Capsizing

[BOF]

So it finally happened, capsized about 400 off shore at Buffels. It's happened to many of us so no big deal but I learnt some lessons and maybe just to share with those who've not yet had the privilage.
First beginners mistake I made was the anchor was too close to the middle of the kayak and not on either bow or stern. When a big swell came the kayak can obviously only roll sideways (which it gracefully did!) I let out a pathetic little squeal and started bobbing in the water. The water was crystal clear and my mate Brett was very interested in how much detail he would see when a GW attacked.
Next lesson learnt - altho I had practiced rolling and climbing back on I did it in Zandvlei and without a PFD. What I found was that the PFD adds a lot of extra bulk to your body (apart from the standad beer boep) so it was much harder to pull yourself over the kayak to righten it. Otherwise everything went well, all tackle strapped down so BIG thanks for all the advice on this site, everything went well.

 

[Pslatarix]

Boet I wouldn't want to capsize in anything deeper than 1m in falsebay , ANYwhere! Each to his own hey.

 

[$harkBait1]

Dude,you make it seem like an amazing achievement! 'So it finally happened....' Lol. I would rather drown in a teaspoon of water before capsizing anywhere, let alone False Bay! Te veel tannemanne! Heck, I don't even wade no more after what I've seen.They don't call me Sharkbait for nothing.Glad you made it! My lesson learnt? Don't go where you don't belong..... :kaykak + ((r(e(ling = :ssswim:bw_l_)

 

[smiley6996]

Wow you got off lightly . My first fishing ski experience was allot more expensive. I bought my ski in the paper read in the mags they were easy to use so I bought it Sunday evening took it out the next day in a howling sw gale but what do I know so I launch aloan get blower across the bay . By the time I got back to shore I capsized both rods broke got one back lost gaff and tackle box cooler every thing saved one broken rod all this happened on a busy swimming beach in Dec so that's my first capsize story in a nut shell

 

[Fredster]

Here's a bit of a tip about getting back on, that makes it quick and easy and less of a desperate scramble.
Firstly grip nearside footwell rail and farside seat rail, keeping elbow low in the seat bucket.
three things help you get back on:
1 proper swimming kick
2 start low in the water so bouyancy of pfd can help lift you
3 pull up with arms
do all three syncronised together and nicely deliberate and twist as you come out the water and youre sitting nicely side saddle
over-do it and you can launch yourself right over the other side LOL
be calm and get it right first time, - despatate uncordinated scrambling and failure at the first attempt, then the ou's tend to start getting really panicked.

 

[Fredster]

perhaps ask mods to move to paddleski section? - only saw it here by accident

Done

Admin "K"

 

[Fredster]

hows that for prompt service? !! thx

 

[G.I.JOE]

Capsizing is part of the game, specialy when you get more experienced you tend to push the limits resulting in ending up where you sometimes should not be.

@Fredster's advice is perfect, I also found that if you battle to get up from the side, swim towards the back , put four fingers of your hands in the rod holders(chuck your rods on the rod leashes in the water if they still in, normally not) and pull yourself up and swing your legs to both sides, this I found much easier until I got the hang of getting up from the side....and YES don't panic, get it right the first time, battling will just drain your energy and make things worse.

 

[G.I.JOE]

One more thing, practice getting on without equipment in the boat, and don't practice in shallow water where your feet can touch the bottom, you wont have that advantage in a real situation.For extra lift trying to get up from the side, go down a bit and use the buoyancy of you PFD to give you a boost.

 

[BOF]

Thanks for good advice Fredster and GI.
Didn't panic (the brown cloud around me in the water is a natural reaction to cold water!)
Must say you are very aware of your legs dangling in the water.
Feel more confident now that it happened and coped with situation. Unfortunately it's the only way to get experience.