Flipped by a whale Tues

[lterrero]

Originally Posted by Hypoxic1

I had one of those onboard my kayak. I think I actually had two and had one inside the boat that day. Aparantly the trigger for the vest reacts to moisture, not barometric pressure of sinking.
The one in the boat got wet and BOOM it went off inside the boat. Scared the shit outta me. waaay scarier than this whale event. sounded like a bomb inside the hull.

That is why I dont have the auto inflate mechanism on my harness anymore. Plus if you have to replace one, CAUSE IT GOT WET its like 20 bucks for the trigger.

Jims probably right and a full on vest it the safest way to go. Maybe I should design a comfortable one. I havent found one I like.

lets be careful out there!!

The automatic one is good to save your Kayak from hitting the bottom of the ocean.

[Electronics Squid]

Originally Posted by Jim Sammons LJKF

Yes they do have water activated inflating PFD's the problem here is getting splashed particularly when going out through surf, they can and will inflate.

We had these on the patrol boats I was on in Kuwait...and they would go off from spray coming over the bow...had to keep them in the cabin on nasty days...

Also had an outdrive rip off and the boat went down...we got it to the pier, tied it off and started getting gear off. When the the boat went down and I had to jump off...I started swimming to the pier and the vest inflated. I have never been so scared in my life...tons of noise, made me think it was that vacuum you hear about when a ship goes down...The guys on the pier got a kick out of that...

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Jim Sammons LJKF

Inflatable PFDs won't save you if you can't inflate it. You are much safer in a normal PFD.

I agree with Jim. The thing people forget is if they end up in the water and they do not have a PFD on they then end up have to save themselves, rather then save their gear.

I'm not talking about rods here I'm talking about the things you need to get back in. I had a friend who lost his paddle and radio when he rolled with his PFD sitting on the bow. By the time he got to it and got it on most of his gear including his paddle had drifted away.

I almost always wear a PFD saltwater kayak fishing, usually just a standard foam extrasport, because honestly you never know what could happen out there.

Freshwater I do sometimes use a inflatable but only in my sit inside which is almost impossible to roll, and I wear it mainly to save space and be compliant with lake rules.

Jim

[driftwood]

I also agree with Jim and i should wear my PFD more often. and not so much because of whales..... its the Crazy PBR's that i'm more afraid of. most common cause of casualties and fatalities while boating remains plain old ignorance. Though the Feds are quietly working toward mandatory boater education, regulations currently exist on a state-by-state basis.

Virtually every state has some sort of boating-education requirement except for Alaska, Arizona, California (yeah, can you believe that?), Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can see exactly what each state's requirements are by visiting americasboatingcourse.com/abc_website/state_boating_law.htm.

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by driftwood

Virtually every state has some sort of boating-education requirement except for Alaska, Arizona, California (yeah, can you believe that?), Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can see exactly what each state's requirements are by visiting americasboatingcourse.com/abc_website/state_boating_law.htm.

Now look at the money making they could be doing with that class? If you required each boater to take a class it would generate money for the state that they could use to really do some good.

[sandydiego]

Glad you are ok. I saw a small whale out in the reserve on Sunday at noon. Took my time coming in and a sharp eye out. I had a wicked experience 3 weeks ago canoeing on the Colorado River. We went with the Boy Scouts on a river/camp trip and started at the base of the Hoover dam. To make a really long story short, the pfd's provided by the canoe company were old, useless and saturated upon water entry. When our leaky canoe sank, the pfd failed and I sank. I swam the canoe and my buddy to shore and we lived to tell about it.

It made me realize that all pfd's have a limited life and check your's before you use it. I bought a new high floater pfd from Sierra Trading Post when I got back home.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/3...and-Women.html

Steve

[old_rookie]

Originally Posted by driftwood

I also agree with Jim and i should wear my PFD more often. and not so much because of whales..... its the Crazy PBR's that i'm more afraid of. most common cause of casualties and fatalities while boating remains plain old ignorance. Though the Feds are quietly working toward mandatory boater education, regulations currently exist on a state-by-state basis.

Virtually every state has some sort of boating-education requirement except for Alaska, Arizona, California (yeah, can you believe that?), Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can see exactly what each state's requirements are by visiting americasboatingcourse.com/abc_website/state_boating_law.htm.

That is really eye-opening. I think I'll go out and buy a 45' Bayliner and cruise around the bay and open waters. What's the big deal, just get in it and start it up. There are no lanes in the water so why do I need a class? What is that white thing in the water with the 5mph on it? Funny, last time out I made it bounce up and down like crazy.

[Jim Sammons LJKF]

Originally Posted by driftwood

I also agree with Jim and i should wear my PFD more often. and not so much because of whales..... its the Crazy PBR's that i'm more afraid of. most common cause of casualties and fatalities while boating remains plain old ignorance.

And it will only get worse when the MLPA comes into affect, because we are all going to be crammed into a much smaller area. Tensions will be high and there will be issues I believe.

[driftwood]

Thats a good point Jim, especially up north.

Your right OLD ROOKIE!
Believe it or not, the U.S. Coast Guard does not require a boat operator to learn anything at all about boating prior to getting behind the wheel and advancing the throttle. In fact, you can drive any size vessel that you can afford to purchase (or be invited aboard) and go to town! Imagine if the same rules applied to civilian aircraft.

No wonder everyone is pissed off at each other on BLOODY DECKS.

[T Bone]

Glad you are OK Chris.

[Aaron&Julie]

First, Wade's having a seal trying to board his yak. Now, you get flipped by a whale. Let's hope there's no "what's next?"

Glad you're okay, sorry to hear about the rods.

[Ohana]

Originally Posted by driftwood

Thats a good point Jim, especially up north.

Your right OLD ROOKIE!
Believe it or not, the U.S. Coast Guard does not require a boat operator to learn anything at all about boating prior to getting behind the wheel and advancing the throttle. In fact, you can drive any size vessel that you can afford to purchase (or be invited aboard) and go to town! Imagine if the same rules applied to civilian aircraft.

No wonder everyone is pissed off at each other on BLOODY DECKS.

Having owned a couple of boats, the only group that seems to care about a persons boating experience is the insurance companies. When I went from a 22 foot pb to a 35 foot pb, they told me that the fact I had prior boat ownership and driving experience lowered my insurance rates.

Kevin

[jimbo]

glad you're ok! getting the gear paid for is really awesome too.
i almost collided w/ a whale 2 yrs ago while cruising on my skiff on the INSIDE of the kelp near Windansea at grey light. couldn't believe it - i was in only about 35 ft of water. saw it at last minute and able to avert by it by about 5-10 feet. looked like a juvenile, but really rattled me nonetheless. figured it must of got a little confused at the point heading south.
later in same season, i collided w/ an adult grey whale on outside ridge of Coronado canyon. was cruising at 22 knts in over 2,000 ft water. no warning at all - no spouts on horizon before-hand, just a big crunch, starboard side of boat came out water, and the ob kicked. we watched the whale for about 30 sec on the surface and then it took off. i think we just glanced it. luckily, we were all seated and there were no injuries. amazingly there was NO damage to boat - not even a scratch.
if you're out there enough hours, you will probably encounter something at some point. Jim S is giving good advice - always wear a pfd and don't mess around w/ an inflatable.
one more point about crowding and boat traffic. i really encourage everyone to use some sort of a navigation light when kayak fishing in dark. it's easy for boats to lose you in the swell. man - it's going to be a mess in that little area when MLPA is enforced.

[THE DARKHORSE]

Originally Posted by Hypoxic1

cruising around with an HDS 5 looking at bottom contour is like watching a movie, the detail is spectacular.

Chris

Speaking of, did you try that cool scroll back function on the HDS, Chris? It's a pretty slick feature that allows you to scroll back quite a distance through your travels, viewing what was on the meter at the time.

I know what all the other fish look like on the meter, but I'm not sure I want to know what that mark looks like. I'm guessing something along the lines of a false depth 25' down, blacked out, Sardine-school looking thingamajiggy---shooting straight up!?!
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Seriously though, the good news is you kept your' whits about you when the sh!t hit the fan. Good on ya' not to panic! I'm guessing that living on a boat for years helped in that arena.

Honestly, I'd be more freaked out if I didn't get a 100% positive, Whale I.D.---I have my own theory, but saying Whale sounds better than Shark!

[sundog]

Good story.

[Hypoxic1]

Checked the ff after a few weeks . only getting a partial screen so its off to West marine for a replacement. Thanks Josh for the advice about getting the ff insurance.