Kayaking Fog and current

Some GPS systems even have polling functions that not only track you but others so equipped on your screen. I never go out in the ocean or hiking on land without it.

Garmin Rino?

Yes, I have the HX 530.  I have actually used it in an emergency. It worked like a charm.

Wobbler

Yes, I have the HX 530.  I have actually used it in an emergency. It worked like a charm.

Wobbler

I've got a 120 right now.  I want to upgrade to a 600-series.  But that might be a next year (or later) thing.

Heres my opinion and its worth what you paid for it. A GPS is a great and almost required bit of gear for anyone who fishes off the NW coast where fog is a common hazard. I use two, a gps/sounder and a stand along chartplotter.  However IMO if you can't navigate without out it aka.  find the beach in the fog using compass/swell direction/sun/depth curves/other clues, etc. etc.  you should not be out there.  Otherwise you're just one dead battery away from complete helplessness.

Heres my opinion and its worth what you paid for it. A GPS is a great and almost required bit of gear for anyone who fishes off the NW coast where fog is a common hazard. I use two, a gps/sounder and a stand along chartplotter.  However IMO if you can't navigate without out it aka.  find the beach in the fog using compass/swell direction/sun/depth curves/other clues, etc. etc.  you should not be out there.  Otherwise you're just one dead battery away from complete helplessness.

I agree with Ron here.  GPS is a great aid to navigation and fishing but it doesn't ensure your safe return.

-Spot- 

Glad that everything worked out for willbd and thank you for posting this so that everyone can learn from it.  Allen it was my pleasure to drift with you as a back up radio relay.

Knowing how to use our GPS, VHF as well as their limitations are essential to safety, Bring a compass as a back up also very good advice.  Fitness, Being able to paddle at a good clip for extended periods of time also good. 

I would presume that everybody that fished on Saturday including willbd had a working knowledge of their GPS and VHF, some better than others.  Fitness levels varied also.  So how do you end up in 150 feet of water when you are paddling towards the sun?  Spatial disorientation is a bitch and is very good at clouding judgement. Being unfamiliar to the area worried about running into rocks because you don't know your position on a Chart. As your paddling and drifting South you maneuver to avoid the worst visibility but the best visibility is west, before to long the fish finder says 150.  Fatigue also is a large contributing factor.

So how many people would have done the same thing under similar circumstances?  My guess would be more than a few of us and under those same conditions how long would you have waited to make a VHF call for some sort of help.  When do you pull the trigger and ask for services from the CG? What was your plan of action if you became lost in the fog.  If you did not have an answer to these questions before you left the Harbor at Depoe Bay then your probability of having a similar experience is very high.

" A superior pilot uses superior judgement so as not to have to use his superior skill."

Insert kayak fisherman for pilot and this over used aviation quote applies every time we hit the water.  Superior Judgement is knowing your limitations, it's also being able to adjust your limitations as necessary as conditions change.  These limitations are decisions that can only be made by the captain and must be set before launching and are not subject to change. 

There is plenty of warning before someone reaches their limit.  Many more than just one or two poor decisions have been made.  That little voice in your head starts telling you something is not right.  Ignoring the warning signs and without assertive action will then result in an urgent or emergency situation.

In my opinion this was an urgent situation and hats off to Allen for pushing the decision to call the Coast Guard which avoided a possible emergency.

Proficiency in the use of all the equipment we take with us is important but will only help to a certain extent sometimes. The most valuable skill that we have is the ability to think.  Being able to assess and problem solve to break the chain of poor decisions that are leading to a not so welcome outcome and knowing when to call out for help is what everyone should take away from this.



 

Best advice yet!!

Solid!! 

Best advice yet!!

Without a doubt.

I had a bit of a scare myself...  When iHop was getting ready to sail to rescue Willbd, he had sucked his clearance flag right into his pulley system when trying to deploy his sail.  My boy (Sean, NWKA user name Zinger) and I happen to be close to him when he got my attention to help him out.   While I was working to get the flag unstuck I wasn’t paying attention to where Sean was and it didn’t take long to drift right out of sight of him.  Once I was able to free iHop's flag I had drifted about a quarter of a mile away from him.     iHop was on his way south towards Willbd as I looked around for my boy.  I quickly caught back up to iHop to ask him if he seen which way he had went.  He said the last time he had seen him he was still north.  Well now I was even further south so I headed back north.  Thank goodness for the Hobie Adventures ability to scoot through the current well.  As I was on my way north looking for him I tried to radio him and also let him know to head back to the buoy as I figured that he was close enough to it to hear it and know which way to go.  Well he did not hear me or radio back because he had inadvertently pushed the down arrow on the radio that put him on channel 68.  So now I have that initial hint of panic feeling setting in where you start to think about the possible outcomes of your child being lost in the fog on the ocean.  Let’s face it, kids and adults as well with lack of experience can be a quick recipe for disaster under these conditions.  I will admit that I certainly need to become well rehearsed with my GPS radio and other GPS systems so that when the time comes that I really need them. I am not wasting time trying to figure out how to use them.  That time is too invaluable in an emergency situation.  So now I catch up to him to find that he had not went anywhere from the last time I had seen him.  In the 10 – 15Min that I was helping IHop and catching back up, he had his jig stuck on the bottom and was fighting to get it unstuck.  Dang, I was relieved to find him with his jig stuck on the bottom not letting him go anywhere. 

Willbd I am very glad that you are safe and well!  Even though my scare was only short lived, many of the same thoughts that you had also ran through my mind about my boy.

The one thing that really stands out in my mind from all of the great discussion here is that I need to plan a second, third, and maybe even a fourth reentry point in both directions when kayaking the ocean. The fog and currents are demanding of this.

DTS, thanks for the help. Sorry it created a sitch for you.

Another case of missing a step in my preflight checklist. I didn't release my rudder bungie and properly stow the red towing flag before launch. Small details can have big consequences. Murphy loves that stuff.

As for VHF use, I've studied, practiced and am now much more proficient in using the gps and nav features.

Putting in waypoints for launch and bailout sites and adding MMSI for my companions will be added to said checklist.

Also gonna mount good deck compasses by both seats in the TI.

While "Good WillBD Hunting" I tried numerous times to hail him with my air horn but he couldn't hear me. Guess you need to be pretty close to hear in the fog, got to research that, too. Also wonder how accurate a bearing sounds provide in the fog. Anyone have experience with this?


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Maybe this is a stupid suggestion, but wouldn't it be prudent for there to be a power boat on safety standby for the ORC 2013?  The CG only has the one boat in Depoe and it is often busy offshore getting halibut fisherman out of a mess this time of year.  There has to be one or two NWKA members who aren't comfortable fishing the salt in their yak, but have no problem taking out their power boats.

Anyone have a good picture of the foggy DB conditions?  I'm writing a short for a mag and need a good one.  Thanks.

-Allen

Just a quick addition.  I added a couple of links from some researchers at OSU that show what current speeds look like.  The top link is real time data and the bottom is a forecast (I really like the cross-shelf plot).  They aren't the best for nearshore type things but from looking at the dates around June 16 you can see that the nearshore currents were rippin'.  Just a nice way to help us make an even better educated decision on how far out to go.

http://bragg.coas.oregonstate.edu/

http://www-hce.coas.oregonstate.edu/~orcoss/ACTZ/SSCforecast.html

Anyone have a good picture of the foggy DB conditions?  I'm writing a short for a mag and need a good one.  Thanks.

-Allen

I think this one represents conditions proper.
You can just make out another kayaker between the yellow kayaker and the left edge of the pic.
((Should be able to click the pic for a bigger view))