# Falling off - lessons learned



## yakdaddy

Fell off on Saturday. Three times actually. It was all completely preventable but there you go, I wasn't paying attention. Didn't die, all good.

I was fairly diligent in reading and following all the other advice about safety but the one thing I didn't follow was the advice on practicing remounting. If I had practiced first, I would have set up my yak better and more in line with being able to remount it more easily.

If someone reads this, learns and survives, then it was all worth it.

Your plans for getting back on are worthless unless you have actually tried them out. I had ideas in my head of what I would do from reading forums, but the reality is very different. Every kayak is different and has different balance and layout. On top of that we all rig it differently. We mount stuff all over it, mostly without concern of how that will affect a wet remount. Beside all the difference in kayaks, everyone has different abilities, strengths, shapes and weight.

Here is what I learnt

A moments inattention can cause it and small things that might not be significant by themselves, add up.

Keep an eye on your anchor and don't let it pull under the boat, especially when there are waves.

Don't kayak with an inner ear problem that affects balance.

Even a slight current is amazingly fast when your stuff is being carried away.

Tackle boxes full of sinkers, sink.

Rod leashes work.

Dry bags work.

Some smartphones screens don't work with wet hands. Put a small hand towel in the dry bag with the phone.

The stuff that floated the first time you went over, sinks the second time. If you want to keep it, attach it.

Don't bring stuff you don't need. My crate had turned into a miscellaneous box o' fishing stuff that is now gone.

The widest part of the boat may be the most stable when you are on it, but the your fat arse will use that as leverage to tip it on your head when you try to remount.

When you are dazed from being knocked on the scone, you don't realise it. Your pfd will keep you floating, but if it isnt tight, it rides up and is a problem.

Getting on the front is not so easy when there is a rod holder in the way.

On my yak, getting on the back is the easiest but there are all sorts of rudder hardware, clips, cleats and bungee holding things that grab your pfd shirt and pants and prevent you getting on easily.

Once you are on the back, how do you step over the seat and the milk crate on the back without ending up in the water again?

Fat guts are hard to get over the side of the boat.

Two rods trolling and current means 40m of fishing line, everywhere, all over you and it will prevent you getting your rod out of the way. Your pfd knife will cut it away but have it where you can reach and open it with one hand. Even better if it has a slot knife built in that captures and cuts in one motion. I was amazed at how tangled I was in such a short time. The current kept pushing more toward me making it an endless continuous knot.

if you have stuff under the deck, it might have moved and could be over to one side making it much easier to tip over again when you are recovering your stuff. Pack it right and pack it tight.

The more times you try and fail to get on, makes each successive try harder and less likely to succeed. If you have been paddling hard, then you might be already tired before you start. While you are resting, you are drifting, possibly toward rocks with barnacles and oysters and you are not wearing any shoes.

Six months ago, I wouldn't have had the upper body strength to get on even once. Got some new muscles to work at the gym now.

Ex-wives and their partners will stand by and watch and will not help even if you need assistance, because f#[email protected] you is why.

Anyway, I have some mods to do to my yak and have some reels to disassemble and clean before I head out again.

I hope you learn from my misfortune.


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## ArWeTherYet

Guess you know what to do now. :lol:


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## goanywhere

Also much harder in a sailing yak when you capsize. If your sail is cleated for hands-free sailing and you don't undo it before righting the yak, it might just take off without you on board! Nearly happened to me.


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## Artie

I read these reports over and over and each time I promise myself that I will practise.... just got too busy.... again..... some of the better clubs have skills training days, I wouldnt mind doing one or two...


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## kayakone

Artie said:


> I read these reports over and over and each time I promise myself that I will practise.... just got too busy.... again..... some of the better clubs have skills training days, I wouldnt mind doing one or two...


Quit tugging on the sausage Artie. DO IT. When 'the revolving device starts distributing the excreta', it might save your arse. Without that practice your arse is doomed.

That is the very reason Yakdaddy had the balls to post his 'bad day' on Sunday. He realized how important it could be.

I will say this...if you haven't jumped off and practiced a re-entry in the past few months:
1. You are increasing your chances of failing when it happens unexpectedly
2. Also practice occassionaly the limits to when it capsizes (in controlled conditions - e.g.close to shore with help etc). 
Try turn around for gear behind you, try sitting side saddle, try moving forward out of the seat to, say, unhook a lure from the front, etc.....

Trevor


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## Squidley

A fun way to do it is going snorkelling close to shore to begin with; you need to get up and down off the yak all the time and you might see some things worth marking 
The key tip that helped me getting back on from the side was allowing my legs to float to the surface; it's easier to thrust the yak sideways underneath you than it is to lift yourself upwards from a more vertical position, and you rock the yak less.

All that said don't forget other precautions if diving such as visibility to other boats and avoiding situations where you and your yak could be separated.


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## Batron

Had a good Giggle at your missfortune. and hope i take some learnings away.
Thanks for sharing.


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## kayakone

Squidley said:


> A fun way to do it is going snorkelling close to shore to begin with; you need to get up and down off the yak all the time and you might see some things worth marking
> The key tip that helped me getting back on from the side was allowing my legs to float to the surface; it's easier to thrust the yak sideways underneath you than it is to lift yourself upwards from a more vertical position, and you rock the yak less.
> 
> All that said don't forget other precautions if diving such as visibility to other boats and avoiding situations where you and your yak could be separated.


Wise words. The key word is PRACTICE.

Here's the technique (note the floating legs)






Trevor


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## kayakone

I forgot getting on at the rear. Rear entry can be easier than side entry. Here's our own Rhino with some useful tips.






Now, get out there and get your arse wet. 

Trevor


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## robmc0

It's the one thing I'm glad I took the time to do in the early stages of starting this sport. I'd watched videos (the one linked from kayakone is the one I started with), read posts, etc, but it's nowhere as easy as these guys make it look. Took me 15minutes to master it, and for me, well, I'm not the light sort of gentleman and I learnt that the extra padding the PFD has around my waist is too much to drag over the side. I need to unzip it, drag myself in and then rezip the PFD.

Glad I had worked it all out too, about 4 weeks later I went in the drink. 5 mins of swimming around the yak bringing in lines, gathering up my hat, and first crack I was in and on my way again, only looking slightly embarrassed in amongst all the stink boats sitting on the same reef and only missing my main knife since it was the scabbard that was tethered, not the blade 

Glad to hear you are ok yakdaddy (minus the gear). All I can add is *practice this skill, it's important*. The videos are all great, but as someone else pointed out, we are all different shapes and sizes and so are our yaks. Most of the videos I've seen are in nice calm water (although Trevor's is a good one  ), and whilst that's the kind of conditions we all like to aim to fish in, mother nature likes to send us the occasional change in conditions we weren't expecting.

Thanks for sharing yakdaddy, hopefully others will be saved a worse misfortune by your experience.


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## Beekeeper

Yakdaddy... apparently you weren't the only yakking casualty event on the weekend. There was another at Scarby as well... I don't know where your event occurred.

I did a trip out from Scarborough this morning, and when I was cleaning up my kayak afterwards, a couple (bloke and his wife) spoke to me of an event that they were involved with last weekend.

Apparently, my friend had a cheap SOT, and could see another fellow in trouble in the water beside his kayak a little distance out from where most yakkers launch (car-park opposite the old Scarby Pub).

At first, my friend thought the fellow was a diver going about his diving, but then realised that he had a life-jacket on, and was trying to re-mount his SOT, but apparently didn't have the necessary strength or knowledge to do it.

The bloke then paddled over to further investigate, and found that the fellow in the water was near exhaustion, and badly bruised and scratched all over from repeated attempts to remount.

His anchor was on the bottom... his paddle had drifted off towards the beach... and he was in dire trouble! He really didn't know what was happening... was completely dazed and dis-orientated before my friend helped him, but was still trying futilely to clamber back onto the yak.

From that description, I believe that this man didn't have much time left before he just slipped under. All this within easy swimming distance from the beach!

My new-found friend (no idea who he is) assisted the stricken fellow back onto his kayak, retrieved his paddle for him, and after seeing him OK, headed back in to shore, but kept an eye on him just in case.

How extremely fortunate that my friend recognised the trouble this bloke was having!

He then found that there was a policeman on shore there who was quite relieved that he didn't have to try to rescue the chap.

The rescued yakker finally composed himself and made his way to shore... the policeman engaged him in some conversation, and that's all my friend could tell me.

I hope you're over your ordeal and OK now. I know that it took a lot of guts for you to post this thread, but I'm pleased you did. The general kayaking public should be made aware of each and every one of these events. That is fact!

Cheers, Jim.


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## kayakone

Yakdaddy & robmc0

While falling off is no fun, especially if you haven't practised, here's a bit of a giggle for you...

HAVE A NICE DAY by Spike Milligan

'Help, help, ' said a man. 'I'm drowning.'
'Hang on, ' said a man from the shore.
'Help, help, ' said the man. 'I'm not clowning.'
'Yes, I know, I heard you before.
Be patient dear man who is drowning,
You, see I've got a disease.
I'm waiting for a Doctor J. Browning.
So do be patient please.'
'How long, ' said the man who was drowning. 'Will it take for the Doc to arrive? '
'Not very long, ' said the man with the disease. 'Till then try staying alive.'
'Very well, ' said the man who was drowning. 'I'll try and stay afloat.
By reciting the poems of Browning
And other things he wrote.'
'Help, help, ' said the man with the disease, 'I suddenly feel quite ill.'
'Keep calm.' said the man who was drowning, ' Breathe deeply and lie quite still.'
'Oh dear, ' said the man with the awful disease. 'I think I'm going to die.'
'Farewell, ' said the man who was drowning.
Said the man with the disease, 'goodbye.'
So the man who was drowning, drownded
And the man with the disease passed away.
But apart from that,
And a fire in my flat,
It's been a very nice day.

 
Trevor


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## yakdaddy

Definitely learnt my lesson. The worst part about the whole thing was I was out with my two kids and I just finished telling my son how stable the Jackson Cuda is. The first thing I heard when I came up out of the water was not "hey are you ok?" It was "I thought you told me that kayak was stable"

Such a smart mouth on someone so young. Definitely a chip off the old block.

I have been too busy with work to fish but that has given me some time to reflect and reorganise. I have dispensed with the crate and have everything in 2 mesh bags leashed to the deck. I got the idea from a guy at the tackle warehouse who suggested that I use bags made of shade cloth. Had one already that came with the Cuda and got a massive woven mesh bra bag as the other one. Much easier to crawl over from the back if I fall off and it is much easier to access as I can pull each bag forward and deal with on my lap and not have to turn around and fool around with stuff behind me. Also, as old mate said, at the end of the day, hang on the washing line and hose off and let dry.

Also,without the crate, I can tilt the seat back for a snooze under a mangrove if I need to.


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## Beekeeper

yakdaddy said:


> a massive woven mesh bra bag
> 
> I can tilt the seat back for a snooze under a mangrove if I need to.


Do you mean that a lady with massive boobs gave you her woven mesh bra bag? or perhaps I read that wrongly. Did you mean that it was a bag for masssive woven mesh bras?

My mind is boggling! It could even be a massive bag made of woven mesh that once held lots of bras?

ALSO... reading the following could possibly influence your sleeping habits...

If you snore with your mouth open, snoozing under mangroves can introduce you to one of the hitherto practically unknown "killer mangrove spiders, whose nasty habit (peculiar only to this species) it is to drop down into open mouths, quickly biting the tongue which instantly swells to enormous size, restricting the respiratory ability to such a dangerous degree, that it sometimes requires most of the snorer's friends and relations to dress up for his funeral.

Rumour says it is related to the dreaded (and much feared by men) Black Widow spider! (or just our old common every-day Red-back you find under the dunny seat), but both male and female have three GT red angular stripes traversing their abdomens going North to South depending on which way the spider is heading. It's less dangerous if the stripes are going South to North, 'cos that means it's heading away from you. Of course, if it has already bitten you, it doesn't matter where the hell it's going, does it? By this time, you're too busy with your enormous tongue to bother about a little spider, anyway.

It only grows to 5mm long, but it is very effective for its size.

They usually don't bother women snorers due to their relationship to the BWS and RBS mentioned above.

I hope the above doesn't deter you from your under the mangrove snoozes...

I wonder... do they really?

Cheers Yakdaddy, Jimbo


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## kayakone

What's Beekeeper on?

Is it legal?


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## Squidley

The thing about the spiders has more specific information than anything I've heard about drop bears, seems legit. Thankyou beekeeper.


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## Beekeeper

Squidley said:


> The thing about the spiders has more specific information than anything I've heard about drop bears, seems legit. Thankyou beekeeper.


Tha's OK, Squidley... 'tis all on the up 'n' up... in keeping with drop bears and sky-hooks, etc... anytime you want any specifics, I'll try my best.

Try to ignore K1... he's been on the piss again... wants to go fishing, but he's got the breeze up... I think that's what he said.

Cheers, Jimbo


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## kayakone

I'm warning you, there are stingrays out there. Stingrays I tell you. Ten feet across, with barbs and poison and....

They're looking for another Irwin. Don't go there. :shock:

I'm not drinking. I just ran out! 

K1


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## Squidley

Yes, Kayakone seems pretty unreliable; I'm pretty sure I see four kayaks in that bit over to the right.


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## Squidley

Thanks for this thread btw yakdaddy, you're making me think about how I've got a few things stashed in the back


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## ClumpsyFatFrog

Yakdaddy,

You were not the only one who fell off the yak. I recently fell off in the lake and no body were around at the time. I couldn't right my kayak back because I forgot about the hidden anchor under my yak! What's an embarrassment!
I have never thought I will have a capsize, and never prepared for it until I fell off the kayak in to the water unexpected. 
Now I have got rid off the Crate box and all unnecessary items to be prepared for a wet remount.

Certainly, I will have some practice in the shallow water first and later on on deeper water.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It's very valuable gifts for unexperienced kayaker like me.
Have fun.

Cheers,

ClumpsyFatFrog.


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## kayakone

OMG!

He's forgotten his medication yet again. God save us from Beekeepers!

trev


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## Breambo

I went for a swim yesterday about 3 kms out. First time Ive fallen out when Ive been that far out but have fallen off heaps in close. A wind chop broke and the wave hit me and I just fell off. The kayak remained upright with the rod in the rear holder and the gaff in the other. As I swung my leg over the rod was in the way so had to mount at the front of the kayak. Previously when I have fallen off the rods were also floating so didnt present with this problem. If you have rear and front rods still in position it would be almost impossible to remount and you would have to chuck either front or rear, tethered of course to actually get back on. Its better to have thought about what to do than have to think about it in a stressful situation and panic, I certainly learned something new yesterday.


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## Squidley

Glad you got back on safely Breambo. Did you ever lose hold of the kayak? Just the thought of my kayak blowing away from me while I'm out to sea is making me sick.


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## kayakone

Breambo said:


> I went for a swim yesterday about 3 kms out. First time Ive fallen out when Ive been that far out but have fallen off heaps in close. A wind chop broke and the wave hit me and I just fell off. The kayak remained upright with the rod in the rear holder and the gaff in the other. As I swung my leg over the rod was in the way so had to mount at the front of the kayak. Previously when I have fallen off the rods were also floating so didnt present with this problem. If you have rear and front rods still in position it would be almost impossible to remount and you would have to chuck either front or rear, tethered of course to actually get back on. Its better to have thought about what to do than have to think about it in a stressful situation and panic, I certainly learned something new yesterday.


Forgot to reply to this one Breambo...

"If you have rear and front rods still in position it would be almost impossible to remount and you would have to chuck either front or rear"

I've fallen off too. I fell off my Stealth BFS in only 15 knots at Scarby one day. Lucky there was noone around, so nobody knows. :lol: :lol: The cause - reaching round to get a rod and not concentrating (they're _not_ unstable yaks).

Lately I've been using the Adventure (the Bismark - as someone referred to it).....










...which is even more stable than the BFS. I often jump off to cool down, and despite the rods front and rear, I have no problem re-entering. Your setup must be different, or a less stable yak - you do say it is a fast one. Curious as to what you are paddling, and/or a pic of your setup.

trev


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## Artie

Funnily enough I found that there was a huge amount of stress involved with falling off when way offshore.... it nothing like remounting next to the beach where you have been practising.... with the added adrenalin I almost hauled myself in one handed  But I agree, knowing how things (rod positioning etc) will effect your remount will reduce the stress WHEN it does happen.


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## kayakone

Artie said:


> Funnily enough I found that there was a huge amount of stress involved with falling off when way offshore.... it nothing like remounting next to the beach where you have been practising.... with the added adrenalin I almost hauled myself in one handed  But I agree, knowing how things (rod positioning etc) will effect your remount will reduce the stress WHEN it does happen.


It is actually the same Artie, no matter where you do it. There should be no stress. I capsized a sea kayak kms off Cape Moreton, which is a very sharky place, but you must not panic, otherwise you'll stuff up the re-entry, and then your chances of getting it the second go are reduced.

This is why it is vital to practice it regularly:

1. You will develop a technique that becomes *automatic* _when_ it happens, _wherever_ it happens. Practice makes perfect.

2. You will develop the _mind control necessary to not panic_.
(a) There should be no stress. 
(b) Firstly control your breathing.
(c) You are off, now it's time to get back on, first go. 
(d) Human legs are not regularly part of sharks' diets.
(e) You cannot get any wetter, _even if _you are 3 kms offshore, in 15 - 20 knots.

Remember DON"T PANIC!! :shock: :shock: :lol:

Even in rough conditions, the technique does not vary....you just have to be extra quick to grab your yak, especially if you are off and are upwind of it, because SOT's can move downwind quite fast (they generally are more wind affected than SIK's) :shock: . If the unthinkable happens, though now is a good time to think about it, then you're into this ...viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51594

You can safely experiment with the effect of wind on your yak. Once proficient at re-entries in calmer conditions, gradually up the ante in conditions of increasing wind....ensure you are _close_ to the shore/beach with an _on-shore_ wind. At about 10 knots, depending on your yak's windage, but certainly around 15 knots for most, fall off on the windward side, wait 5 seconds, and try to catch your yak (in full fishing garb with PFD). You may be surprised. 

_Every_ re-entry you practice reduces your risk of a minor incident becoming a disaster. Happy experimenting.

trev


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## Breambo

I have a RTM Disco. Its quite unstable compared to most fishing kayaks. There is no way I could sit side saddle and dangle both legs over the same side. I have to straddle the yak with a leg over each side. Remounting is not unlike getting on a surfboard, so if two rods are spaced shorter than a body length you wont be able to lie flat and get your legs to the straddle position. My remount is lightening fast from lots of practice in waves and rough water so my point being is be aware of the unexpected.
Those who have these super stable hobies (or whatever) and heaps of rods (2 or more) perhaps trying a capsize in moderately rough water with all your gear loose and tethered and remounting and even turning the kayak over will be more difficult than a practice run with no gear.


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## kayakone

Breambo said:


> I have a RTM Disco. Its quite unstable compared to most fishing kayaks. There is no way I could sit side saddle and dangle both legs over the same side. I have to straddle the yak with a leg over each side. Remounting is not unlike getting on a surfboard, so if two rods are spaced shorter than a body length you wont be able to lie flat and get your legs to the straddle position. My remount is lightening fast from lots of practice in waves and rough water so my point being is be aware of the unexpected.
> Those who have these super stable hobies (or whatever) and heaps of rods (2 or more) perhaps trying a capsize in moderately rough water with all your gear loose and tethered and remounting and even turning the kayak over will be more difficult than a practice run with no gear.


Thanks Breambo for the reply. That says a lot....way less stable than a BFS or an Adventure. Great testament to some of the (big) fish you've caught off it.

cheers

trev


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