Bolinas 9/11

I made an allusion to it on the other board but thought it would be prudent to have something on the public board as well.

Yesterday's conditions on the Marin Coast were very challenging with limited visibility. There seemed to be multiple accounts on VHF ch69 of kayakers disoriented, not aware of their location, separated from their parties and seemingly unprepared for such conditions.

There was an instance of someone trying to download google maps to assess their location. People were using moving objects (party boats) as reference waypoints and "right or left?" vs. "east or west?". Later on in the day, someone was transmitting static (apparently unaware there mic was enabled) for at least 15 minutes.

It made me very worried for a lot of the people out on the water. I wondered what other basic safety protocol these kayakers weren't practicing. I wondered if they would know how to properly hail assistance were it necessary. I wondered if they knew the "rules of the road" on a foggy ocean with power boats engaged in fishing.

Please, please, please! I beg you-If you are not prepared to go out in these conditions, please don't! You are putting people other than yourself at risk!

You are not proving anything by mustering through a potentially dangerous situation that could be easily avoided. If anything, you are proving your superior intelligence by deciding after arriving and viewing the conditions, that they are not conducive to your level of activity or skill.

I was concerned for myself at times in the fog, but made sure to launch and land with buddies, and stayed in eye/earshot and/or radio communication with them at all times. My chartplotter allowed me to explore/troll on my own, then follow my track back to my friends who were mooching. When I did become separated and disoriented, we were able to calmly exchange GPS coords and meet back up.

Please consider this the next time you encounter conditions that are not within your range or comfort level. If you are not sure whether or not you're properly prepared-you're not!

Even if conditions look good, the fog can roll in fast. Yesterday it went from a flat ocean with good vis and no breeze to super windy and not able to see 30ft ahead in 5mins. That’s a bad time to not know where you are. I always have a form of gps, and I should really get a compass

Thanks fo' da remindah' ma' oystah brahhdah!  Was quite a jammup on the radio.  I'll fish witchoo any day, good times...!

This is disturbing for sure.

I wonder if there is something we could do in partnership w/ USCG and all of the local kayak shops/dealers, fishing stores, etc. a simple pamphlet - “know before you go” kind of informative pamphlet or card that can be handed out to prospective new kayakers. 

Thankfully we haven’t had any serious accidents or deaths. The avalanche community is pretty good about this type of knowledge sharing, but that sport is associated w some severe, often fatal, consequences

Something to think about in the off season maybe...

But youtube people make it look so easy and fun!

Great post. And definitely have a compass (or 2), as electronics can fail.

It’s a good reminder to assess the conditions as well as your own abilities before going out into the ocean. I would hope that people may see this and think to read through some safety type posts. But out of all the people being drawn to the sport I would guess that unlikely for most. Perhaps being an example for others and lending firsthand information to people we see making dangerous choices because they don’t know better would work. I try to do so as much as I can when I meet fellow kayak fishers. 

Super foggy this AM at Doran. I have a phone app showing location but think I will get a fail safe compass in case the phone dies. I stayed mostly within site of the jetty or earshot of the breakers to keep my bearings, but was somewhat surprised at one point when checking the GPS. Ocean was calm, I could see it getting much more difficult with chop and swells pushing the boat around.

I wonder if there is something we could do in partnership w/ USCG and all of the local kayak shops/dealers, fishing stores, etc. a simple pamphlet - “know before you go” kind of informative pamphlet or card that can be handed out to prospective new kayakers. 

This is what the USCG Auxiliary does.  They hold Boating Safety courses and do public outreach for safe boating, including dockside safety inspections.  Unfortunately, it's not usually due to a lack of available information, but moreso the "it won't happen to me" mentality.  Granted, I might be jaded -- I did 10 yrs of search and rescue with the USCG as a boat operator.

Visibility was extremely difficult on the 11th. I stayed in SF Bay -- launched out of Berkeley and even with landmarks nearby, it was disorienting. Due to the conditions, I hugged the old pier as I knew other vessels would avoid it. One of my main concerns in conditions like that is not being seen by power boats. Keep in mind that not all of them are experienced pilots or even conscious of hitting smaller craft. Add that to getting lost yourself and it's a disaster waiting to happen.

+1 on this:

It’s a good reminder to assess the conditions as well as your own abilities before going out into the ocean. I would hope that people may see this and think to read through some safety type posts. But out of all the people being drawn to the sport I would guess that unlikely for most. Perhaps being an example for others and lending firsthand information to people we see making dangerous choices because they don’t know better would work. I try to do so as much as I can when I meet fellow kayak fishers. 

Oysterer - Thanks for the report and reminder on safety.  My hope is we kayak fishers remember to be mariners first, kayakers second, and fishermen third. 

Mariners understand and safely engage the boating world.  Basic skills include: 1) accessing forecasts of wind, waves and other conditions to assess prior to launch and adapt mid-trip. 2) navigating using marine charts, visual, compass, and/or electronic inputs to plan safe routes, know their location and stay on track.  3) Understanding and anticipating other vessels and their limitations.  4) Using VHF and other communication in routine and emergency situations.

In trip planning I try to have the “what ifs” covered.  More wind, bigger waves, less visibility, or a capsize all need to be OK if the trip is a “go”.
In other words, I prefer not to launch at the edge of my comfort zone, but have some capacity in case things get worse than expected.

In addition to the USCG auxiliary class suggested by others, I recommend Chapman’s Piloting and Small Boat Semanship.  This book is very rich and has been used by generations of boaters to get a handle on the basics of becoming a mariner.

I am currently using INavX to access charts on my phone, and a magnetic compass on deck.  If visibility is forecast or observed low I try to run simple straight line compass courses in case electronics fail.  For example  - the DR1 buoy is roughly south of Bolinas.  I try to go straight there on foggy days and get a visual location fix on arrival.  Then it’s north back to the landing to get home.

Knowing what to expect in shipping lanes, channels, and harbor entrances is also important since we are the little boats.  The big boats sometimes need the deep water, do not maneuver well, don’t know the rules or can’t see us.  Expecting or pushing your “rights” may not end well.  Help the other guy see you and show your intentions early.  Changing course or speed to avoid a conflict is usually pretty easy for a kayak, and we usually need only a few feet (or inches) of water under us.  I try to run the edge of a harbor entrance or channel .  If I need to cross, I aim to do it directly and quickly. 

Hope these thoughts help some people.  Loads of information on these forums about kayaking and fishing skills.  First be a mariner!

I'm waiting to see some clickbait youtube titles "Got lost in EPIC SMOKE but caught an EPIC fish!!!"
 

I'm waiting to see some clickbait youtube titles "Got lost in EPIC SMOKE but caught an EPIC fish!!!"

Lol, there is going to be one imho, which is fine to me.
But on a serious note, unless you are a decent navigator, a compass may not do a good enough job.  Most of us are very pictorial oriented.  Fish finder with GPS and a water tight phone with GPS app.

I'm waiting to see some clickbait youtube titles "Got lost in EPIC SMOKE but caught an EPIC fish!!!"

But on a serious note, unless you are a decent navigator, a compass may not do a good enough job.

+1 to this.  A compass is only useful if you're well practiced with navigating via bearings with no visual reference and you know where you currently are.  In other words, I can point a boat on a heading, but set and drift (the effect of the wind and/or waves on my course over ground) will cause my course over ground to be much different than my heading.  The way you calculate set and drift is via fixes (knowing location over a period of time and calculating intended direction and distance traveled vs actual direction and distance traveled).  If you don't have a GPS, then you need visual aids to navigation to triangulate your location or an audible sound signal to home in on.  So, maybe you can hear a buoy and you can paddle in the direction you hear... then you know your location on a chart and  can navigate via dead reckoning to your next visible/audible aid.  You can see how this needs to be a practiced skill, though.  You can't just buy a waterproof chart and compass on Amazon and hope for the best when you're in low visibility with no audible or visual aids to navigation.

I'm sure most of us with a straight head agree with you, but if you've seen the various responses from the know it all newbies on here, FB and IG, you'll realize that this preaching only works for those that want to hear it and most of the ones hearing it, are already practicing it.  Unfortunately, the rest that think they know it all, mostly people that haven't experienced any major issues in their 1 season of kayak fishing, will eventually find out why you don't mess around in the ocean.