Another HMB Rescue

Heading out at Half Moon Bay this morning I passed two kayakers just inside the jaws, one of whom hailed me and asked if I would tow him back into the harbor a little ways. He was a big guy on a small Walmart kayak, and it had taken on enough water that he couldn't stay upright while paddling. He had gone over several times and the ebb tide was pulling him out through the jaws. His buddy, who was on an equally small kayak, couldn't help him much.

After trying a few things I settled on towing his kayak "on the hip": I held the front grab handle of his kayak and he held onto the back of my kayak. This gave him enough stability that he could lift his legs out of the water, which meant I could steer and make reasonable headway. I was able to go 2-2.5 mph in this arrangement without exerting myself.

He tried paddling on his own at one point, but didn't have the stability for it, so I towed him all the way to the beach. Aside from a single PFD between them, neither he or his buddy (who owned the kayaks and had invited him out) had any safety gear I could see. I tried to gently communicate some safety tips, but I couldn't be too self righteous since I'd forgotten my own drysuit (Doh! First time in many years. So embarrassing).

Aside from all the obvious things (dress for immersion, use a kayak that is appropriate for your weight and doesn't leak, carry a VHF, carry a pump, use secondary flotation, etc.), one takeaway was that the "on the hip" tow worked much better than a tow rope would have. With a tow rope he either would have had to keep his legs in the water for balance (slowing progress to a crawl), or would have been rolling over while being towed.

... and NEVER buy a Walmart kayak.

Great work, KPD ! That dude owes you a beer.

Great Karma deed.  Thanks for sharing the incident with us KPD.

At least a beer.

Strong move.

Seems we're seeing more and more cluelessness out there.  Be ready.

Strong move.

Seems we're seeing more and more cluelessness out there.  Be ready.

Really.  Ive been noticing that as well. It's worrisome.  Downside to burgeoning popularity of my favorite pastime.  I love the side tow solution.  That's what harbor patrol and vessel assist do when they're bringing boats into the dock.  Way more control.  Holding on will only work if you are in a pedal kayak though. In a paddle boat, I suppose you could tie off the victims bowline to the middle of your paddle boat, on the side, maybe to your seat or side handle, as long as he can still grab and hold the stern of your boat.  Maybe even have them hunker down kneeling on the deck so they can be further forward (and lower the COG).  Food for though.  Well Done mate!

Bushy

Catch anything of some e out there?

Strong move.

Seems we're seeing more and more cluelessness out there.  Be ready.

Really.  Ive been noticing that as well. It's worrisome.  Downside to burgeoning popularity of my favorite pastime.  I love the side tow solution.  That's what harbor patrol and vessel assist do when they're bringing boats into the dock.  Way more control.  Holding on will only work if you are in a pedal kayak though. In a paddle boat, I suppose you could tie off the victims bowline to the middle of your paddle boat, on the side, maybe to your seat or side handle, as long as he can still grab and hold the stern of your boat.  Maybe even have them hunker down kneeling on the deck so they can be further forward (and lower the COG).  Food for though.  Well Done mate!

Bushy

Thanks for the idea
I couldn't quite picture it paddling too well

Wanna try it out next time we're OTW?

   just don't try to tie the knot...   in my bow line that is 

What were they doing out there?
Fishing, crabbing or just paddling around?

Catch anything of some e out there?

It was slow for me, but that was fine: I caught enough crab for dinner. It was good to be out on the water and see the big swell breaking on the reefs.

What were they doing out there?
Fishing, crabbing or just paddling around?

They were catching rock crab just inside the jaws. They had the good sense not to venture out further, at least.

I should mention that the guy was very appreciative and I was happy to help. I think it's pretty cool that the obligation to render assistance to a vessel in distress is almost universally respected. My butt may need rescuing someday, so I'm glad to have the chance to help others.

Seems we're seeing more and more cluelessness out there.

I have a feeling if you actually seen it in person you’d be surprised there aren’t more incidents.  Last trip out for crab we seen yaks coming out with paddlers in jeans and flannels, danielson traps stacked two high on the bow and stern; yaks aimlessly paddling in the middle of the channel between the jaws, and there was major vessel traffic; and another strange scene in which one dude with a motorized Hobie was towing another guy with an identically rigged Hobie......I think it may have run out of gas and instead of coming in under his own power he just took the tow.

Times have changed.  I think that a lot of us got into this with previous experience on the water in various capacities. Combined with the fact that most of what we were doing was new  or undocumented, we progressed slowly or with more caution. 

Now you can get on Instagram or YouTube and see tankwells full of fish and crab come easy. It’s not an adventure anymore, people get tunnel vision on meeting their catch expectations with minor consideration for the unknown variables. 

Good job on t e rescue kpd, they’re lucky you were there for the assist.

KPD thanks for watching out for all of us, we appreciate it.

Seems we're seeing more and more cluelessness out there.  Be ready.

IMO there is zero excuse for it.
With SO much info out there today it absolutely floors me when this happens.
Strong work KPD!

Good looking out