Video: Rough Launch @ LJ- 12/13/2020

[Salty]

Went down to LJ on on Sunday and as anyone there that morning can attest, the conditions were far from ideal. King tide pretty much maxed out at almost 7' with a significant short-period swell breaking right at the launch. Never a good sign when there are people surfing waves 200' from the Beach Club buildings. Almost no beach to speak of as the roundabout was almost completely submerged and whitewater was rolling up the middle of the street.

Decided to go for it anyway and try our luck. Secured everything as good as possible and timed it as best I could. Took a few over the bow but kept it straight. Just when I though I was past the impact zone, a cleanup set showed up and I barely made it over the top. In the end, just got really wet and at some point I lost my coffee mug(full of fresh/hot coffee... very tragic). BUT- No yardsale, that's a win in my book.

Fishing pretty bad with no real marks all day. Searched mostly in deeper water around 120-170'. Tide bottomed out quick and the landing was super mellow and easy. Total opposite from that morning.

Made a video of the launch just for fun. Wish I could've added scenes of me fighting and landing a nice fish, but it was not meant to be. But if you're bored and want to watch an idiot who left his warm bed at 4:30am to get soaked with cold saltwater waves on an Outback, enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88PL...qxySRVJ4AaABAg

[GregAndrew]

Nice, that was entertaining.

[FullFlavorPike]

thats one of the reasons i'm shopping for a surf ski

[PapaDave]

Not sketchy, looked like you handled it very well.

[ProfessorLongArms]

Nice to see someone else lashing their rods to the deck.
Nothing to make a bad thing 10x worse like breaking/losing a rod

[Salty]

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

Nice, that was entertaining.

lol thanks, it was definitely one of the most fun launches I've done to date!

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

thats one of the reasons i'm shopping for a surf ski

lmao nice. Can I get a tow??

Originally Posted by PapaDave

Not sketchy, looked like you handled it very well.

True, it definitely felt sketchier at the time. But thanks! To be fair, I've only been in the kayak game for less than a year, so it's the sketchiest launch I've done so far. I'm sure there guys here with some stories of REAL sketchiness from over the years. It's funny how I can duckdive a surfboard in double-overhead surf and be fine, but sketched out in 3-4' on a kayak!

[blitzburgh]

Nice work . No sets, just constant rollers

[lbsurf2ca]

So glad that was the launch and not the landing that day!

[Salty]

Originally Posted by lbsurf2ca

So glad that was the launch and not the landing that day!

I thought the same thing! If the morning/afternoon conditions were switched, it would've been an entirely different ballgame...

[StrikerMC]

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

thats one of the reasons i'm shopping for a surf ski

Two Stealths left up for grabs in SoCal right now!

[Southwest Kayak Fishing]

You did very well!

[skrilla]

Originally Posted by Salty

It's funny how I can duckdive a surfboard in double-overhead surf and be fine, but sketched out in 3-4' on a kayak!

Waist high = overhead for kayakers haha. Cool vid.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by skrilla

Waist high = overhead for kayakers haha. Cool vid.

True! Also, when surfing I don't typically have several thousand dollars worth of gear and electronics tied down to my surfboard either... But thanks, glad you got a kick out of the vid

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Southwest Kayak Fishing

You did very well!

Thanks! It was fun. Different than what I'm used to down there.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Glad you made it out without event. Good to see all the rods lashed horizontally just in case. Do you ever pre-rig the mirage drive ready to use, hooked flush to the hull with the bungie? The method employs scissor kicking in shallow until deep enough for full peddle strokes. My paddle is broken down and stored for emergency use in case the mirage fails. Do any West Coaster's use that method, if not what is the reason?

[TJones]

Great video too. Camera placement is kinda hindered or blocked though. What do you do with your reels? Do the reels get soaked if mounted on the rods? the outback looked like it performed well. It is better in the surF compared to the old Outback? Those sneaker waves at the end almost cleaned up when you let your guard down. .
Thanks for posting up.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Glad you made it out without event. Good to see all the rods lashed horizontally just in case. Do you ever pre-rig the mirage drive ready to use, hooked flush to the hull with the bungie? The method employs scissor kicking in shallow until deep enough for full peddle strokes. My paddle is broken down and stored for emergency use in case the mirage fails. Do any West Coaster's use that method, if not what is the reason?

Yeah, I always secure the rods horizontally, even if the surf is small. Not worth the risk and it only takes a minute to put them up once I'm past the breakers.

And I've never personally used that method for 2 reasons. 1- I want to keep as much sand and sandy water out of the drive as possible. and 2- when I eventually do screw up a launch at some point(because it's bound to happen some day) I'd prefer not to have the drive exposed if the kayak is rolling away in shallow water.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by TJones

Great video too. Camera placement is kinda hindered or blocked though. What do you do with your reels? Do the reels get soaked if mounted on the rods? the outback looked like it performed well. It is better in the surF compared to the old Outback? Those sneaker waves at the end almost cleaned up when you let your guard down. .
Thanks for posting up.

Yeah, I really need to get a taller gopro mount. I kind of put it there because it's the only spot I can really secure it at them moment. It was more of a "Hey, I should totally film this in case I get wrecked" kind of thing than a planned video. And you can definitely see the "Oh shit!" moment when I dig down quick to get past that set! Thought I was safe there for a second!

Most of the reels I have are water "resistant" so I'm okay with them getting splashed a bit and rinsing them off with a bottle of water after the launch and again back on land. I've just kind of resigned myself to the fact that taking them out on the kayak is going to be harsh in general and I'll have to service them way more frequently than when they were just used on the boat. I haven't flipped the yak yet, but I'm assuming being submerged in sandy saltwater would result in me having to service them all as punishment.

And this is my first Outback, so I wouldn't be able to give you a comparison. My last kayak was a Passport 12 and that would have definitely been sketchier getting out. The rounded bow and flatter hull would have been pushed sideways more easily by the whitewater I'm guessing, whereas the Outback just punched right through and out the back. (Maybe THAT'S why it's called the "Outback?")

[Gflann]

Here’s a reference for losing a rod and reel overboard coming back in. The only one I forgot to tie down...had to swim back out and get it. Opened it up and it looked like a sugar cookie.

Food for thought. When you come back in on a bigger surf day if you dont get a ride all the way in and get out in knee-waist deep water I’d recommend hauling the kayak in as fast as possible because a whitewash wave can easily go over the back of your kayak and douse your reels. Had that happen once and took apart my Jigmasters and SL30SHs and it was evident a decent amount of saltwater got in.

Now no matter how tired I am, I dont celebrate surviving the launch until the kayak’s bow is on the beach.

[deptrai]

Thats what we call a good day in Oregon. I sure do miss the SoCal ankle slappers.