Ocean Kayaking alone?

Kardinal, welcome to the forum.  When you say "ocean" do you in fact mean open ocean with ocean swells and chop, such as the WA and OR coast, or are you referring to more benign, protected inland salt water such as Puget Sound?

In between is the best answer.  The main launch site is Whittier, AK which is much more like Puget Sound but definitely can get nasty in a hurry. My profile pick is my main play area which is very sheltered in Whittier.  The other likely location is Seward, AK which is on Ressurection bay.  Once confidence rises, I want to try Cook Inlet but there we have 30 foot tide exchanges and the current has to be an easy 10knots when ripping along.  The fishing I plan on graduating to this summer is to hitch a ride out with friends who are traveling out to more of the open ocean type conditions and get dropped off in a bay. 

While I used to be a trophy fisherman, I am now just as happy catching smaller rockfish, greenling, and such with my ultralight spinning outfit.  It will take a long time and a few more friends kayaking before I hit any conditions resembling the fishing I did in a power boat on the Washington Coast.  That was 5 to 10 miles off the coast.  I'm definitely not ready for that yet. 

Will post reports for sure when I get out.

 Welcome to the cure and you sound like you are on the sanest path to the insanity. Sounds like you've had your lesson in proper attire and reboarding. I'm glad you survived it. Practicing that a few more times is a REALLY good idea (you could skip the poor attire section) and about the only other qualm I saw is that you got your upgrade list backwards (you had the PFD last)

Allen beat me to it, but your are essentially alone and you really need to be self-sufficient. Company is nice, but often the only thing they can do is notify someone that your missing sooner. BTW: I really like the fact that your people were pissed when you were 4 hours late. A float plan with somebody on shore is a really good thing. A VHF w/DSC is really nice to have too. Ok, enuf channeling Martha Stewart.

do you in fact mean open ocean with ocean swells and chop, such as the WA and OR coast, or are you referring to more benign, protected inland salt water such as Puget Sound? 

Benign!?! With tidal swings as much as 13 ft in 6 hours with the accompanying currents, man I'd hate to see your idea of exciting.

For sure.  Tidal swings in AK are no joke!

Before I leave the beach the dreaded cell phone is retrieved from the black hole it went into and, provided the battery still works, I phone home.  Someone gets a call when I leave the beach, and knows when to expect another call confirming I'm back.  A VHF radio helps a lot too.  Nice to be able to get help if you need it.

My ocean haunts are usually frequented by other folks too, so if the beach is deserted, I tend to wonder why.  It's fairly rare that I don't see other boats around fishing.

Bottom line for me is sometimes I like being alone, and enjoy the peace of floating on an ocean swell.  Ocean fishing from my kayak is something I dearly love, and plan to keep at for as long as I can.

I fish alone on the salt 90% of the time.  Like AMB I use the cell as a check in/float plan, probably won't save my bacon in an emergency but it gives those on shore some peace of mind and if I choose to participate in "risky activities" I owe them that.
 Before go I tell folks where I'm headed.  I give my wife or dad (depends on who's in town)  a ring about the mid point of the day or so and give them a heads up that all is well and when I think I might head in. They knows it an approximation and don't freak if the all clear call is a tad late (I will call a 2nd time to update time frame if plans change significantly). I then call them when I hit the sand and I'm out of harms way..    If they don't get the all clear call within 3-4 hrs of my approx timetable they will attempt to call me twice (10 min apart) and if they can't reach me at that point  I supplied them with a phone tree of who to call.  Starts with local County Sheriff  then Coasties. 

I also tell them when I leave that I "should be back no later than ____" (which is padded to reflect a time generally much latter than I would ever be back on a normal day) that way even if I dump my phone in the surf on the way out and can't contact them during the day they don't have to worry if they don't hear from me before that time.   All this does little to keep me safe directly but it does keep the family happy

Great replies - I'm a little surprised there's nothing here supporting the "never go alone" position.

Preparing, planning, monitoring, being vigilant, successfully handling each decision, and getting back to land again turn out to be sometimes more fulfilling than the fishing - especially when alone.

Enjoy.