Close call

John, one of the local kayakers relayed an experience he had the other day.

John goes out paddling with his buddy frequently. Since his friend is a paraplegic, John gets everything set up and acts as an escort in case his friend has any difficulties.

This particular day, the wind was really blowing. They struggled upwind all the way up to the dam. Once they started on the return trip, John decided to capitalize on the wind by standing up and using his body a "sail".

Before he knew it, the wind had blown him off the boat and he ended up in the drink. When he turned to remount his kayak, the wind had pushed it out of reach. Second by second, it was headed downwind much faster than he could swim. There was no way he could to catch it. The lee shore was over 2 miles away!

John had to call on his buddy for assistance. The friend was able to chase down the boat and hold it until John could catch up.

John was a bit embarrassed that he was supposed to be the safety for his friend, but the friend ended up saving the day. He knew I'd be interested, because John helped me when I capsized months ago in about the same spot! In fact, that's how we met.

It's amazing how fast how fast your kayak can leave you stranded on a windy day! You could be far from shore in cold water. Though few of us would try John's stunt, it's not that hard to get tossed out of your boat in unforeseen circumstances when you least expect it!

Just some food for thought....

This happened before most of you were born, but surfers used to surf without leashes. When you exited a wave, you either grabbed your board or "kicked out"; kicked the board up and over the back of the wave so it would land behind the breaking wave and not wash in to shore.
With big waves and offshore winds, when you kicked out your board, it would launch into the wind and sail out to sea. After getting pounded by the waves, you had to swim as hard as you could to get your board before it made it to Tokyo.
Not as dramatic, but there were a couple times this year the current was so strong at La Jolla, I thought I was going backwards. Stop to reel in a fish, you were a quarter mile closer to San Diego.
I guess you have to be careful.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Yep RR,
I guess there is something to be said for leashing your yak to your bod under certain conditions. But I have never done that because we have pretty placid water most of the time. However, standiing in a yak under very windy conditions was not exactly a smart thing for anyone to do, especially when you have responsibilities to someone else.

Ron,
Hey, I can remember back to when we used to inflate pillowcases, way before Hobie invented the short styrofoam-type boards. But the main reason for the leashes as I recall, was the large number of injuries from loose boards that didn't get kicked out to sea, but came surfing into the swash zone and slammed into bathers or other boarders. I mean, an unmanned, pointed surfboard being swept at high speed into a crowded SoCal beach ahead of a wave was a fearsome thing to behold.

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Kind of thinned out the crowds, though. Seriously, without leashes, when you lost your board, you had to swim in and get it. Of course, you became a stronger swimmer and a better surfer because you didn't want to keep swimming in for your stick. Also, while the bad surfers were swimming, the good surfers were riding, a natural crowd control. Using leashes has put all surfers of all abilities in places some of them shouldn't be. Last summer, a lifeguard friend of mine rescued a guy who managed to get out in 4-6' surf, broke his leash, lost his board. Unfortunately, he did not know how to swim.
Kayakers who spend time on the ocean need to learn about the way it is and become an all around waterman, not only for your own safety, but in case you might need to help somebody else.
Not that the "human as a sail" trick is a bad thing. When we used to take a loaner boat out 40-50 miles, we were kind of financially challenged so we didn't have gas to spare. On the way in, we would get three guys on the bow with arms over shoulders to act as a "wind assist" for our dwindling fuel supply.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Well said!

As a former Boy Scout, their slogan "Be Prepared" is a good one for everyone who dares to venture off your living room couch.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Leash up your yak at ALL times (OK I'll concede a disconnect going through surf).

Necombers here need to see a thread on this subject with photos of how fast your yak can get away from you.

http://kfs.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/ ... 9051069502

Roadrunner presents a real live case that the above tests are good indicators of what can happen.

I keep leashed up even on the calmest days. You never know when the right circumstances arise where your yak suddenly becomes foot loose and fancy free. The PFD is still availabe but stashed. IMHO your yak is the best PFD you have, particularly in cold waters.

Roadrunner

That's a great live example. Can you please re-post to the drift thread test above? Thanks.

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