Who's gettin' salty?!?!?!?!

Wow! that is an amazing tale willbd. I am glad that it turned out well (as in alive and well).

Glad to hear that the fishing was good, sorry about the sea sickness. I think that ndogg mentioned that bringing anti-seasickness pills is a good idea until you are sure you will not get sick. This is probably a good reminder of that.

As for the landing, I would like to try to learn from what happened to you. So, how were you coming in (paddle or peddle)? If you had to do it again do you think you could have done something differently or was it just plain bad luck? Where did you put your rods on the way in? Did they stay secured?

Also, for  anyone going on the beach. Make sure you take some old towels. If you lay them down on the leading edge of your tires you can drive right out of almost any hole in the sand. You need to have one under a tire on each side unless you have a limited slip differential. In NC, I used to take my camaro places that 4WD guys would not go using this technique. It works in mud as well as sand. If you do not have a towel, you can sometimes lay sticks down width wise and get the same effect, but it is usually not quite as effective.

Glad you are safe and well.

I was one of the huli monsters.   As we were heading in, I stopped outside the breakers to evaluate the run in and to secure my Mirage drive to the hull.   I was following Jammer in and he was pretty pissed off about all the items he forgot to bring, and losing a rod off the boat somewhere probably out by the rock and was just going to peddle it his butt in and hope for the best, as his fish were just laying in the tank well unsecured.  Lucky bastard, made it to the beach like it was a cake walk.

The breakers were showing to be right in the last 20 yards or so and not too big of an issue.  So, I kept an eye on the line as I paddled in.  Some big random breaker came in out of nowhere from behind me probably 100 yards from shore.  I tried to lean back and keep the nose up, but the damn thing kept getting taller and eventually drove my bow under and I bailed with my paddle in hand. I popped up behind the wave and noticed my kayak was upside down and half way to shore already.  No chance in hell I was swimming to it now.  I caught up to my fish bag, as it was floating along with my fish in it.  Actually worked great as a secondary floation. 

Learned that it's freaking impossible to swim with a paddle and fish bag so I wasn't making any speed records back to shore.  I didn't feel as though I was in any real danger, so I was going to hang on to these items and eventually make it to shore with the surf.  A friendly surfer paddled up to me and gave me his board to hop on to, and he took my paddle and fish bag.  Got my first belly mounted surfing lesson!  That's actually pretty fun. 

I need to go back and check the time on my GoPro from the time I bailed to time I walked up to it and turned it off.  It had to be 5-10 minutes, but hard to say when an adventure rush is in the happening.  I have to say, I was dressed plenty warm under my waders/drytop as I never got cold.  I took a little water into the waders, only when I leaned forward to swim.  After I was done and back at camp, I peeled everything off and had maybe 1 cup of water total down the shorts and most of it was in my right side wader bootie.  My under layers were mildly damp. 

Hindsight, I think I'm going to take a day and a friend or two and just go out and play in the surf and learn me some kayak surfing skills.  This was my first surf launch/landing in the Revo, and didn't know how it would react to the waves.  The plus side to all of this, is that my aluminum pin I made to secure my Mirage drive worked awesome.  With all the hydraulics of the ocean slamming the kayak around, it didn't even budge.  And to top it all off, I only lost my spongy towel that was rolled up in the side pocket.  Nothing broke, GoPro was still running, flag still attached, rod still bungeed to the side and all gear leashed was still leashed.

Now, there will be a change in the future for my Revo and that will be on the front hatch.  Those two bungee cords are pretty much useless to keeping water out when the kayak is upside down getting pounded in the surf.  I will be securing it with a pair of plastic buckles that are used on nearly every other kayak hatch.  For areas like surf zones, this closure detail needs to be solid, and not bungee. 

I probably won't have time to get pictures or video up for about a week, as I'm going to be away from my home computer for the rest of the week for Spring Break.

To all that went out yesterday, good times!   

Wow. I am glad that everything turned out OK for you and willbd. Way to stay calm and collected. I can't believe that you grabbed your fish bag. That is great. Personally, I am worried that in your situations my waders would fill up - from the inside if you know what I mean.

Great stories guys...these are very educational.  I’m glad everyone made it in okay and with most of their gear.  Seems like an intense situation!  I never had my boat take off like that and didn’t ever realize it would be difficult to swim. 

I've only done a handful of practice surf launch and landings and never with any gear.  My limited experience has shown me it's much harder to get back in on top of my boat than it is to get out.  So I've got a couple of questions on landing:

1.  Aside from Jammer, did anybody else try landing with the Mirage drive in?  I'm wondering if the drive really helps you keep up with the waves...seems like it would.

2.  If you have the drive in, do you also keep the rudder down or do you use a paddle to help keep you straight?  Seems like the rudder would start to work against you when the wave behind you catches up...

I've only ever attempted landing with paddle and rudder up (Mirage drive safely stored in the truck)...so curious how everyone else does it.

On my first landing I got in front of a swell and was forced to surf it in...AWESOME!!!  That definitely got my heart rate up; I almost made it in until I wasn't able to keep it straight and the wave broke over me.  Since then I’ve tried that purposely a few times with similar results…me swimming.  It always seems like I could have kept on top of the Outback if was able to keep my boat straight.  I think I’m going to practice it this summer and see if I can ever make it in…any pointers?

3.  I heard rawk say that he surfs his landings: anyone else surf the landings? 

4.  How do you keep it straight?  The wave always seems to want to turn the boat and once it breaks on you your screwed…seems true even if you aren’t surfing it in.

Great stories guys...these are very educational.  I’m glad everyone made it in okay and with most of their gear.  Seems like an intense situation!  I never had my boat take off like that and didn’t ever realize it would be difficult to swim. 

I've only done a handful of practice surf launch and landings and never with any gear.  My limited experience has shown me it's much harder to get back in on top of my boat than it is to get out.  So I've got a couple of questions on landing:

1.  Aside from Jammer, did anybody else try landing with the Mirage drive in?  I'm wondering if the drive really helps you keep up with the waves...seems like it would.

2.  If you have the drive in, do you also keep the rudder down or do you use a paddle to help keep you straight?  Seems like the rudder would start to work against you when the wave behind you catches up...

I've only ever attempted landing with paddle and rudder up (Mirage drive safely stored in the truck)...so curious how everyone else does it.

On my first landing I got in front of a swell and was forced to surf it in...AWESOME!!!  That definitely got my heart rate up; I almost made it in until I wasn't able to keep it straight and the wave broke over me.  Since then I’ve tried that purposely a few times with similar results…me swimming.  It always seems like I could have kept on top of the Outback if was able to keep my boat straight.  I think I’m going to practice it this summer and see if I can ever make it in…any pointers?

3.  I heard rawk say that he surfs his landings: anyone else surf the landings? 

4.  How do you keep it straight?  The wave always seems to want to turn the boat and once it breaks on you your screwed…seems true even if you aren’t surfing it in.

Rum luck those are great questions.

I have one more question to add to your list. Growing up I never went surfing but we used to do a lot of boogie-boarding.

5.  Has anyone tried jumping out of their kayak and then hanging onto the back and riding it in like a long boogie board? With your weight on the back it would seem that it would be easier to keep the nose up. Perhaps this does not make sense since it is so long and perhaps there is too much potential to get hurt.

Also, for  anyone going on the beach. Make sure you take some old towels. If you lay them down on the leading edge of your tires you can drive right out of almost any hole in the sand. You need to have one under a tire on each side unless you have a limited slip differential. In NC, I used to take my camaro places that 4WD guys would not go using this technique. It works in mud as well as sand. If you do not have a towel, you can sometimes lay sticks down width wise and get the same effect, but it is usually not quite as effective.

Glad you are safe and well.

That's a cool trick!

+1 on keeping your boat straight. I have lots of practice with ruddering a big boat but a kayak being pushed along by a wave is a beotch! I'd guess it has something to do with how a wave breaks and speed of the white water versus green (un-broken) water?

Great stories guys...these are very educational.  I’m glad everyone made it in okay and with most of their gear.  Seems like an intense situation!  I never had my boat take off like that and didn’t ever realize it would be difficult to swim. 

I've only done a handful of practice surf launch and landings and never with any gear.  My limited experience has shown me it's much harder to get back in on top of my boat than it is to get out.  So I've got a couple of questions on landing:

1.  Aside from Jammer, did anybody else try landing with the Mirage drive in?  I'm wondering if the drive really helps you keep up with the waves...seems like it would.

2.  If you have the drive in, do you also keep the rudder down or do you use a paddle to help keep you straight?  Seems like the rudder would start to work against you when the wave behind you catches up...

I've only ever attempted landing with paddle and rudder up (Mirage drive safely stored in the truck)...so curious how everyone else does it.

On my first landing I got in front of a swell and was forced to surf it in...AWESOME!!!  That definitely got my heart rate up; I almost made it in until I wasn't able to keep it straight and the wave broke over me.  Since then I’ve tried that purposely a few times with similar results…me swimming.  It always seems like I could have kept on top of the Outback if was able to keep my boat straight.  I think I’m going to practice it this summer and see if I can ever make it in…any pointers?

3.  I heard rawk say that he surfs his landings: anyone else surf the landings? 

4.  How do you keep it straight?  The wave always seems to want to turn the boat and once it breaks on you your screwed…seems true even if you aren’t surfing it in.

Rum luck those are great questions.

I have one more question to add to your list. Growing up I never went surfing but we used to do a lot of boogie-boarding.

5.  Has anyone tried jumping out of their kayak and then hanging onto the back and riding it in like a long boogie board? With your weight on the back it would seem that it would be easier to keep the nose up. Perhaps this does not make sense since it is so long and perhaps there is too much potential to get hurt.

That's what I do when I get dumped...more often than not it seems.  I hang on to one of the handles and lift my feet...when the wave breaks it straightens you out and you swim you boat in until the next one breaks.  That what I learned at the last surf launch clinic...

5.  Has anyone tried jumping out of their kayak and then hanging onto the back and riding it in like a long boogie board? With your weight on the back it would seem that it would be easier to keep the nose up. Perhaps this does not make sense since it is so long and perhaps there is too much potential to get hurt.

That sounds really dangerous.  On a few occasions I knew I couldn't make it through (A 16 foot Tarpon doesn't make a good wave yak) I would jump off and grab the front of the boat, with the rear of the boat towards the shore.  Then basically turned it into a sloppy duck dive and the boat would drag you to the beach. 

5.  Has anyone tried jumping out of their kayak and then hanging onto the back and riding it in like a long boogie board? With your weight on the back it would seem that it would be easier to keep the nose up. Perhaps this does not make sense since it is so long and perhaps there is too much potential to get hurt.

That sounds really dangerous.  On a few occasions I knew I couldn't make it through (A 16 foot Tarpon doesn't make a good wave yak) I would jump off and grab the front of the boat, with the rear of the boat towards the shore.  Then basically turned it into a sloppy duck dive and the boat would drag you to the beach.

Thanks Lee. I guess trying to be part way on the kayak would not be the best idea. Do you just grab the handle and let it drag you in?

That sounds really dangerous.  On a few occasions I knew I couldn't make it through (A 16 foot Tarpon doesn't make a good wave yak) I would jump off and grab the front of the boat, with the rear of the boat towards the shore.  Then basically turned it into a sloppy duck dive and the boat would drag you to the beach.

Sorry this is more like what I was trying to say above...better description here for sure.

Do you just grab the handle and let it drag you in?

Exactly.  Basically the boat just drags you in.  It isn't pretty, but it's effective, and most times you can keep the boat from flipping.

It's called "The Superman"! 

Thanks for sharing guys. I always take one dramamine about an hours from the launch and then two more as soon as I'm ready to hit the water. I then repeat the two pills every four hours.

Bryan, once you hit the water did you have your radio handy? I heard you radio that you were heading in and tried you later but didn't get a response. I wonder if next time we should have a procedure where you radio when you're heading in and then radio again once you're on the beach? Later in the day Rawkfish was trying to hail Flyin Portagee on the water and we were also not getting a response. We figured he had probably headed in but I don't think we really knew for sure. Also having a have a buddy system might be a good idea for the new guys for next time.

The thing with jumping off and using the kayak as a boogie board is this kinda counter intuitive.
If you find yourself being run down by a rogue wave, jumping out early and attempting this maneuver probably isn't going to net you enough time to accomplish the task.
If you find that you had plenty of time to pull it off, you probably could have just properly maneuvered the kayak in the first place.   

I know I need more seat time in the surf zone and absolutely not afraid to say it.  Every trip through the zone gives me just a little more info to use later.  Whether it be doing a better job at reading the surf, or feeling how the kayak handles in various conditions it's seat time non the less.  Like most folks, being told how to ride a bike isn't the same as crashing your way to being successful. 

That short moment when my kayak was picking up speed was a blast and I was loving it, but I knew from experience that once the bow was forced under, the ride was over.   

Absolutely every time I've been through a surf zone going out, and almost every time coming back in has been with Rawkfish.  His vast experience with surf launches, patience with newbies, and total confidence in water domination really shines and most importantly....really appreciated.  Thanks bro!   I've learned much from him by listening, watching, and trying.  Seat time is where I'll get better at the actual feel of the kayak in that zone, and better timing through said zone.   

If you haven't huli'd in the surf zone, you:
1. Are a natural, and a rare breed.
2. Just haven't huli'd yet.
3. Haven't been through a surf zone.

Getting ready to launch

Waterman hooked up

Still hooked up....



Baby Octopus? One of the Lings puked this up.




Nice double

Langcod and Ling Banger





My biggest Ling after my camera died