If you fish WPB you need to watch and think about this. If you fall out of your anchored yak - could you swim back to it? Can you get back into your yak wearing an inflated PFD/rigid PFD. Could you climb into your yak wearing wet heavy clothes. Have you even practiced? Is it worth leaving a mermaid line out the back at all times, just to help pull yourself back to the yak? A mermaid line is the safety line WInga talks about.

it is always a worry - most of us fish in less tide flow than where winga was parked right on the main shipping channel but the same applies even in lighter flows
and as silly as it sounds maybe a tether is an option - However where do you tie it

I tried this a little while back in the dark ages when first kayak fishing and found a surfers leg rope worked best if it was around your wrist as the tide flow tended to have you swimming at the yak unlike a leg that meant you had to turn around against the flow

swimming against the tide in clothing with a PFD could be a waste of time and energy the other thing worth thinking about is a lot of areas the channels and flow take you near land --- this could be quite a few Km from where you start your swim

a few examples the eastern channel the flow will take you toward Cowes to Ventnor
Boltons Channel - Joes Island and that area will take you close to barrallier island
and say around the Eagle the mian flow takes you close to Sandy point

these would be the places you would aim your swim for of cause there are places along the way you may get to - Not against the tide unless you had a very short distance to get back to your kayak

Another thing worth considering in WPB, is what will happen if you fall out in a shallow area (say a metre deep), and all you have below that shallow water is deep mud? Will the mud make it even harder to get back into your yak?

Although different being top end of PPB I practiced re entry into my PA14 fully clothed a few times and was quite easy in the end. One thing I didn't practice is if the yak was upside down and taken on a bit of water getting it right side up. Being a big bloke I found that harder to do. I couldn't get it back over. I was lucky there is no current and I had strong on shore winds so I was being pushed back to the beach. Decided not to use all my energy trying to overturn the yak as I knew I would be on the beach soon anyway. This happened to me 2 years ago. After getting back to shore and heading out again another day I then had some rope with a foot peg tide up to the yak. It was tucked away but could reach it. I was then able to use that rope and foot peg as leverage to overturn the kayak again in case I ever needed to do it again. i also stopped going out in 20 knot on shore winds. Those snapper are just not worth it.

I can say I always put safety first, always have a rope about 10m out the back of the yak (floating orange nylon about 50mm dia). This test suggests I need alot more length.

But the vid is so sobering and a reason I haven't ventured to WP yet sticking to PPB and offshore.

Thank you for the post. I am going to send the Youtube link on to some of my boat fishing mates.

I was thinking after watching the video, that it wouldn't be a bad idea for the boaties to have a spare inflatable PFD at the back of the boat. That way if someone did fall in, someone else could pull the inflation toggle and throw the PDF to the man overboard. At least he or she should be able too swim to the floating FPD (just like a life ring but without taking up all that space). Wadayareckon?

outback paul wrote:Another thing worth considering in WPB, is what will happen if you fall out in a shallow area (say a metre deep), and all you have below that shallow water is deep mud? Will the mud make it even harder to get back into your yak?

Dont stand on the bottom, lay flat similar to the position you get into before dragging yourself across the yak to remount. Though if yak is drifting away its to shallow to swim after it and you can run after it.

cheaterparts wrote:
I tried this a little while back in the dark ages when first kayak fishing and found a surfers leg rope worked best if it was around your wrist as the tide flow tended to have you swimming at the yak unlike a leg that meant you had to turn around against the flow

i bet you stopped because having a leash to your wrist is a real pain when you are trying to fish.

Must admit this problem is a worry as the risk of falling out is probably at its greatest when you are trying to retreive a reluctant anchor.

I have been thinking of tethering to the D on the front of my life vest. I used to live at Mission Beach and fished the reef in my boat and have seen the the current on the reef running at about 6 knots on my sounder. In the Hinchinbrook channel off Cardwell I have seen the big channel marker buoys pushed right over to the point that the water is washing over the top. I now live on the Gippsland lakes where there is no current but at 70 years I feel that the tether might be a good safety measure.

Tethering is an option, only risk I see with that is if the yak happens to sink and you are tied to it, with no quick release mechanism.