Lumpy Waters OOP's

If one more of my neighbors at the coast asks me if I was one of this group I'll explode... IMO the mouth of Netarts bay on a strong outgoing tide was not the smartest place to hold a class, in fact I'd call it plain bad judgement/lack of local knowledge.   You should hear the crusty locals talking smack... They gave all us Subaru driving kayakers a bad name to say the least .  I guess it was a real fire drill until the Coasties/Netarts Fire Rescue got there.. Glad everyone was ok, could have been ugly..

http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_ed8a9c12-f6d2-11e0-a480-001cc4c002e0.html

Thank God everyone made it back to shore. 

If one more of my neighbors at the coast asks me if I was one of this group I'll explode...

Wow, that could have been a lot worse. I don't own a TV and hadn't heard anything about it until this thread. I'm also in Vancouver, Washington and quite aways from being your neighbor so far inland, but am still curious, were you one of the group? 

I wonder if those "professionals" were charged for this.   

-Allen

If one more of my neighbors at the coast asks me if I was one of this group I'll explode...

Wow, that could have been a lot worse. I don't own a TV and hadn't heard anything about it until this thread. I'm also in Vancouver, Washington and quite aways from being your neighbor so far inland, but am still curious, were you one of the group? 

Alas no, I was not involved in this group.   Lumpy Waters Symposium is a yearly event put on by Alder Creek Kayak in Portland.  Its held in Pacific City and draws a good turnout, I was in PC on Saturday and the lot at the Pelican was packed.  They have classes, demos, competitions, camaraderie, etc. etc. predominately for the Sit in Kayak crowd.  Not saying a Sit on Top kayak fishermen would not be welcome, but you'd best be ready for more than your share of eye rolls and snickers.  You know, the look the guy in the Benz give the guy in the F250 at the traffic light

Here's a 1st hand recap of what happened as told by one of the instructors:

http://blog.redalderranch.com/?p=89

-Spot-

Good read, I am glad that everyone was OK.  One take home from the article is that if you have a bad  feeling about something, don't do it, or at least speak up and let others  know, this goes for group leaders and participants.   

I am glad everyone was OK. I think they should change their name to lumpy underwear after something like that

I agree with Nat. I think in general first instincts are correct in most situations - especially when erring on the side of caution. Of course I say this now that I am older. I had a lot of near death experiences when I was younger. Enough that my wife just started calling them NDE's. Oh to be young and invincible again

WOW .... scary situation ... glad all are ok.
River mouths go from mild to gut churning with a simple change of the tide. Know you limits and stay safe guys!
It sounds like proper immersion gear made the difference between a scary rescue and a tragic recovery.

They have classes, demos, competitions, camaraderie, etc. etc. predominately for the Sit in Kayak crowd.  Not saying a Sit on Top kayak fishermen would not be welcome, but you'd best be ready for more than your share of eye rolls and snickers.  You know, the look the guy in the Benz give the guy in the F250 at the traffic light

Not trying to make light of a scary situation. Maybe SOTs would have been the way to go.

Damn, glad everyone's ok. Good learning experience.

If one more of my neighbors at the coast asks me if I was one of this group I'll explode...

Wow, that could have been a lot worse. I don't own a TV and hadn't heard anything about it until this thread. I'm also in Vancouver, Washington and quite aways from being your neighbor so far inland, but am still curious, were you one of the group? 

Alas no, I was not involved in this group.   Lumpy Waters Symposium is a yearly event put on by Alder Creek Kayak in Portland.  Its held in Pacific City and draws a good turnout, I was in PC on Saturday and the lot at the Pelican was packed.  They have classes, demos, competitions, camaraderie, etc. etc. predominately for the Sit in Kayak crowd.  Not saying a Sit on Top kayak fishermen would not be welcome, but you'd best be ready for more than your share of eye rolls and snickers.  You know, the look the guy in the Benz give the guy in the F250 at the traffic light

I knew you weren't there Pelagic by your comment. I just thought I'd give you some crap and actually, I almost was there. I had gone to their (Alder Creek) parking lot sale a few weeks ago and was all ready to sign up. Then, between being new to kayaking and all the toys I bought that day, I decided I better hold off. Right now, as much as I'd like to get out there with you guys on some salt or even moving water, I think my qualifications are more in line with water the size of a cattle pond. I live ten minutes from Vancouver Lake and it even looks intimidating some days.   As for the dude in the Benz...I drive a F350 and if I get "a look" from him or his ol lady, its    to both of them.

Just imagine if these people were not wearing immersion gear, didn't have VHFs etc...

I've been in a few hairy situations in the Grays Harbor bar involving rudder issues on my Adventure. During even a moderate sized tidal exchange the current can be a struggle to overcome even for the fastest mirage drive kayak.

What a great read Spot.

Man...that's a scary ordeal. Especially from the authors perspective of not knowing exactly how many students are still unaccounted for. My question is WHY would you EVER teach a wave class in the mouth of a river with an outgoing tide?? Pretty freakin crazy. Always go with your gut feelings.. Always error on the side of caution. This could have been much worse. Lets all please learn from this one. Thanks for sharing Pelagic!

My question is WHY would you EVER teach a wave class in the mouth of a river with an outgoing tide??

That's part of what makes it freaky Jammer, there is no river there.

Always makes you pucker a little when you're paddling your ass off and you're still staring at the same crab gear you've been staring at for the last half hour.

Maybe there's a market for motorized surf kayaks. Crud, somebody beat me to it.

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