# Ocean kayak rescue



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm not one of those that gets all high and mighty over the current rash of ocean rescues. However, this one is just pushing the limits. If there is any inclination to charge for rescues or have regulatory training or licensing requirements, stuff like this will work in that favor.

Man attempting kayak trip from California to Hawaii rescued in Santa Barbara


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

Yeah there's a thread here about it Minn.
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/off-topic/146746-why-do-we-pay-rescue-dumb-ones.html


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## JonEisberg (Dec 3, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> I'm not one of those that gets all high and mighty over the current rash of ocean rescues. However, this one is just pushing the limits. If there is any inclination to charge for rescues or have regulatory training or licensing requirements, stuff like this will work in that favor.
> 
> Man attempting kayak trip from California to Hawaii rescued in Santa Barbara


Whether it was actually the case or not, you gotta love the notion that someone headed for Hawaii _"couldn't find his way back"_ to the coast of California from 60 miles off Santa Barbara


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## Nancyleeny (Jun 2, 2014)

JonEisberg said:


> Whether it was actually the case or not, you gotta love the notion that someone headed for Hawaii _"couldn't find his way back"_ to the coast of California from 60 miles off Santa Barbara


Reminds me of the Monty Python skit where the guy is going to try to jump the English channel. When asked his longest jump so far, he said. "Eleven feet. No, no, twelve feet."

:laugher

Looks like this guy only got eleven feet out in the ocean. Seems like a crazy goal.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Couldn't find California...

"Help, I'm lost!"
"Ahuh. Is there a big yellow thing in the sky? A bright yellow thing?"
"Yes."
"Okay, you just look for the same yellow thing around six a.m. tomorrow, and paddle like hell in the direction it came from. You'll be home in two days."

Really, how hard does it get?


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

"Paging Mr. Darwin..... 
Paging Mr. Darwin.....
Paging Mr. C Darwin...."

Medsailor

Brevity and typos are courtesy of my Samsung S4 Active.


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## Puddin'_Tain (Feb 14, 2014)

hellosailor said:


> Couldn't find California...
> 
> "Help, I'm lost!"
> "Ahuh. Is there a big yellow thing in the sky? A bright yellow thing?"
> ...


My guess is that he didn't realize how far to the east the California coast bends south of Pt. Conception. He probably couldn't understand how he could have paddled to the east so far and still not see the mainland.


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## devilbones (Jun 3, 2014)

This is too funny, but sad at the same time.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

From the linked article: "A friend of the man told the Coast Guard he’d left Monterey May 30th attempting to make the voyage of nearly 2,400 miles to Honolulu in a kayak with a solar panel that charged his electronic equipment.

The solar panel malfunctioned on Saturday and the man turned back to California, but sent out the distress call when he couldn’t find his way back."

I guess that this guy relied too much on his electronics and not enough on things like compass and map. When his electronics failed, he panicked to the point of calling in the cavalry because he could not get back, let alone going forward to Hawaii. 
Yes, it is deeply sad, but not one bit funny.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

I see a great deal of humor in it. Politically incorrect but as Bugs Bunny said, "What a maroon!"

I mean, come on now. The guy is taking on an ocean voyage in a kayak, solo, and he doesn't have the brains to find a whole CONTINENT that's only 60 miles away?

This is what happens when you let folks out without their keepers, and yes, the ocean is a cruel and unforgiving place. 

No doubt next time he'll paint an arrow on the kayak that points to Hawaii, so he has something to follow if the GPS dies?

File under "What were they thinking?!".


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

hellosailor said:


> I see a great deal of humor in it. Politically incorrect but as Bugs Bunny said, "What a maroon!"
> 
> I mean, come on now. The guy is taking on an ocean voyage in a kayak, solo, and he doesn't have the brains to find a whole CONTINENT that's only 60 miles away?


This guy spent 12 days offshore in a kayak (ever tried to sleep in one of those out on the ocean?), so I would give him some credit. Maybe he has more balls then brains, and his approach was definitely flawed, but he has something of value.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"This guy spent 12 days offshore in a kayak (ever tried to sleep in one of those out on the ocean?), "
Ah, yeah. And how many folks would do that to themselves, for any reason beyond escaping from Alcatraz? No, I don't give him credit for putting himself into that situation, any more than I give him credit for being so ill-prepared.
I know the "Jackass video" tv shows were very popular, but I don't give people any credit for trying to star in them.

The first time I used a beverage can recycling machine, it jammed on the fourth or fifth can. And a little light came on that said "Remove can". Now, think about this. There's a hydraulic press in there designed to crush things. It is malfunctioning, and the machine is telling you to STICK YOUR HAND IN A MALFUNCTIONING HYDRAULIC PRESS?
Hey, I had a shop teacher who would have been proud of me. I walked away, and left the can and the machine to fight it out themselves. Some things are just DUMB to do.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

I'm sure you would consider an attempt to go solo to the South Pole on skis an utter foolishness, yet people do it and live to talk about it. 
"Parker Liautaud set a record in December as the fastest unsupported person to ski from the Antarctic Coast to the South Pole, completing the 314-mile journey in 18 days. 
At 19, the polar adventurer is also the youngest man to reach the most southern point on Earth by foot, without any assistance."
Read more: Parker Liautaud's Record Ski Trip To South Pole - Business Insider


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

krisscross said:


> I'm sure you would consider an attempt to go solo to the South Pole on skis an utter foolishness, yet people do it and live to talk about it.
> "Parker Liautaud set a record in December as the fastest unsupported person to ski from the Antarctic Coast to the South Pole, completing the 314-mile journey in 18 days.
> At 19, the polar adventurer is also the youngest man to reach the most southern point on Earth by foot, without any assistance."
> Read more: Parker Liautaud's Record Ski Trip To South Pole - Business Insider


Yeah, but a well planned expedition and a poorly planned one are completely different animals. This guy couldn't find California once his chartplotter died, so I'm going to put him squarely in the poorly planned "expedition" camp.

MedSailor


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

MedSailor said:


> Yeah, but a well planned expedition and a poorly planned one are completely different animals. This guy couldn't find California once his chartplotter died, so I'm going to put him squarely in the poorly planned "expedition" camp.


That is what we all agree on. In my original post I pointed out the over-reliance on electronic navigation and lack of compass/map backup. Sadly, I see that happening more and more among sailors as well (at least most sailboats still have a compass). So IMO that is the real lesson from this incident, not simply dismissing the guy as crazy or dumb (which he may or may not be). Surviving 12 days on an open ocean in a kayak does require quite a bit of skill and smarts, so this guy is not some inept loser.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"Yeah, but a well planned expedition and a poorly planned one are completely different animals."
Precisely.

"Surviving 12 days on an open ocean in a kayak does require quite a bit of skill and smarts," Not really. If you know how to keep your balance and either not roll the boat, or roll it properly, how much skill and smarts is involved? You're not hunting game, you're sitting in a box eating supplies you brought along. 
Less body skill than a gymnast, less hunting skill than the average "tribesman", and apparently enough smarts to know he was about to kill himself. Oh, but not until twelve days into the trip. Coulda been a thousand miles offshore instead of 60, just pure luck it wasn't.

" so this guy is not some inept loser. " We've got no reason to make a call on that. But inept, well, yes because his plans didn't work at all. All we know is that he can paddle a kayak, or at least sit in one.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

hellosailor said:


> "Surviving 12 days on an open ocean in a kayak does require quite a bit of skill and smarts," Not really. If you know how to keep your balance and either not roll the boat, or roll it properly, how much skill and smarts is involved?


Having done a bit of sea kayaking off the coast of North and South Carolina I consider being out to sea for 12 days and nights something that requires considerable skill, smarts, and courage. But of course we all have different standards when it comes to these things.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

The amount of skill and smarts would depend on the weather and many other things. And it is a _limited _skill set. Guys running whitewater rapids without punching a distress button aren't hard to find. Less common than McBurger counter help, but still not _hard _to find.

Courage? Not so much. It isn't like you are camping out in bear country, while slathered in bacon grease. Courage says you are putting aside your fears, and there's nothing to fear about the ocean, unless you've given Poseidon a personal grudge against you.

Rapid pit bull off the leash? I fear. 
The ocean? I respect it, I don't fear it. No courage required, until someone says "SHARK!"

I guess we can agree to disagree. Lewis and Clark went further and did more. They planned better. This guy? Hey, even Columbus had triple redundancy in his fleet.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Ok, I need to know. How did this guy relieve himself? Then again, maybe he didn't think that through either.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Minne, a true zen master can restrain himself for a whole month. 
Twelve days? An acolyte could do that.

Like those celibate RC priests: You just put it out of your mind.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

Minnewaska said:


> Ok, I need to know. How did this guy relieve himself? Then again, maybe he didn't think that through either.


#1 is easy - wide mouth bottle.
for #2 you need a proper kayak pan:


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## titustiger27 (Jan 17, 2013)

I am wondering .... when it comes to problems at sea.. what ever happened to

Mayday mayday mayday

That is, couldn't another boat in the area be summoned for help


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

A kayaker does the same thing any cavalryman does. Dismount from time to time. Getting in and out of a kayak while it is on the water shouldn't be any problem.

Discharging _from _the kayak being illegal of course until you're three miles offshore? (G)


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## UnionPacific (Dec 31, 2013)

krisscross said:


> Yes, it is deeply sad, but not one bit funny.


:laugher
Actually its the other way around.
Save the sadness for death. He is alive and stupid.


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## poopdeckpappy (Jul 25, 2006)

There's several guys attempting this right now, I think its called the Great Pac Race.( this guy is not in the event ) They expect it will take 1 - 3 months to complete.

Back in the mid 80's a guy from San Diego did Monterey - Maui in 62 days.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

poopdeckpappy said:


> There's several guys attempting this right now, I think its called the Great Pac Race.( this guy is not in the event ) They expect it will take 1 - 3 months to complete.
> 
> Back in the mid 80's a guy from San Diego did Monterey - Maui in 62 days.


Hardcore.

I wonder if the kayaking forums argue about what constitutes a "blue water kayak." Makes us all seem like pansies....

MedSailor


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