Lower Marin Coast - blown out, un-yakfishable, borderline un-yakkable

Decided to try my luck with the weather and head to Muir.  No wind at the top of the hill, bit of a marine layer, looked promising for awhile.  Got there 6.45am.  Steady 15-20 kt at the beach, but there were not many whitecaps.  Figured I got that far, so why not try.  Wind rocked yak back and forth on the beach while rigging up.  Plugged the drain nicely with a rolled/folded platic bag, worked like a charm.  Thought twice, and again.  And again.  Went anyway, on the water at 8am. 

Fought wind waves, which worsened after about a mile out.  Fought to make 2 mph, then 1 mph.   Swell spaced wide but seemed to start to increase around 9am, building combined seas varying 6-9 ft total, but they were stacked tight.  Imagined this was like riding a mechanical bull.  Metered some decent bait and schools of something on the way out.  Lots of birds, though not working too hard, mostly relaxing.  Wind blew harder and continuous, had to focus on the paddle, could not turn much away from W heading straight into the wind, as quartering the seas seemed risking capsizing due to periodical large seas and rolling whitecaps.  Lots of water over the bow, and in my face.

Finally about 2 mi. offshore W of Slide Ranch, decided to drop gear.  Had my bait/tackle in my tankwell cooler.  Got it out alright, but couldn't put it back in because the lid kept being blown closed.  Unable to sidesaddle, gave a good reach back, turned halfway to see what I was doing, got caught by a big breaking wind wave, capsized.  Lost the bait and tackle tray with apex, FBR and some leaders and weights, but that's all.  Rod stayed in the holder, untied, and net stayed folded under my tankwell tiedowns.  There was a 21 ft powerboat behind me who saw me bobbing alongside the yak then do a (slow but) surprisingly really good self-rescue on the first try.  Decided I gave it my all (and no tackle left anyway) and headed in, which was harder than coming out because if I was just a little off 90 degrees with the seas, I was pushed radically by waves, surfed 2 big ones, almost capsized by one of 'em, still 1 mi offshore.  Very tricky keeping a heading actually, had to be either at 90 degrees or 0 degrees to the waves, and not get blown too far off in either direction, towards rocky shore or Australia.  Seemed like trying to whitewater kayak at times.

Total trip, 7.4 miles, pretty straight out and back (out of necessity).

Launch and landing were cake, surprisingly little water inside the yak upon return.  Got my new OK drain plug on the way back @ Outback Larkspur.  Woot!

Definitely was a lot of fun, a lot of learning how to handle high winds and big combined seas, and a bit of a rush, my first time back on the big water since November.

Water color wasn't great but lots of stuff marked on FF.  I am sure i woulda slayed 'em if I dropped gear!  However, likelihood of actually boating a legal salmon in all that slop was kinda low.

Good times, though!  Some days I wish I had a Marauder, some days I am glad i have a SPTW.  This was one of the latter.

Ben, good call not showing up.  I just really wanted to go out, regardless of bringing home fish or not.

Way to give it your all, Craig.  Reaching around behind you while getting blindsided is a classic way to get dumped.  Glad you didn't lose too much.

So, given the same circumstances, would you do it again?

-- Dave

Glad you made it back. Ill give it a go when its a little less crazy out there.

Sounds like you were pushing the limits there. Be careful, that's how folks become statistics... Like the say, "the ocean has no emotion..."

Dave, fortunately I don't have to!  I got my fix...  But to answer your question, uhmmmmmm, no.  Knowing what I found out when I got a mile out, I woulda stayed home, made a mango smoothie and kicked it at the coffeehouse in the sun.

Ben, cool, yeah for sure let's do it next time - hopefully the winds will lay down next weekend.  Hope ya had a good day!

Jonesz, yeah it was worse than I expected.  The buoys reported when I left:
5:50 am    13.6 winds, 15.5 gust, wave avg 3.0 ft @ 9 seconds

They said all day yesterday and even at 2am last night, 10-20 and waves 3-6...
So I figured it would be alright to give it a shot, but when I was out there:

10:50 am   21.4 winds, 25.3 gust, wave avg 5.9 ft @ 6 seconds
Significantly uglier than 6am, and worse than forecasted...

Bodega at the same time:
10:50 am    23.3 winds, 31.1 gust, wave avg 5.9 ft @ 6 seconds

For tonight they had said 15-25 winds...  When I got home, I saw they now forecast gale force gusts...

The weather turned the wrong way on me, for sure.

Sounds like a wild time out there.  Maybe buddy up with someone next time. The Ocean doesn't give to many second chances.  Glad your okay.

John

Thanks John!  Yeah, I don't like to go out in weather alone, just didn't know it would get as bad as it did.  Little reminders are good and next time I have to think 3 or 4 times about going out or going home at the launch, I'll just go home.

I did enjoy the challenge, although when I said I had fun and good times, I mean in a "watching-a-3D-horror-flick-alone-in-the-middle-of-nowhere" kinda fun.  Definitely nothing most of us (including me) should try to paddle in.  When you can surf breakers 1 mile offshore with no reef in sight, it's a bad sign.  My GPS shows a max speed of 9.8mph.  Usually a little high due to satellite accuracy error, but still.

Come to think of it, I got tossed twice just the last time i was out, trying to pull 40 lbs of loaded crab pot on deck, in the same area as today.  And once more off Dux last June, but because I nodded off.   I do need a breather from pushing my luck!

Good try and good report Craig. Though I'm usually a loner out there fishing and diving when it gets hairy like that I'd much rather be partnered up. When I went in the bigger water last week with Dave, out three miles, I wouldn't have done it alone. Trying to swim in in that kind of water would be dicey.

Craig - what a push for your limit when you were alone! I had one situation similar, but I would not commit if i was by myself. Be safe.

Sounds like a wild time out there.  Maybe buddy up with someone next time. The Ocean doesn't give to many second chances.  Glad your okay.
John

This may sound CRAZY, but in conditions I would rather be alone unless I KNEW my partner could completely handle himself/herself.
With two people out there you double your chances of something going wrong, especially in those conditions. EVERY time something has gone awry on the water it has always been the other guy.
Conditions like that teach you a LOT about the water and yourself. You learn how fast things can change and that it is much easier to call it quits early and come back another day.
I am very pleased to hear you made it back safe and the you didn't panic when you got tossed.
How difficult was it to right your yak with the rod in the holder??
Something that is handy in those conditions is a Velcro wrap that goes around your rod and lure/hooks. When you get tossed around like that it is easy for your terminal tackle to pop loose and start swinging wildly. Last thing you want is to capsize and then hook yourself to boot.

Sounds like you were pushing the limits there. Be careful, that's how folks become statistics... Like the say, "the ocean has no emotion..."

I second that! I'm glad to read about your adventures from you on the forum rather than from a reporter in the Oakland Tribune. Fish on with respect for the ocean's power.

Janice aka "Big J"

Craig

Glad to hear you survived. The buddy system is a good idea on big water. Went for a swim last weekend 2 miles offshore and it was nice to know there were others around just in case I needed help.

scott

Thanks folks!  Rich, yeah, I hear ya, you speak from lots of experience, something I'm accumulating and trying to learn from too...  I see your and Eric's and Scott's side, if something happens there's always someone to help out, and could keep the involuntary panic down.

I also see Mike's side too.  I know I have only been doing this for a year but i have been tossed in the ocean 4 times (first time was the day after a shark was reported in the same area, out of Bolinas, that was the most unnerving time) and it's kinda getting to be rote.  I don't feel uncomfortable at all with the thought of capsizing - it's more like a PITA than anything.  (Scott Thornley taught me well I guess - that instruction is a must.)  But if I had a buddy out there with me, I'd be worrying a a lot about the other person and if they needed help, I'd probably have to be in the water myself to do that, so I did find a perhaps strange comfort in being alone.  BTW, your ro-rows stayed in the tankwell storage where I had put them seconds before, so I don't need to buy more, sorry!  hehehe.

My tankwell storage has a velcro closure, and man, even with weights in there, it stays closed and i don't lose anything from it when I capsize.  I lost what I lost cause it was outside the cooler.  When I am fishing, I leave no other hooks out.  The rod gave me no problems when I righted the yak, as I have it canted forward to keep the tip and line away from my paddle stroke.  When I flip, the hypalon grip kinda grabs the rubber coating of the rodholder ends, the ring and the U end, so it's hard to come out unless you're applying more pressure away from the gravital force.  Had I a 2 lb weight on there, it might have made a difference so some kind of leash or velcro would be a good idea when I am trolling.  I like the idea of wrapping or having a keeper for tackle that's tied on while under way.

Janice thanks!  You read the Trib?  Gosh, if that didn't make the Chronicle I'd be hella pissed off.  I did stop paddling a couple times and just sat for 10 seconds or so, to see how bad it was when i wasn't paddling.  It seemed a lot better then so I thought it was just paddling against the waves that made it so bumpy.  Maybe I just caught a good set then.  But when I felt like I should go no farther, I stopped - biggest mistake was thinking I could fish back in.   I learned how to work the following seas pretty quickly just paddling.  And yes developed some more respect for Neptune too!

cafecraig Only on the balmiest days would I go any distance straight out from Muir and definitely not on a day like you were out, which btw was fairly mild compared to what can happen around there

Tote I only know one guy I'd be confident with in tough conditions or going any real distance offshore and I haven't seen him in 25 years or more

granitedive Swimming in big water is actually pretty fun until you get to where the rocks are sticking up

 
I've noticed lately that there are alot of guys on here biting off more that they can chew.  Craig, i'm glad your alright, but, at the same time, i'm starting to wonder if your an unseasoned thrill seeker. 

And like Tote said, in my version, thats why I dont post hookups for the ocean, last thing I need is some guy following me out and gettin in trouble, I would have never launched into those rough seas.  I would have paddled back in them, if that was to happen, but never launched into them.  I speak from experience, a few times I've paddled out into fishable waters and then had things change fast for the worst. 

Somethings I believe in, if I dont spend alot of energy launching out to bad, when or if it does turn bad, I'll have energy to get back in. 

Protect yourself by making good judgement calls while still on dry ground. 

Cafecraig, be careful.    jtf..