Too windy for tide-pooling but a wonderful day none-the-less.
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Friday morning I was up early to get in a bit of pre-event paddling. Steve Hufstadter and I had found each other and we went for a quick morning paddle off of the cape; we made our way out to the bell buoy and then a did quick circuit of Haystack Rock. The swell, looked smaller than its forecasted six feet.
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2 thoughts on “Deception Pass on a Windy Fall Day”
Hi Paul – Thanks for posting that sweet video. It was really cool to see how the wind speed cranked up when it was constricted by the passes. One thing that came to mind as I was watching the video is the prospect of blowing a roll, wet-exiting, and having the boat blow away if you aren’t tethered to it. I’m a big fan of being tethered to my kayak in those sorts of conditions. You also mentioned swimming to shore. That’s certainly a possibility if you’re dressed for immersion – which you certainly were – but as you were talking about it, I was looking at the sheer cliffs where you would have wound up at that point in the paddle. No point in reaching shore if you can’t get out of the water. All of which brings me back to the concept of making sure that you don’t get separated from your kayak following a capsize – particularly if you’re paddling solo. I had a long, gnarly swim back in the day that I recount here: http://www.coldwatersafety.org/Rule5.html#rule5Case2. That’s when I became a tether convert. Anyway, cool video and great blog. Cheers, Moulton
Hi Moulton. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment. I’m not at all sure about tethers. I guess I’m in the “afraid of entanglement” camp. As you know, much of the paddling we do on the coast involves getting in and out through complex breaking waves and weird currents. I know that you unclip in the surf but even so . . the thought of the cord dangling gives me the willies. For the same reason, I do not use a paddle leash. That said, I do clip in on a surf ski and sit-on-tops. Rolling is not an option and they are so light, they’ll blow away in a second (as will kayaks too in strong winds, I know).
Your story is sobering though. It points to many lessons, not just the tether. I’m not sure if you read my story Break on Through: Kayaking high Surf off Netarts Bay Oregon. It is written in an off-kilter tone but there are some real lessons there as well. In the incident I describe, I came close to being sucked out of my boat and losing my paddle in extremely big surf a long way off the beach. I shudder to think what would have happened. That said, neither paddle leashes nor kayak clip-ins would have been the answer I think. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Back to Deception Pass -as you probably know, the pass sits between two sheltered bodies of water: Bowman and Cornet Bays. The most likely thing that would happen in a separation would be getting flushed into one of those bays – depending on the tide. Even so, you would still be exhausted and scared. Most likely you would be safe but you never know. That was the main reason I felt safe being there solo. In another area, I would not have ventured out alone.
I really appreciate your work as a safety evangelist for our community. I am pleased you follow my blog 🙂