As always, thanks for the input and suggestions.
The story actually has a happy ending to it as well.
When I was getting ready to launch yesterday, I told myself I wasn't going to put any gear on the boat that wasn't for paddling... Seat, Paddle, life jacket, Dolley. At the last minute, I thought... "well I could just put this older short rod on here and troll the kelp once I get out there. Maybe I'll luck out on an old halibut" An old Penn TLD (15 yrs) on a 6' Calstar. Of course, when I wiped out in my launch, I had it bungeed on to the side in a couple of places, but that wasn't enough to keep it on. Nice lesson there.
I saw it once while getting control of my boat, and there was a guy in his RV who was nice enough to run down and help me drag it up. Rod disappeared when I turned around (this is also the 2nd pair or sunglasses I've lost in the surf too. I've learned to stow them, no matter how tight I can get my croakies)
The guy advised me a bit on how to watch the surf and actually told me when to go... worked out great. While I was sitting out there watching the sets before coming in (it really is an impressive and scary sight to see the swells when the ocean just drops a few meters out in front of you.) and I saw the rod fly up out of the water just once. Took me at least 30 mins before I could get a feel for when there was calm. I find that part requires a lot of patience and concentration, as it's not entirely obvious to the untrained eye... I honestly "felt" more like it had calmed down than I had acutely observed.
I sat on the beach for another little while watching for my rod to pop up once I had landed. The same guy came back and offered me his number, *and* helped me haul my kayak onto my truck. Said it would probably wash up in high tide and that he'd grab it for me. Sure enough he and his wife went for a walk last night, found it in the hands of a woman on the beach who had just picked it up 50 yds north/west, and claimed it for me. Actually went a long way toward my faith in the kindness of strangers. Planning to bring the man a nice bottle of tequila.
At any rate, I think I've learned my lesson around not launching unless I can piggy-back off of the experience of someone else and follow their lead.... At least not until I can clearly read the sets. My back got pretty rashed up in the rocks, and I hear infection is not something to play around with in saltwater.
I'm still finding sand behind my ears, and I'd prefer to avoid this in the future.
I'm even toying around with finding someone non-fishing focused to get some launch lessons from.... Maybe just spend a day going in and out so it feels less daunting. After that botched launch, I was a but gun shy to land. . . i honesly feel like a little fear is probably healthy
As far as I can tell, 90% of this is reading the surf, but I'm also interested in practicing techniques like these so that I'm prepared when everything goes to shit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRdYMIU3Di8
One big mistake I learned from yesterday was that I tried to go legs first into the kayak, and my foot got caught coming over the boat... It was a horrible false start.
I've seen a mix of this on youtube videos... I realize a lot of people throw a leg over, straddle, and sit... Then pull legs in... Seems like a much more stable way to get in.
At any rate, i'm rambling... I hope to see some of you out on Sunday morning. Thinking I'll try to launch the south/east side of the rocks on Leo Carillo based on that map provided by Cronus. That's super helpful, as I never considered using the gated entrance to pull the kayak through... especially when they're still closed.