Road down to the launch has construction going on. Have to wait for pilot vehicle. Marina darn near empty. Yesterday was windy and cold. Did some trolling for not one bite no life on sounder. Fished in between the slips for nothing. Tried to head outside toward Overton and weather was not co operating for our party of 3 Kayaks. One guy got broadsided and went over. S#$% just got real, Fishing trip turned into recovery trip. He was unable to right his turtled yak and the secondary kayak went to grab him. Secured a length of rope to act as a lever to assist with the flip but the cold water was getting to him. they made for shore and he swam to the rocks. We towed his boat to him to flip it over and he was having difficulty due to swells. Finally decided to have one kayak take off with his in tow toward a "beach" area and I backed mine in trying to avoid being caught in the rocks and he was able to lay flat on the back of my kayak and we transitioned to the beach area. broke out a jetboil and made hot ramen and coco to get his core temp up. got a dry set of clothing on him. drained a half filled kayak. We were all able to make it out under our own power in the end. Do maintain situational awareness, wear your safety gear out there and be prepared for the worst. While I did not catch any fish I did catch a 170 pounder. [fishon]
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why would you guys go out of echo on a kayak knowing the weather is bad... very stupid idea in my opinion.
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The weather was not too bad to go kayaking, there were modifications done to said kayak that changed the c.o.g. which caused the tip over as everyone else got hit with the same wave and did not tip.
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Most rough days on Mead are easier to handle in a kayak than a boat.
I would go out in the roughest weather in my Malibu 2xl with no problems.
A nice SOT kayak can handle the worst of the worst.
Not polite to call people stupid... Remember that Forrest Gump quote?
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All yaks were SOT. I have fished the Pacific with waves and Swells way bigger than that day including beach launches. Weather speaking there was nothing that I thought was Extreme. It was indeed a lesson about knowing that changes made to your craft can adversely affect handling. It also shows how important it is to use safety equipment. I do wish the weather will warm up some more and bring the spring.
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I always wear a life preserver. In these water temps...About 15 knots - depending on wind direction is my outside limit for launching the Skeeter. It is 20'6" with a 6' beam.
Not that I haven't been out in worse. I have been around Overton when It was really blowing (20 to 30 knots) from the NW. Not pretty. Just if I have a choice I'll err on the side of caution.
I know kayaks can take a lot. This time of year the window for rescue is a little shorter than summer though.
So epic or mini epic? Good you guys handled it.
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True about the window of opportunity. Definitely an interesting time out there. I mean not deadliest catch interesting but interesting none the less. My friend actually just called and asked when we going back out again. Btw he did remove the modification. [cool]
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