here we go again 12/8 kayaker getting into strife

[4liters]

yes, nasty little patch that is influenced by current flows conflicting resulting in what looks like staring into a washing machine.
exclusive to wbp off corinella and guaranteed to have you hanging on regardless of size of craft

It was pretty fun in the Prowler until i realised I'd have to paddle against it to get back to the car. It was kinda cool feeling the yak getting twisted and turned around in the upwellings and going past the little islands was like being on a river

[Tim399]

The washing machine sounds.. interesting

[vicyak]

I don't know the circumstances of this guy getting into trouble however I'm sure most of us have had friends and family be amazed and think we are all half nuts going out in the yak.

Ask the average member of the public about a kayak going 10km off coast at Portland and I think you get a 95% response saying they are crazy. But we all know some people are much more experienced, done the training and have all the safety equipment available. put a 2.5m yak in someone who is inexperienced on a day it appears calm but wind is offshore. Now we know the former is more silly. but realistically others wouldn't see it that way.

Authorities will have to do something shortly. However min kayak lengths or some sort of rating system which would be applicable to bays and offshore would be one. Perhaps even a licence or mandatory radio/PLB/EPIRB if going more than 500m from any beach. I wouldn't mind it being licensed if it meant it being a safer sport.

The regulations still have a while to catch up even for Jetskies as well. The safety equipment required on a jetski is far behind what is required on a boat.

[bunyip]

The regulations still have a while to catch up even for Jetskies as well. The safety equipment required on a jetski is far behind what is required on a boat.

And probably more necessary given the application of physics that can result in an unexpected swim (I watched Science of Stupid a couple of nights ago and jetskis featured with their sudden increase in centrifugal forces resulting in ejection unless bolted or glued to the seat).

[laneends]

I don't know the circumstances of this guy getting into trouble however I'm sure most of us have had friends and family be amazed and think we are all half nuts going out in the yak.

Ask the average member of the public about a kayak going 10km off coast at Portland and I think you get a 95% response saying they are crazy. But we all know some people are much more experienced, done the training and have all the safety equipment available. put a 2.5m yak in someone who is inexperienced on a day it appears calm but wind is offshore. Now we know the former is more silly. but realistically others wouldn't see it that way.

Authorities will have to do something shortly. However min kayak lengths or some sort of rating system which would be applicable to bays and offshore would be one. Perhaps even a licence or mandatory radio/PLB/EPIRB if going more than 500m from any beach. I wouldn't mind it being licensed if it meant it being a safer sport.

The regulations still have a while to catch up even for Jetskies as well. The safety equipment required on a jetski is far behind what is required on a boat.

Agree its only going to get worse and poor perception can end up ruining it for everyone. I certainly think a size limitation linked to distance from shore would be helpful. If only to highlight to those thinking about getting into it that there is a difference. It could even influence what stores stock. Truth is many of the outdoor stores dont even offer decent sized yaks as an option, so the little ones look big on the showroom.

I know its hard to enforce, but having retailers advertising 3m kayaks as ocean fishing kayaks doesn't help

[Yako]

Had an interesting experience in the washing machine about 2 years back trying to help a mate out who was getting into strife. I had my anchor at bow into current with no dramas but trying to help him turned me side on & things started to not look so good quickly, fortunately I was quick enough to release the anchor rope (in the process squeezing a finger going blue) & just dumped it all & pedalled into the current & recovered.
Been through that gap a while back pedalling almost flat out once with my gps showing a whopping 0.5Kmh against the tide
I'm looking forward to get in some more "safety" days or even surf days with big bertha

[shane]

The washing machine sounds.. interesting

It's a fun spot to target the salmon schools that can hang out there on an outgoing tide. But not for the faint hearted.

[Fish Grylls]

I would love to see the breakdown of rescues/fatalities and the statistics associated as to what was considered the cause.
Without fully understanding the processes relating to the release of coroners reports it appears that they are simply not released publicly. It would be great if the circumstances relating to accident were released. Eg. Kayaker went out in dangerous conditions. The media would be all over it and the message would get out.

There seems to allot of discussion around experience and size and purpose of the kayak but in most cases it simply comes down to not reading the forecast correctly and not knowing the capabilities of the kayak.
Generally the type of kayaker involved has never been on a forum like VYAK and would not know that they exist.

[laneends]

I would love to see the breakdown of rescues/fatalities and the statistics associated as to what was considered the cause.
Without fully understanding the processes relating to the release of coroners reports it appears that they are simply not released publicly. It would be great if the circumstances relating to accident were released. Eg. Kayaker went out in dangerous conditions. The media would be all over it and the message would get out.

There seems to allot of discussion around experience and size and purpose of the kayak but in most cases it simply comes down to not reading the forecast correctly and not knowing the capabilities of the kayak.
Generally the type of kayaker involved has never been on a forum like VYAK and would not know that they exist.

Problem with stats is they ignore what is usually a combination that builds up to "the perfect storm' factor. There are many factors that reduce % safety. Nothing is 100%. You dont want stats saying there are no reported incidents soley due to X. In many cases the full facts are not known. I am sure everyone shaves a margin somewhere.

[4liters]

Looks like another el cheapo yak might have come to grief: https://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/news/p ... 2541951223

I think it won't be long before the cops get sick of this sort of thing happening and require some sort of registration details be put on every kayak before they are used in salt water so they can track the owners down a bit easier