Fishesfromtupperware:
A young surfer had his arm severed by a dory in the surf at Pacific City. This is one of my favorite spots to launch as its relatively protected and there are good reefs along the point and out to the Haystack.
Dory landings are pretty dramatic. The area they launch and land in is well marked and they blow their horn a few times, then continuously as they run like hell from a 1/4 mile out through the surf and onto the beach. The Oregonian says the guy who did it feels like shit and I'm sure he does as they seem to be pretty decent guys. In the few conversations I've had with dorymen on the beach and at PC Sporting Goods, they seem to be a conscientious lot and have been really nice as a group towards me. I've often been offered a lift in their fat tired trucks off the sand and back up to the parking lot with my kayak and gear, and good directions to area's that I have caught fish. There is usually plenty of room on the beach and I give them a wide berth. This is really ugly and you can't let this happen to you.
ThreeWeight:
I've often thought about getting a blaze orange safety flag and gooping it into a scupper plug, then using it in the boat when I'm in an area with a lot of power boats. Seems like an especially good idea in a place like Pacific City.
Yarjammer:
When I am on a lake with powerboats I have started using my Seattle Sports light and the bright orange extension pole mounted on a broom stick inserted into one of the rod holder spots on my crate. The extension tube itself is only 18" tall- hardly enough to stand out in the heavy chop. I am going to replace the broomstick with a pvc tube here in the next few weeks (for a better fit that doesn't move around so much) or use some closed-cell piping insulation on the broomstick at the top and bottom.
If you just want a flag KFS has one: http://kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FAC-sflag&Category_Code=si
kallitype:
Something that sticks up a way is a good idea! I went out last nite in my Revolution at Point Robinson, a 40-foot stern-picker (commercial gillnetter) came around the point at about 25 knots, the guy was headed straight for me and was on his cell fone, watching girls on the beach. I waved my arms and fishing rod, he never swerved. I paddled as hard as I could and got about 50 feet outof his path---he never saw me, the 6-foot breaking wake washed over the deck but did no other damage. Maybe a flare gun....
Spot:
This was a really tragic occurrence. But, it's surprising that it hasn't happened before. As I understand, the swell went from 3' to 8' in less than an hour. The dory boats were all caught by surprise and were making a mad dash for the shore. Meanwhile, the surfers were forced to move north (into the runway) to avoid the north to south current and the dredging closeouts. That's the recipe for disaster! I've seen lots of confrontations between the dory operators and the surfers there over the years. The dorymen get riled because they absolutely don't want to hit anyone. The surfers get riled because some of the dorymen harass them both in and out of the water.
Both perspectives are available in the groups' respective forums:
For the most part, on the days that any sane kayak fisher would launch, visibility is not a problem. It's only on the occasion that the swell takes a huge jump that you'd be at risk of not being seen. As I've said in other threads, if you're going to be in the salt, make sure that you check the offshore buoys for rapid swell increases. Generally the outside buoys give you about 12 hrs of warning. If the swell period is exceptionally long, drop that time to 10 hrs. I've seen the surf jump from 6 feet and fun to 20 feet and litterally life or death in under an hour.