It was good but..it wasn't worth it!
 

This weeks I almost died story....Is brought to you by Team Sewer.
"Its not a sewer unless it's a team sewer!"

(Ok this is a long read....I hate those too!)

Begins the opening week of lobster season...
Very excited for the lobster opener, prepping all week checking all my gear, replacing what needs to be replaced, making sure I have enough bait, remember to buy lobster card etc... So here we are on the first night of lobster season (Saturday Night). I checked the conditions beforehand...and it doesn't look to good. 3-5 foot swell @ 11 seconds + 15 knots of wind...not good, but not anything we haven't hooped in before hundreds of times.

So Jorge and I...arrive at an undisclosed secret location, in the late afternoon. For once the weatherman was correct. Solid whitecaps and swell to boot.... But not deterred from the conditions, we continue on with the plan. We launch, and we are greeted by amazingly bad conditions....still not deterred, we say to ourselves....we've been in worse than this..! We push on thru the nasty conditions toward our lobster spot, in hopes of being quickly in and out.

As we pull up to our spot, It's no wonder that nobody is near us...you'd have to be crazy or stupid to be in this spot...you can make the judgement. Like I said, we've been out here in conditions similar to these, probably even worse...and never ever had a problem, was it ever scary...yes, problem no.

So about 6:30 it's go time! This is what we've been waiting for! We carefully deploy our hoops while watching our backs the whole time, hoping something doesn't take us out by surprise. Soak time! We kill some time talking about how bitch'n it's going to be pulling the hoops up with that telltale thump, thump, thump....

We are so excited to get that first lobster of the season, we decide to pull a bit early...and oh boy we are not disappointed. We have our limits in short order, just like we had planned. I even got a little video of some lobster action as well. We roll up our lobster gear and we haul ass toward the barn.

It's dark, Windy with a lot of wind chop, swells are tightly spaced. Some of the waves have steep faces that look like they're going to break at anytime. The waves are coming at us directly out of the west, so the swell is at our backs. Nervous, we carefully make our way back to our launch spot...riding the un- usually steep waves back in. A couple of waves pick us up, and threaten a roll over but with some quick kayak maneuvering it's not a problem, we can keep level and strait.

Then a fairly steep wave, picks me up from behind. My PA starts to slide down the face quickly. As I am sliding down, I feel the massive PA start to tip to the left. Usually when this happens, I will counter steer, this usually results in the opposite side of the kayak coming down and leveling off, but not this time.

Anybody that has fished with me or seen my videos knows I am guilty of not wearing my PFD most of the time, but tonight with the foul weather I chose to wear it, along with my waders, just as a precaution. It was a good move.

Nightmare.
I feel that the aircraft carrier of kayaks has tipped beyond the point of no return. I say outloud..."OH SHIT!" a split second before I go down.....As I hit the water, oddly it's very calm and quiet....Eyes closed....I float to the surface as I'm greeted by a living nightmare. I'm in absolute disbelief!!! I'm in open water, its night, dark, windy, with a big swell and my beast of a kayak is upside down....can it get any worse?

A few seconds after I come to the surface, my self inflating PFD fires off with a bang! and inflates like an airbag in a car accident...now floating next to my capsized PA , I notice the glow of my Lowrance HDS7 now underwater...and think to myself...that's not good....So now the PA is now upside down and I have to somehow right it fast. Fortunately I have a plan in place just for this eventuality. Without any hesitation I went strait for the bow line that is looped around the front handle. I unloop it and swim over to the side of the kayak, I feel for the side handle and loop it around it. I then throw the rope across to the other side, I then come around to the opposite side...I think to myself will this work? I practiced this in the harbor a few years ago and it worked then under controlled conditions...will it now work for real? I put both feet on the opposite side handle, I grab the rope and give it a good pull. The PA almost too easily comes right over and splashes down with a big "PLOP!" right-side up! Ok 1 problem solved a few more to go.

Jorge is now on the scene and trying to help out with what ever he can. Ok now is the next order of business is to get back on the PA while in a shit storm. I have what I call a PA ladder installed on the back handle of my kayak, it's for emergencies, and this was an emergency. After I deployed the PA ladder I immediately recognize that it is going to be impossible to get back on with the pfd...so I try to remove it as quickly as I can. Undo one snap and boom it's off. I then realize that my waders are going to be a problem...so I remove them...and believe it or not they come off pretty easily while in the water and under pressure.

The moment of truth.
I'm going to attempt to reboard the PA now. I grab the back handle with both hands, I pull the PA down, I miss the ladder with my foot and I slip down. When I came back down...I now have cramps in both legs...Im thinking to myself this situation is getting worse...now becoming possibly life threatening. I take a moment and try to shake it off catch my breath...I try again, with both hands I pull down, I get one foot on the ladder and I'm able to climb on with much less effort than I would otherwise have put in. Back on I take a moment to catch my breath, I notice that the weather hasn't improved any...wind waves swell still pounding...It's gonna take a little bit of luck getting back into the seating position with this swell...I take my time with help from Jorge to get back in the seat, and I'm back in on the first try.

Riding low.
Now riding a bit low from taking on god knows how much water...I try to assess the damage and try to figure out what's missing...We collect as much gear as we can find, and head toward safety. The swells were still pretty big at this point, and I'm a bit concerned about the water in my hull. If the swell tips me at all to the left or right I will probably roll again...In the end we made it back in safe...missing a few things and frying a fishfinder...But the Brightside is, I came in with limits of lobster. And just like the title says...no it wasn't worth it.


Hopefully if you have read this far, you will have learned something. No matter how good you are or how good you think you are. Unexpected things can happen out there, kayak fishing is a risky business. Will you go down like me? Maybe not, but you might. Have a plan in place, most of all don't panic! Practice self rescue. You never know when you'll save your own life....:eek:

In January youd be really Fd. Its still warm and balmy.

Good read.

You may have just saved more than your life, good share :luxhello:

Damn glad your safe man! And hopefully you got your unit from west marine. Question for you though was the seat on your PA in the up position up front or were you riding low? I've noticed I get quite a bit more stability when I drop it down in inclement weather.

/\ /\ /\
THIS-
Well said Tony!!
Glad you survived to hoop another day.
Congrats on the crawlers. :)

Freek Freek Freek!!!!! One of my nightmares right there. Glad you made it back, and keep us filled in on the FF warranty return.

Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a plan and made it out safe. Now I don't feel like a pussy for what I did Friday night...

I turned back as I rounded the breakwall corner at Dana Point. I didn't like the feeling of being overloaded with Eclipse Hoops in those conditions out front. Ended up hoopin the reefs in-shore. At the time I felt like a pussy, but knowing my limits, it was the right choice.

This week I am ditchin' my Promar Eclipse hoops and going for Promar Ambush to cut down on size by 4" and weight.

Of course he got his FF at WM, whaddya think he is stup..... Uh nevermind. Great that your gizmos worked Tony, but bummer that you had to use them. I had a wave like that break over me in 60 feet of water the next day, at probably near the same area. Get some interesting conditions on the outside of breakwalls.

Glad you made it out safe and again the importance of a buddy anytime you head out. Surprised you didn't pump the water out to reduce the chances of tipping over on the way in.

Yeah you would think...first of all my bilge pump was sitting on deck and it was one of the things that sank out first. Second would you open your hatch with big swells and wind chop coming in at you? I know I wasn't about to open a hatch in those conditions....Take one wave and you'll be swamped.

Amen,to that I got a feeling we were in a similar area went outpast break wall at midnight one of us went in also a hoobie a owner while the rest of us were fighting sea sickness and trying not to flip glad you made it out I learned a lesson though when in doubt get the fuck out

Rather than sit here and write what I saw from my point of view I'll make it simple and just say that I'm grateful that we both went home that night. It could have ended a lot worse but fortunately our experience, patience and knowledge of one another paid off.

Good stuff. Glad you guys are ok!

So glad you are safe...
 

Well done on keeping your head and wits about you. Now all this for some bugz... I don't know... Glad you guys are ok.

Janine:eek::cheers1:

That's one hell of story/trip, glad you guys made it back in somewhat safe. At least you got limits!

yep

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...927_212241.jpg



since the top picture does the bug size no justice here's what the look like..................fresh out of the freeeeeeeeeezer

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...928_095750.jpg

Glad you both were together, and made it
home in one piece. Rough waters are
no fun.

Just returned from Gonzaga to see this post, glad you are safe. You preplanned and practiced and it paid off. Much better you eating the bugs them them eating YOU. Good save Tny!!!

That has to be a 6 OZ monster can right? DAMN a couple of those are BIG:lobster:

I'm sure you meant to say 16oz

No I meant 6 OZ because those two lobster on the right make that can look like its 6 OZ.

Save Tony...grab onto to that HDS-7...Save Tony...yank off that HDS-7...I'm telling you, I would've had a tough decision to make...almost lost 4 team sewer guys in one year. Matt moving away, Roby's going into hiding since FRANK kicked his arse in Cambria...hahahaha!!!

Great story to learn from.

---- No matter how good you are or how good you think you are. Unexpected things can happen out there, kayak fishing is a risky business.-----

I had a few times in the past, show up at LJ in early morning , look at the surf , think and think over, go home and sleep more... wait for a better day.

Life is more important than fishing ( or hooping ). :cheers1:

Those lobster are going to taste extra special at Irvine this year...

I'm glad your fat-ass made it back alive.

Sorry for what happened to you, i should have listened to u, went out for 5 min, came back and got wet, messed up my phone, no lobster, and lost everybody phone #. Thanks Jorge

Happy your both ok. Nice bugs! Hopefully the FF will be a easy swap.

I continue to learn from posts and this is no different. Glad you are alive to tell the story. Where would we be without u?!!????!!!

Bad situation…in hindsight maybe you should not have went. I also look at it from this point. You practiced re entry so you had a plan for the flip over. You had a ladder a PFD etc. You stayed calm under these adverse conditions. You did not go solo and had your partner close for just an emergency like this. Every time we go out its a calculated risk. You know your limits better than we do so in your judgement you went for it. I applaud you for your familiarization with your rig, how you coped with the serious situation, and the contingencies you had in place. A side note I always carry a hand pump to dewater the bilge just incase. I would have just lifted the cockpit hatch and pump the water out from there instead of opening the coffin. Good job with the swim and good job with the bugs. Live and learn.

Got the late night text from George.. Telling me you got the limits but with a price...glad your OK ....

Where's the video? Seriously tho, good you had a buddy that day just in case you couldn't have rescued yourself.

Those inflatable PFDs are a hoot, aren't they? Pow! Wow, epic share. Getting back on the PA was no easy deal if you had to strip. Like Zed says, good thing it wasn't cold out.

What's your PA ladder look like?

Quite an experience and that's just nuts going out in that kind of condition. Experience :cheers1: pays off but then glad you both made it back safely to share the epic adventure with us. :you_rock:

X2
Very happy to hear your OK. :luxhello:
Though we've never met, I look forward to your reports and you 'banter' with Jorge!:D
For God's sake be more careful.
Thanks for sharing. This should serve to remind the rest of us to not over estimate our abilities or underestimate "POSEIDON".
btw: don't you carry a bilge pump? (curious)
Sincerely,
FFY.

Here is the PA ladder if your interested.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscd647aec.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psefcd2e25.jpg


Yes I do carry a bilge pump, I had it out on deck with me that night. It was a westmarine bilge pump, it doesn't float. Like I said in a previous post it was one of the first things that sank to the bottom.

Glad no one got hurt.

For anyone in need of a "bilge pump", I got mine at the 99cent store. It is really a kids toy water gun to be used in a swimming pool. I actually needed to use it about a month ago while fishing under the Coronado bridge when the leak in my yak became apparent. I worked like a champ and on top of that, it floats! Thanks to Andy for patching me back up. Great story for us to read. Glad everything turned out OK.

Thanks for sharing and we're glad to hear your here to tell us and remind us of safety issues. Someone mentioned the ladder cracking the PA, did it? And will you go back to using the same style of PDF? Would a different style still been in the way and have to be jettisoned?

No the PA did not crack from the ladder. That was frank... if you haven't picked up on it yet...Frank just happens to be an idiot.

The self inflating PFD is good probably not the best one to use on a kayak...although I did appreciate the fact that it inflated for me at the right time...it's probably more better suited to be used in a boat. Now a manually inflated one would probably be better for everyday use...

Would a different style been in the way? I guess it would depend upon the person...for example a small skinny guy probably wouldn't have a problem...but a big fat guy like me just might have one.

There's something about a rough ocean with rolling swells and whitecaps. Add to the mix the darkness and most of us are definitely way out of our comfort zone.

Glad you made it in uninjured and thanks for posting. It helps to visualize what you went through and for us to think what we would have done in that situation.

Stay safe.

good read. glad you had a buddy with you and are back safe with bugs.

i flipped my pa 12 in the bay and it was no fun. if i didnt have help i would have not been able to flip it back upright.
lesson learned.
i too made a PA ladder in the back (i only used rope without the pvc/aluminum rung) and i use my game clip on a rope that is attached to one of the sides rail that will stretch across the mid section so i can use to flip it upright.
theres no way *my arm can reach the opposite side rail to flip it.
get a hand pump people (no matter what yak you have)! the pa will fill up with water with the hatches closed. the front hatch does not seal well enough while upside down to keep out water.

be safe :cheers1: