# wipeout



## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi guys, with today being only my second day off in over 5 weeks due to excessive study and work obligations recently (the other one I had a wisdom tooth pulled) I made the decision to ignore a strong wind warning this morning and chuck the P15 on the roof of the car and go for a look.

In the three years of living on Bruny I have learnt to launch in most adverse conditions by finding the right launching position. I went to a beach I thought I would be OK on and after sitting on the sand for 20 minutes or so thought I could sneak out alongside the sheltered headland where a nice strong rip would give me a quick run through the break. I threw a rod in the front hatch, strapped the esky into the rear tankwell, the shark shield to my lag and off I went.

I got out without to much issue and got my rod from the front hatch while still relatively sheltered from the wind. When I rounded the point and headed for open water I was welcomed by 35 knots of wind and 2.5m of swell with the tops breaking nicely. I punched through it for an hour or so and by this stage was still only in around 30 metres of water.

I attached my new large drogue or sea anchor I had recently made as I wanted to see if it would offer too much resistance when a large wave hit me beam on and tip me. It is close to twice the size of my existing one so I didn't quite know what to expect. I tied it off to the handle at the centre of the yak and adjusted my rudder so that the oncoming waves would hit me from the stern at an angle of around 45 degrees to my beam.

It was better than I expected with the low rounded profile of the P15 allowing me to be pushed sideways but not trying to tip me too badly. I dropped shotted for a while only getting a few small flathead before deciding to head in as the since had changed from a north westerly to due north.

At length I got back to the beach to see that my safe entry point wasn't going to offer me an easy run back to shore. I attached my rod to the yak with the paddle retainer as it was too rough to open the front hatch. After sitting and paddling to hold position for around 20 minutes behind the break watching and trying to plan my best route in I decided to go for it. I was around 1/2 way in when a big wave threw me sidewards despite my back paddling and I was wiped out in the most spectacular manner.

Luckily I wasn't in the stretch of the beach where the rip was and both me and the kayak were washed up onto the beach. The only casualty for the day was the lid off the esky which is at the moment floating towards Antarctica. I provided quite a bit of amusement for a campervan parked along the road beside the beach. The guy in it came down to see if I was Ok and when he saw me laughing he stopped his fake concern act and had a good laugh at my expense.

Catch ya Scott


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Mate they were all around the mid 40s. I did keep a couple but they went god knows where when the lid to the esky was lost. It certainly wasn't my first wipe-out and it won't be my last given what some consider my fool hardy approach to "giving it a lash". I will try the paddling backwards to the beach method next time I am in this situation. I have never tried it before but know that a lot of the US anglers that have to contend with nasty beach breaks use this method successfully. My theory is as long as you have got your PFD on, your tackle secure will all hooks removed ect, your wetsuit on and there isn't a strong outgoing rip the worst a wipe-out can do is to wash you up on the beach and amuse any onlookers.

Catch ya Scott


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

mate, good on you for having a go, and good to hear that you are still safely in one piece.

although with the temperature of the water in southern tassie at the moment I would imagine that the 'boys' have retracted so far that they are now just 2 lumps in your throat :shock:

35 knots.......pah! just a gentle breeze :roll: :wink:


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

Scott es muy macho. Not me. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I'd be looking for a nice sheltered spot in the bay to launch in conditions like that. I've been kayaking for almost five years now and I still can't time the sets right for landings. I wind up surfing and swimming too often :x I haven't tried the backwards landing yet. I can see that it has merits, but I don't know if I want to take ten or more waves to the chest while being pushed ashore. I guess I'm just too impatient, but I opt for the hair-raising torpedo run for the beach. :shock:


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Gatesy, mate I got around a dozen or so little flatchaps (20-30cm) in addition to the 4 bigger ones. It seems down here that deeper water equates to bigger flatchaps. If I fish the channel I will get them mainly 25-30cm with some 35-40cm fish thrown in which I keep for the table. The legal size down here is only 30cm and we get sand flatchaps instead of the Duskys which I really miss. If I head out to deeper water around the 40 or so metre mark the better sized fish seem to be around the mid 40cm mark. If the day is good however and I get out to around the 60 metre mark the size of the better fish are in the mid 50cm mark with a the rare fish over 60cm.

Davey, the water didn't seem that cold today I would have guessed around the 14 degree mark. I was wearing 4mm wet suit long johns as well. We have had a strange winter down here, it has been very mild and I can only recall 1 or 2 frosts here on the island.

Douglas, mate I always get hit in the chest with waves when I am in rough conditions in the P15 due to its low profile. I will try the paddle backwards method as I always get into trouble when I loose the yak sideways.

Catch ya Scott


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## Steveo (Jul 28, 2006)

Sounds like a hard catch and release method to me. :lol:


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Interesting outing Scott and shows in detail why I am a dam man these days, and can't imagine water temps you described earlier :roll:


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## JD (Jul 2, 2006)

Geez Scott
I've been thinking next time I can get to Tasi. I could catch up with you. (always wanted to get to Bruny but never made it) But not to sure now. Just tonight I told my wife we could drive down and take the swing. Maybe fishing around Bris. is more my stlye. (safer)
Think you're a bit braver than me.

Good to hear you're giving it a go.

JD


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Doing the hard yards Scott


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## Mick_Lane (Oct 1, 2006)

Scott, part of the thrill of kayak fishing. Not long ago I contemplated going down a set of rapids on a trout river. After 5 minutes of thinking: paddling down will take 10 seconds, bush bashing the edge will take 20 minutes I thought bugger it. Down I went. Lost my rod, tackle box, pride, and comfort for the next two hours. It was middle of winter. Nasty, but beats sitting on the edge drowning a bunch of worms!! Mick.


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## PoddyMullet (Aug 29, 2005)

Geez Scott you're a mad bastard (in a positive Tom Hanks alone on an island speaking to a volley ball sort of way). 35 knots and 2+ metre swell....I'm high and dry and playing with my tackle well before then. Good to see you come out of those situations OK. In a few other sports I reckon you learn how to take falls or hits to minimise damage...I guess it's the same for you in the swell. Or is this crap? With Bruny, do any species wake up for summer and come on the chew/show up a bit more?


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## Sunhobie (Jun 22, 2006)

Scott, I agree, you are mad or VERY hard core!
I wouldn't go offshore in a Riviera 40 when the wind is 35kts let alone a kayak. 
If I do get caught out in big surf (hopefully never), I'm gonna stow everything inside, jump off and hang on to my paddle by the leash which is fastened firmly to the bow eye of my kayak and get dragged to the beach!!


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Guys, I don't consider myself crazy at all. When I first got my SOT and moved on from the old SIKs I used to use I started to test its/my limit. I went out in progressively bigger and bigger seas/wind and these days as long as the wind is onshore and won't blow me out to sea I will give it a go. Mostly in these situations I take nothing but me, my safety gear and the shark shield however on this occasion I was hanging to get out and did so regardless of the weather. All modern purpose built fishing SOTs are amazing in their sea handling abilities and as such are capable of anything that we are. The only problem I ever have is the wind being so strong that I have trouble moving my paddle through the air against it to make each paddle stroke. Maybe I should be using a Hobie Adventure and this wouldn't be a problem?

Poddy, a few things are starting to wake up at present down here. The biggest negative I have found since moving down here is the lack of variety of fish species. The species available are present in good numbers but I do miss my jews/kings and other large inshore species.

Catch ya Scott


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