it is to see us.

Have you ever considered making a simple, light, radar reflector for the kayak to use on thick fog days?. 8x8 inches cube of 1/8 ply covered with aluminum foil and set 4 foot high should do it. Makes the yak look like a large boat on the receiver screen. All the commercials and probably 90% of sporties have radar.

Wow... Thanks for sharing your experience.

I never head into the salt without at least 3 forms of GPS (FF, handheld Garmin with basemap, and cell phone with Navionics ap), and a simple compass.

I had a similar (although less extreme) experience early in my kayak fishing days, and it set me straight in a hurry.

It is easy to get disoriented in fog without instruments like compass and GPS but even without electronics in thick fog there are some visual surf/beach clues to help guide if one has had multiple exits and entries of coves like TC.  Fishing alone may not be the best idea but most of us  will do it from time to time in places we really know well. The key is to build up a mental memory bank of rock projections in and out of the surf edge. Just a couple clues can tell one where the cove entry is in relation to the kayak on the sea.

I thought I knew the rock formations around Timber Cove but I didn't recognize them.  I think it would be useful to take cell phone photos of the coastline from the water for each route for future reference.

Keep in mind things can look different between high and low tide to make it even harder.

Have you ever considered making a simple, light, radar reflector for the kayak to use on thick fog days?. 8x8 inches cube of 1/8 ply covered with aluminum foil and set 4 foot high should do it. 

I've heard this suggestion in the past, but has it ever been tested? What about the huge salmon net sticking up in back? (presumably constructed from aluminum tubing) I do not know much about modern radar tech. But only 4/9 boat owners I know have functioning radar onboard.

Modern radars (broadband technology) will pick up almost anything ... Such as a kayak.  Older ones, not really.  Very few boaters who do have radar actually know how to use/tune/read it.

Wow that was intense reading. Thank God all went well for you in the end. Thanks for sharing your experience with us all.

Jedmo

Modern radars (broadband technology) will pick up almost anything ... Such as a kayak.  Older ones, not really.  Very few boaters who do have radar actually know how to use/tune/read it.

Yeah, I guess radar technology has changed since I last stared at dots on a screen. However, picking up almost anything to really "seeing" something significant might make a radar reflector worth it on the thick fog days for offshore fishing. An aluminum net handle would help in detection but the larger mass more so. As to how many boaters know how to use and interpret it...I don't know. For sure the commercial guys do.

Thank you for sharing. I'm a newbie and really appreciated your candor and lessons.

Modern radars (broadband technology) will pick up almost anything ... Such as a kayak.  Older ones, not really.  Very few boaters who do have radar actually know how to use/tune/read it.

Yeah, I guess radar technology has changed since I last stared at dots on a screen. However, picking up almost anything to really "seeing" something significant might make a radar reflector worth it on the thick fog days for offshore fishing. An aluminum net handle would help in detection but the larger mass more so. As to how many boaters know how to use and interpret it...I don't know. For sure the commercial guys do.

Maybe an aluminum foil hat.  Tranglelaguna can loan you his 

Radar reflectors make a huge difference for visibility (ocean sailboat racers all carry them) and are super cheap ($20 at Amazon). http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MVP9NFU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1446391677&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=radar+reflector&dpPl=1&dpID=41v-GFibVRL&ref=plSrch


 I owned several fishing boats and would say at MOST 30% of private boats had radar, probably closer to 20%.  Of those that own radar, they get used so infrequently most operators don't even know what they are looking at. 

Very Scary! Glad you made it
Thanks for the report

Wow man always carry flares wouldve greatly helped. Waterproof headlamp is a must too... Good learning experience. I carry a small one burner stove too for food and heat.

Wow ! Just seen this post. We need to buy each other a drink. Glad you made it out ok.
When I was a lot younger and even more foolish. ( early twenties ) I use to boat out of Moss landing and head to Monterey with only a compass and navigate my way back even through the fog sometimes.  (Don't recommend ) I would purposely set my heading south of moss landing and work my way up the coast to Moss landing harbor. Until one day I missed my mark north of the harbor.  In short, that was a very long day. I immediately purchased a hand help that shows my location. It will now be my back up . I have now purchased a fish finder / gps combo. Will continue to keep hand held as back up.

It was a very humbling and embarrassing to share my story but glad I did.

Thanks for sharing. It helps us all.

Thanks for sharing. Being a new kayaker. It gives me a few things to think about.