Self Rescue practice

My momma always said...practice makes perfect.  Had a great day doing self rescue practice with full dry suit donned.  It seemed easy in flat 68° water with no surf and no gear, but gave me the confidence to know i could get back on my kayak.  Kind of turned into swimming and yakkin, not a whole lot of fishing going on.

  Good to hear you are gaining confidence Barb,

  It isn't always about the fishing.

  Have you been out in the salt yet ? Testing in a little more severe conditions will probably boost your confidence even more

  Keep getting at it until you find that perfect  fit .............. you will cause it is out there.

excellent, time well spent.

Haven't gone in the open ocean yet, just river bays, but that's why i wanted to do the self rescue practice, to build some confidence for surf launching.  I don't plan to fall off, but I know I can get back on if I do.

In the case where my kayak was totally rolled and I needed to right the ship, I found my arms to be about 2" too short to reach around the top of the kayak to right it from deep water.  I ended up pushing up from the front like an overhead press.  With more gear strapped on to the kayak, righting the ship in deep water with that method might not work.  The only leverage one has from this position is buoyancy force, from the overhead reach position you've got all your body weight for the moment of inertia!  Solution - bring less gear when fishing in the saltwater surf. 

Looking forward to some surf practice without fishing gear next.

The over head press is a bad idea!
You are going to zap a lot of energy that way and if you are in the break zone another wave or a slipped grip could cause the kayak to fall into on your head.
Instead climb on top of the over turned kayak. Use the scupper holes if you have to. Once you are on top reach around and grab the other side. Then just slide off and pull the boat over.

Also, spend some time practicing the "Superman" in the surf. 

If you get dumped in the active break zone, move to the ocean side of your kayak, grab a toggle (front or back) and assume the superman position.  This will let the waves push you into the clamer zone between the outside and inside breaks.  Once there you can re-board with less threat of being nailed by a breaking wave.  This is actually kinda fun!

-Spot-
 

I did try crawling on top of the kayak to right the ship..that took a lot more energy!  I was successful doing it that way, but found the overhead press much easier.  I know the top pulling body roll is the correct method for overturning, but my kayak is pretty wide for my short arms.  If I was getting churned by swells, I could probably use some wave momentum to get me further up the kayak.  On flat lake water,  I could get a pretty good kick to hurl myself on top of the upside down kayak, but my fingers were seriously 2" from the handle and probably 5" from an edge grab, so there's nothing to grab onto.   Thought about a strap...but that just sounds complicated for self rescue.

I just watched Zee http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=4219.0    Maybe I should grab across the kayak at a narrower spot like he's doing behind the seat in this vid.   Thanks.  More practice...gotta go.

I did try crawling on top of the kayak to right the ship..that took a lot more energy!  I was successful doing it that way, but found the overhead press much easier.  I know the top pulling body roll is the correct method for overturning, but my kayak is pretty wide for my short arms.  If I was getting churned by swells, I could probably use some wave momentum to get me further up the kayak.  On flat lake water,  I could get a pretty good kick to hurl myself on top of the upside down kayak, but my fingers were seriously 2" from the handle and probably 5" from an edge grab, so there's nothing to grab onto.   Thought about a strap...but that just sounds complicated for self rescue.

If you can get enough purchase, try using a scupper hole if you can't reach the grab handle.  Self rescue straps are used by lots of folks.  Swim over to the side it's on if necessary, hook it up, toss it over the boat, swim to the other side, grab it and use it to flip the boat upright again.  Then you can use it to help get back up into the boat too.  I image it would take some practice to deploy and effectively use, but it's probably worth it to you looking into that a bit more.

It looks like you're paddling a Revolution.  If your kayak is upside down, try grabbing the base of the flippers and using them to roll your kayak upright.

Also, spend some time practicing the "Superman" in the surf. 

If you get dumped in the active break zone, move to the ocean side of your kayak, grab a toggle (front or back) and assume the superman position.  This will let the waves push you into the clamer zone between the outside and inside breaks.  Once there you can re-board with less threat of being nailed by a breaking wave.  This is actually kinda fun!

-Spot-
 

+1

The "Superman" is more than kinda fun, its a blast! Its a cool sensation, like you are flying through the water