Dognut wrote:Don't sound like fun at all. Think it might be time for a new boat to go along with that plb
You need your plan b sorted. But with an aqua yak your plan a is already compromised.

I tend to agree apart from the weather turning bad on you having a 3 meter long yak would have made paddling into a stiff wind that much harder
a 4 meter long yak would track better and be faster giving you a much better chance of getting to the beach even into a heavy wind

of cause thats easy to say I wasn't out there with you

I can't argue with that Stephen.

Thanks for posting your misadventure for all of us to learn.

cheaterparts wrote:

Dognut wrote:Don't sound like fun at all. Think it might be time for a new boat to go along with that plb
You need your plan b sorted. But with an aqua yak your plan a is already compromised.

I tend to agree apart from the weather turning bad on you having a 3 meter long yak would have made paddling into a stiff wind that much harder
a 4 meter long yak would track better and be faster giving you a much better chance of getting to the beach even into a heavy wind

of cause thats easy to say I wasn't out there with you

Certainly increases the margin, But everything has a failure point when pitted against nature. There are times when I have been on full rudder and had to turn away from the wind. Loss of forward motion through the water means tracking ability of keel and/or rudder looses effect. So zig zag tacking at an angle to wind is necessary to maintain water speed and hence steerage. If you are being blown out to see and struggling to stay upright that's not always a luxury you can afford.

Worse scenario is into strong off centre head wind with strong following tide can leave you pivoting with the wind (due to rear half of yak including your body catching more wind than front) and incapable of correcting it.

Very glad you made it out alive.

While not a primary safety/emergency communication device, smartphones are a good piece of safety equipment:
1. Smartphones can be used to view the standard BOM radar web pages with 'observations' box ticked will display the wind speed and direction for certain weather stations in the radar range you have selected. If you are playing roulette with a wind change or storms, this can give crucial information on what the wind is doing at the weather stations near you (you can see the wind direction/speed difference between weather stations). If you watch it over a few hours when a front comes through Victoria you can get a feel for this visualization technique.
2. View shipping movements - good for Yarra / docklands, marks along shipping channels, the rip
3. Checking in with family etc.

My waterproof cased samsung S3 has the S-voice voice recognition system - two presses of the physical home button (can even be pressed underwater) and shouted 'call help' can be programmed to call 000. I have tried this in a few conditions - you need to play with the word you want to use to dial emergency and maybe add an extra number as I don't believe it likes calling 000.

I have also thought about what to do in similar situations. My theory is:
Activate epirb/PLB/distress call on VHF
Get your lines in / gear stashed or ditched.
Tether yourself to yak, turn on light(s), then up anchor so you are connected if/when you go over.
Flares/water dye (i.e. http://safetycentral.com/grfldyemapa.html) after capsize/before you pass out or when you hear rescue vehicles.

Be prepared.