Destination: Cabo - The Long Way

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by trob

he's headed back north and checked in 3 times on the 13th?

Right now he's at one of my favorite areas to fish in Baja, I'm not sure if he's headed back or just fishing a bite. He's working a prime monster Yellowtail area right now. I'd guess he's target big yellows, amberjack, or possibly grouper, but there are all kinds of fish in there this time of year.

Originally Posted by Thresher_Cowboy

Didn't take long to figure out what a dumb idea that was... Jumping in that truck probably saved his life, at least the guy knows when to quit...

The world is full of demarcations, but one of the most profound is the difference between those who do extraordinary things and those that sit on the sidelines and try to pretend they are fools for trying to do them, or that they do not know what they are doing.

There are few of the former, many, many, many of the latter.

No doubt when Columbus set out for the Indies there were plenty of guys loitering around the docks that said it was a dumb idea, or that he failed when he discovered the "New World" rather then a passage to India.

Einstein said it best:

"...Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form..."

Albert Einstien, quoted in New York Times, March 19, 1940

This reminds me of an old debate.....

Years ago I was having a discussion about Jung's Collective unconcious with a Psychology Professor of mine. I have no issue with the theory as it was originally presented, as a biological reality, essentially instinct but my professor was of the Universal Mind, metaphysical reality, mindset. A school of thought that in my opinion wrongly interprets the original theory into a mystical thing. At any rate his idea was there was there is this field of mental energy that we all contribute to, that is around us at all times, and that all of us tap into it.

In response to this idea I said simply" "Imagine your average student. Think of how intelligent they are. Now realize that half the population on the planet is dumber then they are. If this metaphysical realm of thought exists: as you say it does, then what possible use could it be? It would be like a well of idiocy."

Too bad that was before the web (20 years ago), I could of just used the internet as an example. As they say opinions are like A-holes, everyone's got one, some are more attractive then others, and some you just don't want to see, but the bottom line is for good or bad everyone get's to display theirs on the web.

I don't know exactly what the guys up to, or where he's going next but I'll tell you honestly I've fished where he's at right now from small boats and it's an exceptional place to fish and I would love to take my kayak down there. You can sit here online and try to kick him when you perceive he's down, but I can almost guarantee you that he's probably having more fun then you are, probably the adventure of a lifetime.

I envy him, I wish I was there with him. He may not make it to Cabo this time, but obviously he has the courage, the will, the youth, and more importantly the spirit of adventure to try in the first place.

I'd say he's a lucky man on many levels

Jim

[Dean Machine]

Originally Posted by Jim Day

Einstein said it best:

"...Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form..."

Albert Einstien, quoted in New York Times, March 19, 1940


Jim

Jim,
Nicely chosen quote. Especially the part about expressing the results of thought in clear form. That's like what Dave is doing right now. Of course we could just sit in front of our computers as an expression of our thoughts afraid to even go outside but I'm with Dave's school. He gave the trip lots of thought and now...the fun part.

I wouldn,t exactly say that he quit either. More like he is improvising.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Dean Machine

Of course we could just sit in front of our computers as an expression of our thoughts afraid to even go outside but I'm with Dave's school. He gave the trip lots of thought and now...the fun part. I wouldn,t exactly say that he quit either. More like he is improvising.

Exactly!!!

[Aaron]

I'll play devil's advocate...

Columbus was well prepared and succeeded. Amelia Earhart was well prepared and failed. Point is that it is not important whether or not the people that try these types of things succeed, but that when they attempt these feats, the chances of success are substantially higher than with the average Joe. And I didn't really get that vibe with this one...

I've met Dave a few times on the water. I know who he is from his posts here and on other sites but I'm sure he wouldn't be able to single me out in a lineup. Always seems like a nice guy from our passing by on the water so nothing personal. He gave something that's really difficult a go and that's truly admirable. I think that poor planning is the only thing to blame when plans change so early in a long journey like this. Heavy boat, high seas in the pacific, hot weather in the gulf are all predictable factors that could have been accounted for. But really, who cares? He went for it. My guess, he'll go for it again with a better understanding than any of us who haven't even began such a journey. But I'll stick by my "sideline coaching, still scared of mexico, no time to do anything but work and fish on the internet" opinion that a little better planning and testing followed by more planning and testing could have at least gotten him a little further down the coast.

Only people that I think could be truly irked by this are people that gave him gear for the journey and watched it turn in to a road trip through baja pretty early on. Give me a few months of some free Stone and I'll paddle to Ensanada...or maybe just the coronados...how about the nw corner? Fuck it, I'm never getting sponsored.

[trob]

Originally Posted by sapdawg711

I'll play devil's advocate...

Columbus was well prepared and succeeded. Amelia Earhart was well prepared and failed. Point is that it is not important whether or not the people that try these types of things succeed, but that when they attempt these feats, the chances of success are substantially higher than with the average Joe. And I didn't really get that vibe with this one...

I've met Dave a few times on the water. I know who he is from his posts here and on other sites but I'm sure he wouldn't be able to single me out in a lineup. Always seems like a nice guy from our passing by on the water so nothing personal. He gave something that's really difficult a go and that's truly admirable. I think that poor planning is the only thing to blame when plans change so early in a long journey like this. Heavy boat, high seas in the pacific, hot weather in the gulf are all predictable factors that could have been accounted for. But really, who cares? He went for it. My guess, he'll go for it again with a better understanding than any of us who haven't even began such a journey. But I'll stick by my "sideline coaching, still scared of mexico, no time to do anything but work and fish on the internet" opinion that a little better planning and testing followed by more planning and testing could have at least gotten him a little further down the coast.

Only people that I think could be truly irked by this are people that gave him gear for the journey and watched it turn in to a road trip through baja pretty early on. Give me a few months of some free Stone and I'll paddle to Ensanada...or maybe just the coronados...how about the nw corner? Fuck it, I'm never getting sponsored.

that's probably what most of us are thinking. could have adjusted for the weather before he left for the trip.

he's going to have some awesome pictures to show us when he gets back though.

[wavster]

Well...I'm back and no I didn't make it to Cabo. For anyone
following my blog or this thread, you know that things
didn't go as planned.

I've read through all the posts and to the naysayers, all I can
say is this was MY trip, not yours. How I chose to go about
it was my decision. To supporters, thanks.

That being said, there were definitely some errors
in my planning. Kayak weight was a key factor.
Couple that with unfortunate timing and
things can come unraveled quickly.

Here's the gist of what went down:

From the start, I knew that I would have no ground
support. I knew that would be a crucial factor in this trip.
I spoke to several people who have done
similar type trips and they all advised against going
without ground support. The reasons are obvious (less
gear to carry, easily resupplied, medical emergencies, etc.).
I put the word out, but I couldn't find any
friends who were able to commit to the support
required for a trip like this. I'm not one to rely on others,
so I tried to figure out what I CAN do without a support team.
I knew that certain conditions would have to prevail if
I was going to succeed.

Additionally, I made a commitment to myself about what
I would do if things went wrong or if I found that I
was on a path to destruction. Being a pilot, I've been
taught that its not one thing that went wrong, but a
culmination of many mistakes that leads to most tragic
accidents. 99% of the time, its pilot error and can
be avoided. As Matt F. said in one post, I've proved
Darwin wrong many times...I did not want this trip
to be a Darwinian experiement.

The second problem was weight. My kayak was extremely
heavy, but well within the limits of the kayak.
Unfortunately, being so heavy, it was extremely
difficult for me to move on land. Each heave-ho would
only move the kayak a few inches. I'm estimated I
had about 300lbs of gear, food, and water.

Another major problem is where to land each night. The
first night was extremely difficult and I thought
about that for many months. I thought
about paddling to the Coronados and trying to hook up
with a boat, but figured that was too risky. I decided to
paddle straight to Rosarito, which I did, but since I
launched late (around noon), I didn't get there until
3:30am.

Each evening, I contemplated where I would land. Though
I did my research with maps and charts, I wasn't moving
as fast as I had hoped. My average speed was 2.2 mph.
Typically, its 3.5mph with all my fishing gear. As I
approached my initial landing candidate, I was met
with obstacles out of my control. Incorrect tides, surf,
and other factors made it so my first choice usually
didn't work out. In most cases, I searched for 3-4 hours
for a landing spot.

After arriving in La Bufadora (paddling around Punta Banda
was a trip), I realized that I was only covering half
the miles each day that I needed to in order to complete
this trip in the time I had alloted. Add to that reports
of even larger surf on the way and I began to realize
that I could end up in an uncomfortable situation.

A kayak guide (Eddy), told me that there were surf
warnings for the next several days. He is a certified
expedition kayak guide and knows the Baja coastline
very well. He and another certified guide suggested
that I wait for several days before moving on
from La Bufadora.

I knew that waiting 5 days would make my chances of
reaching Cabo even slimmer. He then suggested the Cortez
side and I thought about that. Unfortunately, though
I knew it would be warmer, I never anticipated the
heat that I experienced there. Temps were easily
over 100 degrees on the water.

[j mo]

Downside of posting on a social networking site- plenty of naysayers.

You went for it

[tony]

Trust me....between this site and others, by the end of his adventure the sponsors are probably looking at about 20,000 views. I'm sure they got way more than they gave him.
Unless Stone Brewing gave him a life time supply of beer.....because if it was me they'd already be losing money
When it's all done I'm sure he's got a great tale to tell. Plus if he's a family man, not risking his life is always the wisest path to take.

[WahooUSMA]

Originally Posted by Jim Day

The world is full of demarcations, but one of the most profound is the difference between those who do extraordinary things and those that sit on the sidelines and try to pretend they are fools for trying to do them, or that they do not know what they are doing.

There are few of the former, many, many, many of the latter.

I envy him, I wish I was there with him. He may not make it to Cabo this time, but obviously he has the courage, the will, the youth, and more importantly the spirit of adventure to try in the first place.

I'd say he's a lucky man on many levels

Jim

Very well said. I too agree, he is a very lucky man on multiple levels. And I am extremely jealous/envious!

[Thresher_Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Jim Day

No doubt when Columbus set out for the Indies there were plenty of guys loitering around the docks that said it was a dumb idea, or that he failed when he discovered the "New World" rather then a passage to India.

Einstein said it best:

"...Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form..."

LOL this guy is no Einstein, and definitely no Columbus... How so many people can support this idea is beyond me. Do the math- 1,000 miles, 30 days, that's 33 miles per day, every day for 30 days. With no land support. And no water maker. Right. A real inspiration...

I thought this was a dumb idea from the start and I guarantee a lot of other people did too. I'm glad you didn't kill yourself wavster.

[shortstack]

A lot of people also said we would never go to the moon either.

People once thought that if we broke the sound barrier that they would explode.

It was said that the world was flat and if you went to the end you would fall off.

Wavster, Dont let the naysayers stop you from posting more about your adventure.

[MVC]

Glad you made it back safely. Memories are worth alot more than pocessions. I am sure that it was a trip that you will never forget.

[maui jim]

Never wait for the Would'of, Could'of, Should'of's in Life...
We only pass this way once, and take in all life experiance that you should offer yourself.
You only had to explain it to yourself and not others, and we tend to believe in our own dreams, more than the dreams of others.
I hope you enjoyed a beer or two at sunset on an empty beach, which is one of lifes great pleasures.
Glad your back, hope to see some pics soon.

[IntrntFshrman]

One of the things I love about this site is reliving other peoples adventures through their tales. I for one am looking forward to some more 'fishing prose' about your adventures. Being two hours from La Jolla, I don't get out very often so it's my way of 'living the dream', even if it is through reading somebody else's tale.

I agree with others that we're really happy to hear you made it back safely....what an amazing trip you must have had!!

[dorado50]

Welcome back....I can put you on some WSB tonite if your down..

[roadx]

welcome back! looking forward to some pictures and more details of your adventure

[walrus]

Welcome back.


You did the right thing, you adapted as the conditions dictated.

You shouldn't worry about the opinion of those whose view of the world is from the inside of a box.

I think the real question is what fish did you catch?