Kayak Diving is Hard!

[shcubasteve]

Wow, what a day yesterday! 2 friends and I paddled out to the Georges Valentine Wreck off the House of Refuge in Stuart; one was on full scuba in a Scupper Pro, one freediving in an OK Caper and I tested out the new hookah rig on my Scupper Pro. For anyone who doesn’t know, the House of Refuge’s shoreline is covered in jagged limestone rocks, making beach entries in a kayak interesting. As we peered over the dune and out into a messy 2-3 chop, we decided to charge it anyway; we could see the wreck from shore! After about 20 minutes of unloading and setting up in the hot sun, we were grateful for cool water. Deciding to launch the full scuba kit first proved interesting in the waist- chest shore break. We did it, but only after nearly being dashed in the rock-shorebreak combo. The next 2 launches were a breeze. All boats did great, at times powering right through some chest high rollers. I was impressed at the seaworthiness of the boats. The wreck itself was great, holding a school of snook, small sheepsheads and assorted tropical, nothing worth shooting.. We had an unimpressive 6-8’ vis, maybe 75* and surgey (sp?) on the bottom. My hookah rig worked great, but only after getting the hose untangled from the yak. After an hour on the bottom, the seas seemed to be calming down, but were still the most challenging conditions yet experienced in the yak. Heading back in, we decided to paddle 300 yards south of our launch point towards sandy beach area instead of rocks; good thing we did. Even in the sandy area, we still managed to flip the caper in the breakers, dropping gear all over. The 2 scuppers did better, but were still slammed on the beach as we crashed broadside onshore. The hard part came when we had to drag fully loaded yaks 300 yards over the beach to our launch point. Needless to say we were exhausted afterwards. We recovered all floating gear and sunk weight pockets, leaving with everything we came with.

Yak diving is great once you get into the water, but the set-up and breakdown make it a physical endeavor; im still tired!

Steve

[LunkerBuster]

nice first time man...that launch sounds horrible, I salute you guys for that effort.
the worst thing about yak diving is surely the dragging the yak back to the car after the dive...exhausted rarely captures just how tired i am post dive :)

it makes me think long and hard about each piece of gear i choose to bring

[teambarlar]

i agree with lunkerbuster,it is a challenge.my first experience kayaking was sharkfishing off the beach,it was at least 6-8 waves,and bein the newb it was me that was supposed to yak the bait out,but the guys decided it was to dangerous for my first trip,then after some coaching and one of the other guys flipping in the surf they decide for me to do it,man the kayak beat me up the first couple of times,but eventually i got the bait out,a couple of sharks got caught.great night.

[sweatloaf]

dropping gear all over.


Hate to state the obvious, but put all gear down the hatch, or lash it to the deck, and this can't happen.

In rough surf landings, keeping your neck unbroken trumps all, so do everything to eliminate possible distractions, like loss of material things.

[Fis_Hunter]

Freediving from a yak is a lot more fun not as much stuff to lug across the beach for sure.

[riobuster]

I agree, dragging those suckers back up the beach after the dive stinks! I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive way to build a battery powered kayak cart to make life easier.

[Fis_Hunter]

I agree, dragging those suckers back up the beach after the dive stinks! I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive way to build a battery powered kayak cart to make life easier.

Wife and children all you have to do is feed them. and have a flat beach:(

[Holy Mackerel]

What you guys don't have beach launches like this, where you can drive up to the water line? :p

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g287/cmfierro/Fishing%202007/image.jpg

I feel your pain, the first couple of SCUBA dives I did on my kayak were work. I remember my wife, had overweighted her BC, dropped it over the side... gone!! Spent 20 minutes searching in murky water, until I found it... Free diving off kayaks is much easier.

chris

[shcubasteve]

In rough surf landings, keeping your neck unbroken trumps all, so do everything to eliminate possible distractions, like loss of material things.

A day like that only happens once; kinda like forgetting to put the plug in the boat... .

Freediving from a yak is a lot more fun not as much stuff to lug across the beach for sure.

Heck yes, its so much easier; faster, lighter, less equipment... I might hesitate to bring tanks next time I have to cross the dunes at Pepper Park.

I agree, dragging those suckers back up the beach after the dive stinks! I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive way to build a battery powered kayak cart to make life easier.

Kayak wheels are rumored to work, but I cant be seen using them yet :D

Wife and children all you have to do is feed them...:(

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Here are pics from that day, before the launches

[Fis_Hunter]

Kayak wheels are rumored to work, but I cant be seen using them yet :D

Load your kayak with weight belt, Tank, BC, fins, suit, Speargun and a few other things have your buddy grab the back and hawl it to the water a few times first. Then try a cart load it and grab it with one hand and pull it behind you like a little red wagon it does not seam as embarrising as you pass up your buddy panting and he asked to use it on the trip back to the car.

http://www.beachcartsusa.com/canoekayaktoteframe.htm

Hook 1 has the same cart for less. Get the ones with the big baloon wheels if you have to cross sand.

[john_g]

Kayak wheels are rumored to work, but I cant be seen using them yet :D




Kayak wheels would set me back more than the used sit-on-top kayak i bought! I can't figure out why those baloon wheels are so expensive!

[heinz57]

The wheelez cart with beach wheels are 200 and worth every penny.

[1000ft2TheBeach]

I agree, dragging those suckers back up the beach after the dive stinks! I've been trying to come up with an inexpensive way to build a battery powered kayak cart to make life easier.

If your serious about making an electric off road kayak cart, here is a good start, I am also a distributor for them so I could get you the rear truck&motor + wheels probably for a relatively low price(or the whole board/any of them) the board weighs approx 70lbs and can lug a 160-225lbs rider at about 20 miles an hour, so lugging a yak with gear for 3-4 shouldn't be a problem. I would recommend some different wider wheels maybe, these are 9x2" you would have to remount the gear drive on the different wheels, but it wouldn't be much of a problem. oh yeah it is single wheel drive. If you are ever in the Laguna Beach area you can try out mine I have a couple different models, plus a custom one I can get up to about 28mph on flat ground, faster on the downhill naturally.
(949) 400 - 3694

[Kevin Sheets]

Your story about beaching the kayak brings back memories, hehehe lol. I actually flipped one end over end while my buddy rolled over and over. Since then I have surfed with a surf kayak and really had some fun in the break. The trick with a long boat like a scupper pro is speed, catching the wave in, and above all staying straight. Then when you do hit the sand lean all the way back putting your weight on the deepest end of the boat. If you do it right you will surf right up on the sand and in far enough to get off quickly before the next roller comes in.
I try not to launch from rock breaks, its too nerve racking when you come in.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Kevin,

I had a few exits like you were talking about. It's not a great feeling when you are riding a wave in, and the kayak's stern starts to pass you....or if you are riding the wave in, you're right at the shore, and the water gets sucked out below you, and you are airborne and tossed on the shore.

Nowadays, if the conditions are bad I'll jump off the kayak, just before the wave hits....I have a rope off the bow and jump to the offshore side....I try to give the kayak a push, so it rotates the bow to the waves....this way you don't get hit by the kayak and there is less surface area of the kayak getting hit by the wave. A rope off the stern is probbaly a better idea, now that I think of it...since the push, trying to rotate the kayak isn't required.

It isn't as pretty as a perfectly executed exit....but better than a debris field scatter on the shore. lol

[USApredator]

Holy mackrel.... that looks like la jolla

[Samik]

sounds like quite the trip. I kayak dive in BC, and some of the launches are truely epic...

I use these wheels for my WS Ride135, built like a tank, just need a couple rachet straps to hold them on, they don't seem to sit well on the funky hull.

http://www.westerncanoekayak.com/product_spec.php?item_description_id=5123