What kind of kayak and safety gear do you have?  Any prior fishing experience?  There are quite a few reports on here about sunset bay (search a few posts) - you'll start to see some repeated names.  There is a tournament in August at sunset that is pretty fun - great way to meet people and also a large group of kayaks.  Weather can change fast down there and the wind/fog can be dangerous.

A 4/3 surfing wetsuit should be fine in reasonable ocean conditions -  where you'd have every expectation of getting back on the kayak quickly in an emergency.  I'd suggest lightweight rain pants and a rain jacket on top of the wetsuit on overcast days.  Nothing fancy, just something to keep water rolling off rather than soaking the wetsuit.

I don't need to know your vital statistics but you should know by now if your height and weight are well-matched to your kayak.  Sunset Bay is a calm place to launch but from there we head into more open water to fish.  If you haven't yet been in the Pacific, you'll want to feel confident about your kayak.

Get a bilge pump or a large sponge in case you start to take on water.  DAMHIK about that, please.

And if you haven't mastered self-rescue take some time to become proficient in the art of getting back on in deep water.  That's not only for your own safety but also for the safety of anyone with you - buddy rescues put everyone at risk.

We have some folks here who are excellent at escorting a newbie - not me of course, I am much too grumpy to be a coach - so keep an eye out for folks talking about a trip out of Sunset and don't overlook the bays closer to you.  They all offer a calm spot from which to launch and land.

Welcome to NWKA!

You working down south? Your home port shows Vancouver. Tillamook Bay is another good starting introduction to salt water.

back on July 7, the value of charting on my sonar became very clear when fog rolled over me while trolling for salmon about 3/4 mile off of Simpson Reef.  I heard the first power boat coming at speed just after taking this video, the charting let me get close to the reef quickly (powerboats don't tend to go as fast in the fog near reefs).



as for swell/wind predictions, I have found the MSW for ocean off CoosBay to be very good for the Sunset Bay area, total swell of 4' at 12s or better is going to be an excellent day out there, avoid mixed swell on shorter periods unless the total is less than about 3' (a 'smooth as glass' day).  When larger swell gets mixed up with waves reflecting off the reefs and shore cliffs, it can turn in to a washing machine real quick.

https://magicseaweed.com/Coos-Bay-Surf-Report/320/

Boy did I get spanked!  I need a new email address...

Okay, I can most likely get back safely with a compass and a map, but the pucker factor would definitely be in the high 9's trying to reenter Sunset Bay all alone and lonely with only a compass.  A GPS system is a valuable and often overlooked safety item.

Please pay attention to rogerdodger's post.  Just because it's calm and sunny when we launch doesn't mean a fog can't roll in faster than any of us can make it back to shore.  It's happened to me more than once, too, but without the hair-raising added adventure of dodging powerboats.