[GBF]

Had a bad experience tonight. While kind of embarrassing, it might help someone in the future so I'm going to share my experence that just happen tonight.

I got married about 3 weeks ago. I introduced my wife to kayaking about 6 months ago and she loved it. In the beginning I put her in a Tarpon 140 and that's what she learned on. She's had 6 or 7 trips under her belt all in the harbor and she had gained a great deal of confidence. I purchased her a Tarpon 140 and she fell in love with it and kayaking as well. She's not a great swimmer but we booked a refresher course for her and purchased the best PFD available for her. I took her on a gondola ride last week and the bay looked like a lake. I also booked a trip with THE DARKHORSE for Sunday and spent the last week preparing. I mentioned going to the bay to fine tune my bait tank and re-acquaint myself with my Calstar J10 and Newell 332. After testing my bait tank and ripping off a few casts we settled into a nice cadence enjoying the bay. I didn’t bring a rod leash nor a life jacket because we were not going to be out long and I just wanted to work on my gear and paddle with my wife. She was about 30 yards away from me and the next thing I heard was a big splash and when I looked over the kayak was upside down and I did not see her. Immediately, I was in the water trying to get to her as fast as I could. I'm a strong swimmer and after I hit the water I saw her. I got to her very quickly and she was freaked out big time. I tried to calm her down, which took about 30 to 45 seconds. After she calmed down I wanted to get to her kayak as quickly as possible and tried to get her in by holding the other side while she entered the kayak from the opposite side. She was getting in and lost her balance again but this time, and her and the kayak flipped over on top of me. I got hit with the inside corner of the kayak where my neck curves into my shoulder and I was in big time pain. The current was moving pretty good and when I turned around my upside down kayak was not in sight. I thought, "My bait tank and Jig Stick with reel were gone"......The next second I was just happy that she was ok and that we were safe and the situation would work it self out in short order. I got her back into her kayak with paddle in hand. It was about that time that a guy pulled up in a small whaler. I could not get my arm over my head much less pull myself up. They got us on board, tied her kayak to their boat and we then went looking for and found my kayak and found it. When we flipped the kayak over the rod was still in the holder!!!.......Bait tank was gone but, I still had my jig stick!!! (Happy Days…No Mini Yard Sale”).....Then I noticed my Camano Paddle was gone. My kayak has paddle holders on both sides and I let my guard down for one second and I got bit!!. The guy in the whaler gave us a ride back to the beach with kayaks in tow. After thanking them we went about putting the kayak's back on the car, which was the most pain I had experienced in my life. During the ride home I remembered one thing I did not do with her that I will do on our very next outing. HELP HER GET TO KNOW HER KAYAK!! I know better........stuff like How to enter and exit the kayak in deep water, letting her move all around her kayak in shallow water (as I had done when I got started) so she could learning how far she can lean without flipping. Letting her pull equipment out of the front hatch and moving all the way to the back of her kayak to know it's limitations and her limitations as well.

We are home and showered and I cannot believe the pain I’m in. She says she's ready to get back into the kayak. I just hope I did not injure myself too bad. I am in so much pain I know I need to go to the Doctor but I'm going to wait until morning. Lesson learned. I’m going to order another paddle in the morning and get to my Dr as soon as his doors open. The lesson........Don't ever get in the water without every last piece of safety gear. Including but not limited to, paddle leash and PFD. If you are taking a new person out, let the first few trips be "Getting to know your kayak trips in waist deep water!!"

Hope everyone's next trip out is a safe one!! Don’t take any chances or let your guard down….Not even for a minute!!

See you all out on the water,


GBF