Just when I thought I was safe

[rossman]

Over the past 12 years of kayak fishing the ocean has given me a survival instinct. The equipment that I carry on my yak is either the result of common safety sense, or as a response to what the ocean has dealt me in the past. As an example; Early in my yak fishing career, I was rolled in the surf at Aliso Creek beach and lost $800 worth of Trinidad outfits. My response was to think that maybe rod leashes might be a good idea during launch and landings, and maybe I should check some surf reports that might tell me if an eight foot swell might be building in the late morning.

Fast forward to this past Thursday. I launched at 4:45 from Doheney. No wind and patchy fog. Set a course for to a waypoint near the red buoy off the headlands. By the time the sun came up, the fog got real serious. I was no more than 50 ft from the buoy and could barely make it out. I could hear it, but not see it. Well I'm prepared for this with a combo sonar and GPS with Navionics chip. If that fails I have a compass. I could hear the Dana fog horn so I was confident I could get back even without electronics, and since I felt the sun would burn this stuff off, I stuck it out. I was having a hard time finding bait so I was moving around quite a bit, from waypoint to waypoint. It is amazing how fog can mess with ya. If I took my eyes off the Steer Arrow for more than a few strokes, I was way off course. I was finally able to find a couple pieces of Sardine and sent them down on a dropper loop. More about that later.

Then came the experience that I was not prepared for, By around 7:00 the fog was still pretty bad but not at it's worst. I decided to have some breakfast which today was going to consist of a coke, a doughnut and a Snickers bar. As usual, I was wolfing this down between casts. I took a bite from the snickers bar and somehow, part of it went down the wrong pipe, and I started to choke. I could not draw a breath, literally to save my life. It was panic city for me. My mind raced through the options that I had. VHF! Nope, I cant talk. Whistle!, Nope can't blow it. Wave my paddle back and forth to try to get someones attention! Nope, I was sure that no one was within 100 ft of me and beyond that it was hopeless. Self induced Heimlich Maneuver! Well maybe, but I'm wearing my PFD with zippers and buckles. I came to the point of believing that "This is it. This is how it will end". I could hear friends and family saying " Well at least he died doing what he loved". Well, thankfully what was blocking my airway was probably a piece of chocolate, and probably started to melt because I was slowly able to get some air into my lungs at least cough a little bit, which made it easier to draw the next breath. If this whole episode lasted a minute, it would surprise me, but it felt like an eternity. Looks like I have to start taking my home tracheotomy kit along with me on my trips.

Anyway, as far as fishing goes, I was only able to make the two sardines and a few larger macs for bait. It was really scarce out there. I managed to get a halibut on each of the sardines. Both barely legal, and both released.

DFG was out there in their Zodiak later in the morning, checking most of the boats but ignoring me and the other two yakers that I saw.

[KatFish]

That's scary! It's always the thing you wernt even thinking about. GLAD TO HEAR YOUR OK : )

[Jimmyz123]

I never take food with me when I go out. Sometimes I'll take water, but most of the time it's me and my gear for fishing and catching. Glad everything worked out for you. That's what I love about this site, we all have the ability to learn from other people's experiences.

[Chief Gunner]

Your post got me thinking; I learned allot from going out into windy and heavy conditions on my tarpon 160I which is the reason why I went to a PA... so I could bring along esentials with me since I like to venture out further than most at times.

Sure I sacrificed speed and stealth for more capacity as I learned and as I went along with this Hobby.

The more I did the solo long paddles out into the unknown I remembered what I had been taught all my life (Especially after a few swims off the coast here in Dec & January). I leaned that it is the unexpected that can, and always will bite you in the Ass when you're least expecting it. ....

So with that rationale; I carry a GPS, a bilge pump, a 1st aid kid, a Radio, a tow line, a flare/ signal kit and depending on things and where I am at I find reassurance in knowing know I can cary even more if needed.

I know that if I plan it right even forcasted "rough" conditions won't keep me from going out when the bite is on.

Allot here would say that is all unecesary but I am a believer in preparing for the worst, I might be slower these days but I find allot of comort in knowing that it is not a race and that being mindful and prepared pays off each time I hit the sand on two feet intact & safe (even if I'm tired, cold and wet ).

One of the reasons I signed up here was to meet up and ty to get out on the water more often with someone else whenever possible. Even Navy Seals use the Buddy System for damn good reasons.

Being daring is fun but having someone else along with you that can cover your 6 when you might not be able to is just Good Common Sense.

"To Be wise and Old, One must first be Young and Careless"

Thanks for the Reminder.

[Jimmyz123]

I launched alone the last 2 times out at La Jolla however I didn't think I'd be alone because I saw other Kayakers out there. Although it is nice knowing you have a buddy that will keep an eye out for you. Even though I have fixed the leaks on my Kayak I'm still thinking of installing an automatic bilge pump in the hull. I'm a boat minded person and you can never be too safe.

[walrus]

First I'd like to say I'm really glad you got out of this O.K.

After reading this I was thinking about what I would do. That in turn started me to thinking about other close call stories that I've seen posted here and elsewhere. They always seem to be solo kayaks.

It boils down to this, if you solo (which I do) you must focus on safety and unexpected emergencies. Which would be hard for me to do when fishing.

Maybe I should consider a partner as part of my safety gear?

Just thinking.

[yaky yak]

I am glad your alright. You'ed of been one of those mystery at sea story's. The snickers would of washed out and no one would of known what happened.
I go out by my self 90% of the time. Iv'e been out 12 miles off dana before looking for tuna a few years ago. When you go out by your self even the smallest mishap can end your life. The best you can do is be prepared for most misadventures. Just know when its your time to go, Death has more ways of taking you then we have ways of preventing it.
I had my splash pants get knock down around my ankles, then wrap around my legs while in the surf. I just took my vest off, in 10 inches of water. Next thing I know i am under water and my legs are tied. Another time I was baiting some rock cod hooks, I had a big heavy jig on the end. As I am putting bait on the last hook a mako hit the jig that was just barely dangling in the water. I shudder when I think about what would of happened if one of those 6/0 hooks had went in me.
Again glad your ok. We have to be prepared, but we can't live in fear.

[steveooo]

Wow Ross. Scary stuff
Glad you are OK brother.

[GregAndrew]

Glad you are ok Ross. Doesn't sound like a buddy would have helped in your situation with the bad fog. If you had to prepare for every conceiveable scenario each time you went out, you would need a pretty big boat to carry it all plus the staff. Cell phone call to 911 and tap in the morse code for "SOS"? Then hope for a record breaking locating and response time.

[rossman]

Thank you to all of you well wishers. I don't think this episode will change my methods or procedures when it comes to kayak fishing. Other than I'll be a little more careful eating while on the water. I find comfort in the probabilities game in these situations. Nothing like this has ever happened to me and at age 65, the odds of it happening again to me in my lifetime is very slim and incalculable. Back in the early 70s I had a job that required me to fly quite bit. I was once working in Huntsville Al. and finished my duties and was going to fly back to my office in Atlanta in the evening. I was at the airport and had my boarding pass when I was paged and asked to return to the job site. The plane that I was to board flew into a hail storm, crashed and killed all 86 souls on board. I am now the most relaxed flyer because of the probabilities of it ever happening again. Reminds me of a comedian that I once heard say that whenever he flies, he tries to smuggle a bomb aboard the plane because the odds of having two people with a bomb on the same plane cannot be calculated. I always like that reasoning.

Thanks again to y'all

[lamb]

Glad to hear it all ended well.

One thing you should generally do in these situations - raise your hands! I don't know how, but that opens up your breathing passages. I learned that recently; it happened to me in the middle of the night - I woke up choking, grasping for air. My wife woke up and yelled at me to raise my hands. Once I did, whatever got stuck in the wrong tube was gone, and I started breathing normally. Tested, it works!

She learned that what you're supposed to do during the 1st job she had when we came to the US; she worked for a small child care place in Michigan. That was something they taught her as a part of a formal training for a job.

[bigbarrels]

Wow, glad you are ok. Some scary stuff right there. May have to go with a puree Snickers in the future otw