Attention all yakkers

[dominic]

I have a question:

 

if a capsizing occurs, the yak and yourself are not drifting at the same speed depending of wind or current,

are you attached to your yak and how?

could a life line create a problem (engaged your leg for example) if badly fitted?

in one word, what is the best way to be attached to the yak?

 

Dominic

[Simon Everett]

Sensible question Dominic.

 

At anchor in a fast tide you have to take greater care TO NOT FALL OFF - because if you do, by the time you surface you will be 10 yards+ downtide of the anchored boat. A lifeline, or leash is a definite hazard in this situation. You have to be careful. If you are very worried, then it would be better to have a line floated downtide, kept afloat with a small fender, or a 2l milk tub, something to keep the rope afloat. Then if you fall off you have something to swim to/grab - but it needs to be longer than the distance you will be taken before you can get to it. Swimming in kayak gear is cumbersome and you will not make any headway against a strong tide.

 

When drifting, the kayak will actually drift quite quickly once your weight is taken off it - and you won't, because you are low in the water and less affected by wind. It is rare that you can swim fast enough to catch up a wind blown kayak, unless it is a calm day of course.

 

The chances of you falling off are pretty slim when fishing sensibly - Gogga manged to the first time he went out when he was fly fishing. There was a bit of tide flowing, but he came up beside the kayak and just climbed back aboard. It needs to be a fast flow to be a real concern - the best answer is to concentrate on NOT falling off. This is another reason to paddle with company in dangerous areas. Your companion can then either collect you and paddle you back to your nchored kayak, or if the tide is too strong for that (mouth of an estuary for instance - Menaii Straights - that kind of place) then they go to your kayak, weigh anchor and tow the kayak to you. Because you are going down tide it is an easy tow. Once you are alongide, it is easy enough to get back aboard once you have tried it - it is just like climbing out of a swimming pool. Kick your legs a bit to help push you onto the centre of the cockpit, part kicking, part pulling yourself in a sliding motion, over the gunwale. You should make sure you can do this before venturing out on a fishing trip. It is worth spending an afternoon just playing to gain your confidence - practise with someone nearby, so they can give advice and encouragement and possibly point out where you are going right/wrong....

[pike&predator]

hay all im going to be one of these noobies pretty soon i hope

codhead when i get my kayak maybe we could meet up at lakeside i live just down the road i have fished lakeside for many years take a rod and some lures with you great fun

i know they have a dive and boating center i plan on doing a safty course for kayaking hope they can do it there if they dont any one know where i can do a course

i have been in a capsized boat and let me tell you it is NOT fun in anyway shape or form it was off southend many years ago a tanker went past at what looked like miles away some 5 minutes later a wave hit our tender side on we started a rocking then the next one hit we rocked some more ( very small tender ) we stared taking on water and panicked over we went we was both kids at the time i almost learned the hard way

lucky we was not far off shore and some brave old guy swam out to us he was on the beach with his wife and dog to this day i still dont know his name it wasnt untill i was older i realised just how dumb id been not only did i put myself in danger but more importantly i put that old guys life in danger

[pike&predator]

id like to add when i was in cornwall last year i see a notice board that offerd the local community water safty days for kids and all casual water users im sure it was the RNLI why have i never seen this anywhere else

[Martin Hurst]

Hi Predator ,

Great idea these water safety days. I manage a Leisure Centre and my staff do go into schools to give safety talks. There was a big Industry promotion just before last years summer hols so i'd be surprised if your local Authority didnt participate. A bigger problem is the reduced funding for schools swimming programmes which will ultimately result in deaths

[codshead]

Hi there pike & predator, look forward to meeting up at lakeside. All my fishing is largely sea fishing, that pike was my first ever , plus it was first cast, so I'm looking forward to getting over there again shortly, will let you know when I'm over again , won't be for a couple of weekends though , got to go on holiday unfortunately.

[dominic]

Thank you Simon for your answer,

 

my main concern will be of course to not fall off my kayak,

the floating line when at anchor is a very good solution,

I have well understood that to be attached to the kayak is not "advisable".I have some experience on sailing boats where the use of safety harness and life line is not so easy, we don't have the habit to be blocked in our movements, the safety device begins a hazard. As we say in my job (oil business offshore), "too much safety kills safety", it's like make-up for a young girl, just enough is attractive, too much is too much...

 

I will experiment capsizing near the beach, I'll try also to swim with my kayak suit and PFD,

 

thank you again, I've made good progress in my safety awareness (without any condescension!)

 

Dominic