First time in salt water

Last week my family stayed in Lincoln City and I brought my outback.  It was my first chance to be on salt water and also to feel out how my kayak handles in rougher conditions than north Idaho. 

Last Wednesday was incredibly nice conditions as many of you know(1-2 ft seas, but seemed like nothing).  We(my brother and I) were at Road's End and were able to kayak north and (safely) explore around the cascade head area in incredibly calm seas.  On the way back we tried our hand at surfing the waves in.  That's very fun when it works out but I don't have the skills and I don't think the outback is setup well to handle it.  I ate crap a lot of the time and got good practice re-entering the kayak where I could stand and also where I couldn't.  Over all it was probably more fun paddling out.  BTW since we were in the breaking waves I didn't use the rudder nor the peddles and the outback paddles like a freakin' barge.

So later on Saturday the seas were a bit more angry.  Magic sea weed said 3-5ft surf, but the period was real close and it took considerable work to get through the surf out past the breakers.  I ate it pretty hard on some big waves and continued to see how my kayak handles and how re-entering works when conditions are tougher.  I had one big wave wipe me out separating me from my paddle and kayak in water I couldn't touch in.  I felt a slight panic because it's a helpless feeling but I fairly quickly got things sorted out.  I really see how having things on your deck makes it hard to flip the kayak (I had my kayak cart on top for part of it).

Fishing wise I was thrown off by Road's end being a fishing preserve.  I did fish from shore south of town close to Mo's and caught a surf perch which was a lot of fun.

Anyways I just wanted to share my kayaking experience on the coast.  I can't wait to come back to the Oregon Coast!

Cool experience....thanks for sharing....I have an idea of what to expect when I work up the sac to hit the ocean....good luck!

Thanks for sharing, sounds like a fun trip.  I always mean to go out and play in the surf after to get a feel for it but need to make it a point.  Surfing is super fun when it works right, though, you've got that for sure.   Reboarding in between waves sounds exciting; haven't done that yet.