# How Far?



## bitten_off (Nov 29, 2006)

just a single quick question for all you yakkers out there...
how far from shore is too far? and do you go out further when you have mates about?
In my recently acquired yak, in port phillip bay, by myself i feel comfortable heading out probably up to 1km or so. With a mate, 2km i find to be at the limit, stretching my confidence a bit. 
however, you hear of yakkers (andrew macauley (i think :? ) comes to mind,) who head many hundreds of kms out.
as far as im concerned, it really all boils down to the confidence you have in your craft.
So, how far is too far for you? and am i just a pansy?  
cheers and tight lines 8) 
nick :twisted:


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## Biggera Yakker (Jan 25, 2007)

How far?
A little bit before burnout!
I think of it as not so much 'how far out', but more like 'total round trip'.
Do whatever it takes to get to fish!!!


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

Nick
It all boils down to confidence in yourself and you kayak. Get used to the kayak first. Take it out and play with it a while to find out what you can do with it. Paddle in wind, choppy water and surf to get a feel for how much it can take before dumping you. This will get you more comfortable with your kayak and probably improve your skills as well. You should also learn to move around on your kayak. See just what you can do before you tip. This is also a good time to work on re-entry skills.
Work your way up to longer trips. You may only be 1km out, but if an offshore wind picks up, that paddle in is going to be a lot longer. I've had trips where it took me an hour to get out and five to get back. Get familiar with the tides, currents and wind where you'll be paddling and always check the weather reports before going out.
Always take the appropriate safety gear and clothing. Be prepared for an extended time on or in the water.


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

52 kilometers is the farthest I have paddled (tandem) in one day. How far offshore - that depends on the conditions.


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## squizzy (Mar 3, 2007)

Hi Bitten-off,
I was always under the impression I had paddled further out than I really had. looking back at shore I thought I was lots of kilometers out, but I got found out when I got a gps sounder. In ppb I have paddled out 2.8k's and to see stinkboats between me and the shore was a real hoot. In fact a few of them spotted me and anchored up real close thinking, hey if this guy has paddled out this far he must know where the snapper are. :lol: I had no I idea, I just wanted to have a long paddle without stopping, then a rest for half hour to test my recovery then a long paddle back. I did it no worries but the conditions were good. Overall on that day I had a 8.2k paddle all up but if it had been windy the distance would be double. There have been some good posts on paddle technique. Red posted some youtube links about the correct paddle method where you use your upper body more than your arms which will allow you to paddle all day. How far is too far, not sure, just keep going til you find fish, then thats far enough!


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## Clarkos (Oct 11, 2006)

As far as you can swim.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

as Doug has said - only go out as far as YOU feel comfortable.

on a sunny no-wind day this may be several km's.

on a crappy windy rainy day with storms approaching half a km out may be too far.

when i first got into kayaking I'd be nervous about crossing a bay that was only 200m wide. now I head offshore, solo, regularly without so much as a nervous twitch :shock:

well maybe a small twitch 

take the right gear and plan in advance what you'll do if you get tossed overboard. if you can buddy up with other guys, thats great but its not always possible.


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

G'day Nick ... we'll have to hook up sometime and fish PPb.

Ive only just started this yakfishing caper myself and was surprised how deceptive distance can be on the water. Have been paddling as far out as 3 or 4 km's from Chelsea no problem (thats in relative calm conditions mind you) and the distance dosent feel all that much different to fishing 1Km out.


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## bitten_off (Nov 29, 2006)

thanks for the quick replies fellas  
just to clarify some individual points of my kayaking 
im not really fussed about the total distance travelled, as in my kayak i spent one day doing a round trip to safety beach and back of around 20kms fairly easily. every now and then id get out of the kayak and have a swim to loosen myself up, and it was a pretty mad day. however, i was hugging the shoreline, rarely more than 300m out.

the distance out is what worries me. a couple of kays is a long way to swim in clothes/board shorts if something goes wrong. and stinkboaters arent really expecting to see yakkers out so far. i'll probably get more confident in the kayak in the future, and that no stinkboats will hit me! :shock: 
and yes yknot, itd be great to hook up some day and have a fish... only problem is bloody schoolwork! its tying me up most weekends, and im only year 10!!!
im not looking forward to year 12 

hopefully ill get out more during the next holidays.

cheers
nick


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

As far as you can swim?????

Ill have to go back to roller skating then! I reckon I could swim 100 metres in favourable conditions, and that would take a while.

Perhaps that is why my PFD and paddle are so very very important to me!

Cheers all Andybear :lol: :lol:


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Don't know about Victoria, but in NSW a PFD is mandatory if you are more than 400m from shore, in open waters, the kayak may sink if capsized, at night or it is being used as tender.


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## bitten_off (Nov 29, 2006)

redphoenix said:


> Might be worth ditching the boardies though, and chucking on some runners pants, and a PFD. Slightly un-cool perhaps, but every additional safety precaution you take either lets you stretch your distance a bit further, without significantly increasing your risk profile, or makes you safer in your current range.


yep, ill be ditching them in winter when its too cold to swim, ill probably replace them with thermals. Yeah, the skins are a good idea as well, and something i hadn't really thought about. ill try them next time  
cheers
nick


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi Nick
As the others mentioned, it is only as comfortable as you feel. I always fish on the ocean here in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and I have found myself paddling out about 5km, but only in perfect weather conditions. I carry all the safety gear, including PFD, radio, whistle, flare and SharkPod. If I have someone else with me, then I would probably go out further. Best you first go out with others and get a feel of what is involved, and whether you can paddle out and make it back. Getting out there is usually not the problem; getting back could be if the conditions change suddenly.
Good luck with it.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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