Sunday NCKA rescue at Rockaway

...That's what the community of the Forum is all about, why it was formed so long ago; we share the good times and help each other through the bad times... 

This quote from Bradley encapsulates pure wholesomeness. Thank you everyone for helping him out, great to hear about the positive outcome.

A great reminder to us all to wear and bring the proper equipment. The Ocean can be unforgiving. Im glad everyone was ok and the team was nearby. We rescued a man in a Hobie awhile back. He was wearing splash pants and was in the water for sometime. No radio no phone. He was super cold. If we did not come by who knows what would have happened.

...That's what the community of the Forum is all about, why it was formed so long ago; we share the good times and help each other through the bad times... 

This quote from Bradley encapsulates pure wholesomeness. Thank you everyone for helping him out, great to hear about the positive outcome.

I like this one so much, I put it on my Profile... Giving full credit to Scurvy of course!

'we are a community that is committed to each other, the health of our waters, and the sport we all love"

...That's what the community of the Forum is all about, why it was formed so long ago; we share the good times and help each other through the bad times... 

This quote from Bradley encapsulates pure wholesomeness. Thank you everyone for helping him out, great to hear about the positive outcome.

'we are a community that is committed to each other, the health of our waters, and the sport we all love"

I like this one so much, I put it on my Profile... Giving full credit to Scurvy of course!


Please, that’s a bit much for me (team effort), after all I’m passing along what has been shared with me by just about everyone I’ve met in the forum — this is the point, we are inspired to share and understand the true value of community.

And Shake, please don’t beat yourself up. You’ve thanked us, you’ve helped others before and it’s all but certain that you’ll do so again.  We should all remember that what happened to you is in the cards for all of us sooner later — our equipment eventually wears out and fails, and that’s why your comment AND practice of using those 3 essential pieces of PPE is at the core of the forum’s founding principles.

At risk of stating the obvious, it’s probably important for us to remind ourselves that when we go out on the water, we are moving into a self-rescue only environment. Don’t venture out alone, use the essential gear, we can’t rely on the Cavalry to save us, and community, civility, and trust go a long way to getting help.

$hit happens... but like I said it was the best day stuff like that to happen (calm sea, Malibu brothers, KPD & Scurvy)!!!
Glad we could help!
That was the most I've seen with the elusive Malibu brothers & KPD out there (I was little starstruck...)!
I was just a cheerleader... Those guys are the true Seamen!!!

Naoaki

Its gonna take more than that to take out Shake.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Nice job, everybody.  Thanks for posting, Bradley.   

<snipped> It was an old Outback, 2008. The crack was about almost 2 inches. It's now retired.

So glad there were folks nearby to assist! I know it's an old boat, but - Is there any warranty assistance or discount on a new model from Hobie for such occurrences? Just wondering.

Good it wasn’t rough, would’ve been a whole other ball of wax

Good lesson about the plastic yaks is they aren’t as bulletproof as you would expect

The guy whose yak sank at Muir a few years back had the same issue and he’d had it “repaired” at a reputable shop, it’s now on the bottom of the ocean somewhere off the Marin coast

Good it wasn’t rough, would’ve been a whole other ball of wax

Good lesson about the plastic yaks is they aren’t as bulletproof as you would expect

The guy whose yak sank at Muir a few years back had the same issue and he’d had it “repaired” at a reputable shop, it’s now on the bottom of the ocean somewhere off the Marin coast

Good point here. The only legitimate way to repair these polyethylene boats is by welding them; glues or epoxies simply cannot or will not stick — it’s a material compatibility issue.

The saving grace was that thank goodness Shake had the foresight to put a couple of air bladders inside his hull, and I’m not talking about pool noodles. His bags displaced many several cubic feet of water, Umichi and I pumped simultaneously for a good 10 minutes but could only generate about 3” of freeboard, so we started in. By the time we were 100 yards offshore, the hole had allowed all the water back inside and despite flat seas, the yak was wallowing badly. This is where KPD’s quick reaction + muscle kept the boat from rolling and dumping all of Shake’s loose gear just a measly few feet from safety.

Now imagine being further offshore in a much larger sea view, with 2 or 3 foot swells, and the value of having a boat stay afloat is a very comforting thought for anyone who wants to be seen by their rescuers. Yes, I have bladders in my boat, fore and aft. Frankly, whitewater kayakers view bladders as “essential “ safety gear, so do I and IMO bladders are $50 + $50 that should just be factored into that initial purchase cost, kinda like sales tax.

If we had been even a 1/4 or 1/2 mile further offshore, I suspect we would have had to grab whatever gear we could and then let the boat sink with the rest, because it was amazingly unmanageable from the seats of our kayaks — we had very little mechanical advantage over that extraordinarily heavy and moving boat. If the seas had been any rougher, we probably would have just been recovering a swimming Shake.

Invest in a set of bladders.

I want to give Kudos to those first responders to the scene.  All this time i thought it was "jake", but i was shocked to hear it was shake on the final report. We all took off to the location once we heard the distress call. However, when KDP, Malibu Two brothers and Scurvy were taking care of business we stayed prepared in the distance. Too many people on the scene can complicate an already stressful situation.

There were also a handful of Kayakers near the vicinity of the accident that didn't lift a finger to assist in the emergency. They kept on fishing even as the distress signal came out.  The first responders on site were naturally NCKA members as i wouldn't expect any less.

This situation made it pretty clear to me. There are NCKA members and then there is everyone else. Not everyone who fishes from a Kayak is NCKA or adhere to our standards and safety guidelines. This has become painfully obvious to me over the last few weeks. I don't know what more we can do as a club. It is what it is unfortunately.

Glad everyone made it back safely. Thanks to again to KDP, Malibu Two brothers and Scurvy for being Heros. I'm glad you are ok shake. I hope you aren't too embarrassed from this situation as it could happen to any one of us. --TLA
 

There were also a handful of Kayakers near the vicinity of the accident that didn't lift a finger to assist in the emergency. They kept on fishing even as the distress signal came out. 

 

While disturbing, I guess this is good to know.  I have always taken comfort in seeing other kayakers out there, assuming they at least knew about NCKA and shared some safety accountability OTW.  Its good to go out with people you trust.  Im so happy this ended well with everyone A-OK.  I am 100% positive if I had been out there, I would have dropped EVERYTHING, because if the roles were reversed, I would be grateful for the same response.  Who just sits there and does nothing??   

When we heard the call we immediately made a sharp right towards Rockaway. When it became clear that he was actually sinking - and fast - we pulled up our lines and got the half-paddle out which can add 2+ miles per hour for short sprints.

There were indeed some kayakers casually trolling along as we raced towards Rockaway. Maybe they didn't have radios? Or weren't on 69? And who were the boneheads who kept clogging the radio with fish chatter as everyone else was trying to locate Shake?

Thankfully others had already arrived when we pulled up. Ryan hopped onto our tramp easily and we took some of his gear. With Ryan safely onboard, the pedal in was a leisurely one, and we all talked fishing. We even saw something jump which looked like a shark, and it didn't have a long tail!

The landing at Rockaway was uneventful thanks to the flat conditions that day. Rougher seas would have made for a different situation for sure.
Ryan, we're glad you're okay. Thanks to everyone who helped out, both at the scene, and by radio!
-Andrew

Grace to all the heroes and Thank You for your willingness to help even dropped everything just to rescue a fellow kayaker. There are so many fish on the ocean and a life is worth of saving. God bless you all