Destination: Cabo - The Long Way - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Fiskadoro · 08-14-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Machine

Of course we could just sit in front of our computers as an expression of our thoughts afraid to even go outside but I'm with Dave's school. He gave the trip lots of thought and now...the fun part. I wouldn,t exactly say that he quit either. More like he is improvising.

Exactly!!!

Aaron · 08-14-2010, 07:43 PM

I'll play devil's advocate...

Columbus was well prepared and succeeded. Amelia Earhart was well prepared and failed. Point is that it is not important whether or not the people that try these types of things succeed, but that when they attempt these feats, the chances of success are substantially higher than with the average Joe. And I didn't really get that vibe with this one...

I've met Dave a few times on the water. I know who he is from his posts here and on other sites but I'm sure he wouldn't be able to single me out in a lineup. Always seems like a nice guy from our passing by on the water so nothing personal. He gave something that's really difficult a go and that's truly admirable. I think that poor planning is the only thing to blame when plans change so early in a long journey like this. Heavy boat, high seas in the pacific, hot weather in the gulf are all predictable factors that could have been accounted for. But really, who cares? He went for it. My guess, he'll go for it again with a better understanding than any of us who haven't even began such a journey. But I'll stick by my "sideline coaching, still scared of mexico, no time to do anything but work and fish on the internet" opinion that a little better planning and testing followed by more planning and testing could have at least gotten him a little further down the coast.

Only people that I think could be truly irked by this are people that gave him gear for the journey and watched it turn in to a road trip through baja pretty early on. Give me a few months of some free Stone and I'll paddle to Ensanada...or maybe just the coronados...how about the nw corner? Fuck it, I'm never getting sponsored.

trob · 08-15-2010, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sapdawg711

I'll play devil's advocate...

Columbus was well prepared and succeeded. Amelia Earhart was well prepared and failed. Point is that it is not important whether or not the people that try these types of things succeed, but that when they attempt these feats, the chances of success are substantially higher than with the average Joe. And I didn't really get that vibe with this one...

I've met Dave a few times on the water. I know who he is from his posts here and on other sites but I'm sure he wouldn't be able to single me out in a lineup. Always seems like a nice guy from our passing by on the water so nothing personal. He gave something that's really difficult a go and that's truly admirable. I think that poor planning is the only thing to blame when plans change so early in a long journey like this. Heavy boat, high seas in the pacific, hot weather in the gulf are all predictable factors that could have been accounted for. But really, who cares? He went for it. My guess, he'll go for it again with a better understanding than any of us who haven't even began such a journey. But I'll stick by my "sideline coaching, still scared of mexico, no time to do anything but work and fish on the internet" opinion that a little better planning and testing followed by more planning and testing could have at least gotten him a little further down the coast.

Only people that I think could be truly irked by this are people that gave him gear for the journey and watched it turn in to a road trip through baja pretty early on. Give me a few months of some free Stone and I'll paddle to Ensanada...or maybe just the coronados...how about the nw corner? Fuck it, I'm never getting sponsored.

that's probably what most of us are thinking. could have adjusted for the weather before he left for the trip.

he's going to have some awesome pictures to show us when he gets back though.

wavster · 08-18-2010, 07:41 AM

Well...I'm back and no I didn't make it to Cabo. For anyone
following my blog or this thread, you know that things
didn't go as planned.

I've read through all the posts and to the naysayers, all I can
say is this was MY trip, not yours. How I chose to go about
it was my decision. To supporters, thanks.

That being said, there were definitely some errors
in my planning. Kayak weight was a key factor.
Couple that with unfortunate timing and
things can come unraveled quickly.

Here's the gist of what went down:

From the start, I knew that I would have no ground
support. I knew that would be a crucial factor in this trip.
I spoke to several people who have done
similar type trips and they all advised against going
without ground support. The reasons are obvious (less
gear to carry, easily resupplied, medical emergencies, etc.).
I put the word out, but I couldn't find any
friends who were able to commit to the support
required for a trip like this. I'm not one to rely on others,
so I tried to figure out what I CAN do without a support team.
I knew that certain conditions would have to prevail if
I was going to succeed.

Additionally, I made a commitment to myself about what
I would do if things went wrong or if I found that I
was on a path to destruction. Being a pilot, I've been
taught that its not one thing that went wrong, but a
culmination of many mistakes that leads to most tragic
accidents. 99% of the time, its pilot error and can
be avoided. As Matt F. said in one post, I've proved
Darwin wrong many times...I did not want this trip
to be a Darwinian experiement.

The second problem was weight. My kayak was extremely
heavy, but well within the limits of the kayak.
Unfortunately, being so heavy, it was extremely
difficult for me to move on land. Each heave-ho would
only move the kayak a few inches. I'm estimated I
had about 300lbs of gear, food, and water.

Another major problem is where to land each night. The
first night was extremely difficult and I thought
about that for many months. I thought
about paddling to the Coronados and trying to hook up
with a boat, but figured that was too risky. I decided to
paddle straight to Rosarito, which I did, but since I
launched late (around noon), I didn't get there until
3:30am.

Each evening, I contemplated where I would land. Though
I did my research with maps and charts, I wasn't moving
as fast as I had hoped. My average speed was 2.2 mph.
Typically, its 3.5mph with all my fishing gear. As I
approached my initial landing candidate, I was met
with obstacles out of my control. Incorrect tides, surf,
and other factors made it so my first choice usually
didn't work out. In most cases, I searched for 3-4 hours
for a landing spot.

After arriving in La Bufadora (paddling around Punta Banda
was a trip), I realized that I was only covering half
the miles each day that I needed to in order to complete
this trip in the time I had alloted. Add to that reports
of even larger surf on the way and I began to realize
that I could end up in an uncomfortable situation.

A kayak guide (Eddy), told me that there were surf
warnings for the next several days. He is a certified
expedition kayak guide and knows the Baja coastline
very well. He and another certified guide suggested
that I wait for several days before moving on
from La Bufadora.

I knew that waiting 5 days would make my chances of
reaching Cabo even slimmer. He then suggested the Cortez
side and I thought about that. Unfortunately, though
I knew it would be warmer, I never anticipated the
heat that I experienced there. Temps were easily
over 100 degrees on the water.

j mo · 08-18-2010, 07:48 AM

Downside of posting on a social networking site- plenty of naysayers.

You went for it

wavster · 08-18-2010, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j mo

Downside of posting on a social networking site- plenty of naysayers.

You went for it

The naysayers don't bother me, just wanted to point out
to them that I don't owe them anything.

It was an exciting trip and necessary training for
other trips I have in the works.

Surfdad · 08-18-2010, 08:17 AM

Dave snapped some pics of my PB tail I caught in LJ a couple years back, the guy is a class act. Good on ya Dave for taking this journey and glad you made it back safely.

Surfdad

shortstack · 08-18-2010, 08:19 AM

All I can say is ,you did it! You made the best attempt to complete your goal. You have done way more than most of us here on this board and that takes balls, So all of the naysayers can go

. Your life is about what you endure, accomplishment, the people that cross your path, and the impact you have on their lives. Adventure!

You only live once, It's not practice!

WahooUSMA · 08-18-2010, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shortstack

All I can say is ,you did it! You made the best attempt to complete your goal. You have done way more than most of us here on this board and that takes balls, So all of the naysayers can go

. Your life is about what you endure, accomplishment, the people that cross your path, and the impact you have on their lives. Adventure!

You only live once, It's not practice!

X10!

Very well said! Hats off to you, Dave.

08-18-2010, 07:41 AM	#4
wavster Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Encinitas Posts: 562	Destination: Home Well...I'm back and no I didn't make it to Cabo. For anyone following my blog or this thread, you know that things didn't go as planned. I've read through all the posts and to the naysayers, all I can say is this was MY trip, not yours. How I chose to go about it was my decision. To supporters, thanks. That being said, there were definitely some errors in my planning. Kayak weight was a key factor. Couple that with unfortunate timing and things can come unraveled quickly. Here's the gist of what went down: From the start, I knew that I would have no ground support. I knew that would be a crucial factor in this trip. I spoke to several people who have done similar type trips and they all advised against going without ground support. The reasons are obvious (less gear to carry, easily resupplied, medical emergencies, etc.). I put the word out, but I couldn't find any friends who were able to commit to the support required for a trip like this. I'm not one to rely on others, so I tried to figure out what I CAN do without a support team. I knew that certain conditions would have to prevail if I was going to succeed. Additionally, I made a commitment to myself about what I would do if things went wrong or if I found that I was on a path to destruction. Being a pilot, I've been taught that its not one thing that went wrong, but a culmination of many mistakes that leads to most tragic accidents. 99% of the time, its pilot error and can be avoided. As Matt F. said in one post, I've proved Darwin wrong many times...I did not want this trip to be a Darwinian experiement. The second problem was weight. My kayak was extremely heavy, but well within the limits of the kayak. Unfortunately, being so heavy, it was extremely difficult for me to move on land. Each heave-ho would only move the kayak a few inches. I'm estimated I had about 300lbs of gear, food, and water. Another major problem is where to land each night. The first night was extremely difficult and I thought about that for many months. I thought about paddling to the Coronados and trying to hook up with a boat, but figured that was too risky. I decided to paddle straight to Rosarito, which I did, but since I launched late (around noon), I didn't get there until 3:30am. Each evening, I contemplated where I would land. Though I did my research with maps and charts, I wasn't moving as fast as I had hoped. My average speed was 2.2 mph. Typically, its 3.5mph with all my fishing gear. As I approached my initial landing candidate, I was met with obstacles out of my control. Incorrect tides, surf, and other factors made it so my first choice usually didn't work out. In most cases, I searched for 3-4 hours for a landing spot. After arriving in La Bufadora (paddling around Punta Banda was a trip), I realized that I was only covering half the miles each day that I needed to in order to complete this trip in the time I had alloted. Add to that reports of even larger surf on the way and I began to realize that I could end up in an uncomfortable situation. A kayak guide (Eddy), told me that there were surf warnings for the next several days. He is a certified expedition kayak guide and knows the Baja coastline very well. He and another certified guide suggested that I wait for several days before moving on from La Bufadora. I knew that waiting 5 days would make my chances of reaching Cabo even slimmer. He then suggested the Cortez side and I thought about that. Unfortunately, though I knew it would be warmer, I never anticipated the heat that I experienced there. Temps were easily over 100 degrees on the water. __________________

08-18-2010, 08:19 AM	#8
shortstack Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: LJ Posts: 97	You did it! All I can say is ,you did it! You made the best attempt to complete your goal. You have done way more than most of us here on this board and that takes balls, So all of the naysayers can go . Your life is about what you endure, accomplishment, the people that cross your path, and the impact you have on their lives. Adventure! You only live once, It's not practice!

08-14-2010, 07:43 PM	#2
Aaron Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 175	I'll play devil's advocate... Columbus was well prepared and succeeded. Amelia Earhart was well prepared and failed. Point is that it is not important whether or not the people that try these types of things succeed, but that when they attempt these feats, the chances of success are substantially higher than with the average Joe. And I didn't really get that vibe with this one... I've met Dave a few times on the water. I know who he is from his posts here and on other sites but I'm sure he wouldn't be able to single me out in a lineup. Always seems like a nice guy from our passing by on the water so nothing personal. He gave something that's really difficult a go and that's truly admirable. I think that poor planning is the only thing to blame when plans change so early in a long journey like this. Heavy boat, high seas in the pacific, hot weather in the gulf are all predictable factors that could have been accounted for. But really, who cares? He went for it. My guess, he'll go for it again with a better understanding than any of us who haven't even began such a journey. But I'll stick by my "sideline coaching, still scared of mexico, no time to do anything but work and fish on the internet" opinion that a little better planning and testing followed by more planning and testing could have at least gotten him a little further down the coast. Only people that I think could be truly irked by this are people that gave him gear for the journey and watched it turn in to a road trip through baja pretty early on. Give me a few months of some free Stone and I'll paddle to Ensanada...or maybe just the coronados...how about the nw corner? Fuck it, I'm never getting sponsored.

08-18-2010, 07:48 AM	#5
j mo Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Encinitas Posts: 600	Downside of posting on a social networking site- plenty of naysayers. You went for it

08-18-2010, 08:17 AM	#7
Surfdad Junior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Juan Capistrano Posts: 26	Dave snapped some pics of my PB tail I caught in LJ a couple years back, the guy is a class act. Good on ya Dave for taking this journey and glad you made it back safely. Surfdad