Another Lesson Learned

[dsafety]

I went out at LJ today for the first time in a long time. The day looked promising when I got on the road for a planned 10:00 launch. As I crested the bluff and headed down the hill to the beach, I noticed a couple of things. The surf was non-existent, always a good thing when launching a kayak. The other thing I noticed was the dark gray marine layer, hundreds of feet thick, sitting a few miles off shore.

I got to the launch, rigged up and headed out into the tea-colored water. I was all by myself. As I headed out, I ran across another yakfisher coming in, (I will call him Mr. X), who had a nice fish strapped to the back of his kayak. Hopefully Mr. X will tell his story one of these days.

About the time I reached the reserve buoys, the marine layer had engulfed me. It was really thick and getting thicker. After about fifteen minutes heading, (hopefully), west, I realized that I had no idea where I was or what direction I was going. The only clue was the occasional bark of a sea lion and the crashing of the waves at some beach, (Boomers?).

The marine layer was so thick and dense that I could not even see the sun and use it as a navigational marker. I have been fishing in fog before but never as dense as this. After a while, it became clear to me that if I could not figure out where I was or what direction I was headed, I could be in some serious trouble.

The good news is that I have an iPhone that I always carry with me while out fishing. The better news is that this phone has a bunch of tools that helped to save my bacon today.

The phone, (along with most smart phones), has a standard compass app. This is great but if you have no idea where you are, just going east to try to get home could have some unforeseen consequences. I could have landed at Boomers and been smacked by a a six foot breaker.

I have a couple other apps on my phone which came in very handy today. Most of these apps use GPS coordinates to plot the phone's position at any given time. The savior today was Navionics. This app showed where I was on a nautical map and also showed what direction I was headed.

To my great surprise, I found that even though I had been peddling West, (supposedly) for almost an hour against a strong wind, I had not made much progress. I was barely past the reserve buoys and had been heading mostly north.

With the help of the iPhone technology, I was able to get myself pointed in the right direction. By noon, the fog had lifted and I was able to get a full day of fishing in. For those who may be interested, there was no catching associated with this day of fishing.

The main point of this post is that even for those of us who have spent quite a bit of time on the water, Mom Nature can sometimes dish out some unexpected and dangerous conditions. Smart Phones are great tool that can help yakfishers cope with with problems on the water.

My recommendation is that you have a smart phone, load it up with the appropriate safety and navigation apps and bring it with you. If you do not have a smart phone, you should seriously consider getting one.

Bob

[wiredantz]

D-safety, Are you actually admitting on this post??? That you do not have an actual compass on your kayak??? :eek:

Must of been a nightmare not know which direction was which, thanks for the report this is one reason i carry my iphone with me too.

[roby]

I'm glad you made it back safely Bob. Thanks for the report and advice

[thefisher]

Dsafety, are you familiar with the Navionics App for iphone?

[jorluivil]

I'm glad you made it back safely Bob. Thanks for the report and advice


Ditto!

I've been in that situation before, I was in some night time fog that was so thick my GPS antenna was actually loosing its signal. I recall getting to the point when I was ready to call the USCG and ask for assistance getting in. The worst part of this was that I was with my son and we were inside the breakwall in Long Beach right outside of Los Alamitos bay.....so close yet so far.

Glad you made it home safely.

[Regor]

I too went fishing today, but went to the Bay. The Bay is busy enough on a clear day, but with visibility of less than 100 feet, just plain crazy out there.

Some PB'ers were carefull, lots of horn blowing. Then some were cruising as if they could see for miles.

I was already a few hours into my day of fishing, and an hour peddle out to the mouth of the Jetty when the marine layer rolled in.. There was no turning around. All I could do was fish around the buoy, figuring that was my safest bet.

As you'll see from the pics, even the Navy and tugboats were hugging the buoys.



Just what is it?
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140520_600.jpg

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140516_600.jpg

Yep, there were ships and subs of every variety coming in and out of the bay today!

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140522_600.jpg

[wiredantz]

Cool BEANs!!!


You should of asked for a tour of the sub:cheers1:

[mtnbykr2]

I too went fishing today, but went to MIssion Bay. Mission Bay is busy enough on a clear day, but with visibility of less than 100 feet, just plain crazy out there.

Some PB'ers were carefull, lots of horn blowing. Then some were cruising as if they could see for miles.

I was already a few hours into my day of fishing, and an hour peddle out to the mouth of the Jetty when the marine layer rolled in.. There was no turning around. All I could do was fish around the buoy, figuring that was my safest bet.

As you'll see from the pics, even the Navy and tugboats were hugging the buoys.



Just what is it?
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140520_600.jpg

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140516_600.jpg

Yep, there were ships and subs of every variety coming in and out of the bay today!

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/637/PA140522_600.jpg
every time I see you you are fishing...lol...:reel:

[RK]

Bob-
Good seeing you today...

I don't want you to take this as a dig because I think your a really nice dude but;

Go buy the forty dollar ritchie compass, electronics fail and direction and bearing are important for your safety....

You can somewhat easily navigate the whiteout if needed by following the lobby buoys back along the point and into the reserve....

You or anyone might be comfortable in that setting but what about the other guy flying around in the cabin cruiser like today:eek:.. That could turn bad quick...

BUY A REAL COMPASS......

I hope you enjoyed the fishing time though, that terrible red tide kept things peaceful. Hopefully your drive got fixed too buddy

I dont care what anyone says I love the lobster buoys makes fishing more fun and safe:)

[mtnbykr2]

Bob-
Good seeing you today...

I don't want you to take this as a dig because I think your a really nice dude but;

Go buy the forty dollar ritchie compass, electronics fail and direction and bearing are important for your safety....

You can somewhat easily navigate the whiteout if needed by following the lobby buoys back along the point and into the reserve....

You or anyone might be comfortable in that setting but what about the other guy flying around in the cabin cruiser like today:eek:.. That could turn bad quick...

BUY A REAL COMPASS......

I hope you enjoyed the fishing time though, that terrible red tide kept things peaceful. Hopefully your drive got fixed too buddy

I dont care what anyone says I love the lobster buoys makes fishing more fun and safe:)
x2:reel:

[dsafety]

Dsafety, are you familiar with the Navionics App for iphone?

Yes, I am familiar with the app. It is OK but not great when installed on a phone. For today's purpose it was very useful as a way to figure out where I was. On a larger screen than what you get on a phone it would be much more useful. The app is quite powerful, allowing you to track where you have been, save waypoints and review your trip online.

For all of those ragging about not having a compass on the boat, the one on my phone works just fine. Unless the phone battery fails, it is just as good as any that I might mount on the boat.

The problem today was one that a compass could not solve. I could figure out what direction I was going but not where I was. To be truthful, I was probably never in very much danger. I could always find land by just heading east or heading toward the barking sea lions or the sound of the surf.

The point that I am trying to make in this post is that if you have a smart phone, (these days you can buy one for less than $50), you can load apps that can come in very handy when stuff like this comes up.

Bob

[GregAndrew]

Unless you are charting your course, a compass is not going to be of much help in those conditions. I will grant that it could point you towards land (East), but it is not going to show you the way home or a safe landing for that matter.

[MVC]

I fished at Dana Point yesterday and about 1:00 the fog came in very heavy. I was out at the kelp in front of Salt Creek. I always carry a small handheld GPS and just followed my track line back to the harbor.

[T Bone]

And if you are going to get a smart phone,consider the G'zone Commando WATERPROOF ANDROID !!!

Glad you are OK.Fog can be freaky.I love when it lifts to reveal a sunny day!
Eventually someone will put a radar on their kayak.I would have bet Doug(DGAX) would have been the first,but I think he moved out of state...

[pchen911]

Unless you are charting your course, a compass is not going to be of much help in those conditions. I will grant that it could point you towards land (East), but it is not going to show you the way home or a safe landing for that matter.

Exactly.

I carried a compass for years, never used it.

When fog is pea soup thick, you can use the swell direction to get your bearing.

At La Jolla, I launched in pea soup many time before and used the just the swell to guide myself to the pier for bait (compass stayed inside the dry box all the time), then hop from reserve bouy to reserve bouy to the corner of the reserve, then went towards the point using just the swell as guide, then along the kelp edge to the outside. Never using the compass I was carrying.

A GPS is much more useful, you can still fish your designated spots and not just directionally navigate. A handheld GPS is cheap and useful on every outing. (Walmart is having a clearance, they are discontinuing their handheld GPS... If they have any left over that is. A Garmin Venture HC is only $20 (normally around $100), A magellan Triton 500 for $80 (Normally $250)).

[William Novotny]

Got store cred at walmart! Whoop whoop!!! On my way!:driver:

[William Novotny]

I think the point dsafety was making is that we have an extra availible resourse at our desposal that often goes unnoticed. My friend hooked into a mama thresher on wed. that took him on a 3 hour sled ride almost 10 miles towards catalina. Wasn't until the battle was over that he realized the battery on his finder/gps had died. Lucky for him it was a clear day and no fog bank rolled in but the next day he said that's all he could think about the whole time. I asked him if he had a smart phone and if he could just use the gps on that. He never even thought to use it. Its a powerful tool that often gets overlooked. But I also agree that it should be a backup and not a primary saftey tool. Phones are not as reliable as electronics made to perform in the conditions we are using them in.

[todd one]

Thanx for sharing this. I'm new to kayak fishing. Getting lost in the fog is something I never payed a thought to. This story is an eye opener.

[deepdvr]

My friend hooked into a mama thresher on wed. that took him on a 3 hour sled ride almost 10 miles towards catalina.


:eek:

[William Novotny]

:eek:

I would have cut the line after 3 miles and said :the_finger: to whatever was on the other end

[Vikingj]

Bob is making a very important point. Be prepared. I have my gps and also carry a $10 boy scout compass in my pocket as backup. You have no idea how disoriented you can become in the fog until it happens to you. Any compass is much better than none. I would never rely on the swell for direction - it is extremely unpredictable!
Wayne

[mrJB]

Wayne, you should be ashamed of taking that scout's compass :argh:

[lamb]

Thank you for very helpful and informative post Bob, like always!

I was on the water that day on my boat. Around 8:30 AM, you could see the thick fog out on SW horizon , working it's way in closer to the shore. As morning Easternly breeze was turning more to blowing from the South, the fog hit North LJ around 10:15AM and covered it in no time. It hung out for good couple of hours before clearing up, apparently moving up North.

All the new-comers to the sport have to be aware of the thick fog that occasionally wraps our coast line. The fog can hit any time of the year, and it is just occasionally in the forecast. It is the most common this time of the year, in late September/October. As the water temps are dipping down and we get hit by Santa Ana conditions and high air temps for a few days, the right conditions are there. GPS with your tracks on is a must have on one of these days to ensure you'll have an easy time finding your way back exactly to the launch. I agree with Greg - while compass will help you find the shore, it won't necessarily help you easily find the launch.

If you happen to find yourself in a situation where thick fog moves in, and you don't have navigation gear that will show you the way back to the launch, the best thing to do is probably anchor yourself to the kelp/lobster pot and wait till the fog clears out. Kelp is probably better, as it also reduces your chance of getting ran over by irresponsible boater driving through the fog full throttle. Keep an eye on your sonar, scan the depth to figure out whether you're drifting or being blown toward or away from the shore. In North LJ, you should be seeing kelp as you get to about 70 ft depth, depending on your precise location.

For the lucky of us that have smart phones, it's certainly handy to have some sort of a navigation app. I just checked them out. I didn't go with Navionics, ended up buying "Marine US". It was only $5.99, almost 1/2 the price of Navionics. It does keep your tracks, has ability to save waypoints. The most attractive part for me was that it integrates NOAA charts, and as the charts get updated on vendor's server, you download them on your iPhone.

Given the price of your iPhone/smart phone, and the fact that the phones don't mix well with the salt water environment, I think navigation app installed on your phone should just be a backup. Hand held waterproof GPSes are little over $100 these days. That money is well spent as it is your crucial piece of safety equipment. I won't even mention the ability to save the spots you discover, or fine tune your position on the "fishy" area or specific places where you hooked up.

Another big thing all the new-comers should keep an eye on that starts this time of the year is Santa Ana winds. It has happened before, they are reports from the past - finding yourself paddling/pedaling into the 20+ / 30+ wind gusts blowing you away from the shore is a hairy thing to experience. It is a scarry feeling to realize that you can't make any headway. Always keep an eye on whether forecast; it heavy Santa Anna winds are predicted, play it safe and don't take your chances. No fish is worth risking your life.

[WahooUSMA]

Hey Bob,

The fog was intense. I went to Catalina on Friday for the weekend and just got hammered by fog. At times, you could not even see the end of the boat. I had my GPS, Chart plotter, and compass. I was scared shitless most of the way. The radio chatter on 16 was full of lost vessels needing assistance from the coast guard or vessel assist. In addition to the electronics I have on my boat, my wife had her head buried into her iPhone GPS....that phone is amazing.

We made it, but it was a pucker factor of 10 most of the way over. Next upgrade is going to be radar!

The photo attached is to the entrance of Avalon!!

[dsafety]

Given the price of your iPhone/smart phone, and the fact that the phones don't mix well with the salt water environment, I think navigation app installed on your phone should just be a backup. Hand held waterproof GPSes are little over $100 these days. That money is well spent as it is your crucial piece of safety equipment. I won't even mention the ability to save the spots you discover, or fine tune your position on the "fishy" area or specific places where you hooked up..

I agree that a good hand held GPS or even better a FF with GPS would be a good thing to have. Since I do not have either, the phone is a reasonable alternative.

As for risking the phone's health in wet environments, this does not have to be an issue any longer for some types of phones. My latest trip was the first with my iPhone encased in the LifeProof waterproof case. It worked great and is nearly bullet-proof. For more info on this device search for LifeProof in this forum to find a review of this product that I posted a while back.

Otterbox also makes a waterproof case for the iPhone and probably some other types of phones. I have no experience with this case but I did check it out in the store. It looks pretty good. Maybe not as good as the LifeProof case but it costs $30 less.

For guys who fish a lot or are often out in sketchy conditions, I think that a dedicated GPS or FF with that feature is a great idea. For those of us who just go out occasionally, can't justify the cost of another gadget and already have a smart phone, this can be a very serviceable option.

Bob

[ODOGFISH]

good to hear ya got out of your predicament ... fog is spooky more so when its as thick as pea soup

... and to the poster that said WALY-MART had the E-TREX for 20 bucks ... I did a 100 mile search at waly-mart for it and no luck ... damn ... that would have been a great buy ... :the_finger:waly-mart