Joined
·
533 Posts
In hindsight, and if fate had something to do with my procrastinating all day and deciding around 12pm to head out anyways to Malabar than I am glad that it turned out this way.
It was a great day to be on the water and Malabar or Long Bay was calm and flat. This was to be my maiden offshore voyage of my recently acquired Cobra Marauder. I was just going to bring my bare essentials, not a lot of fishing gear and 1 rod. I usually bring my emergency dry bag with the basics in case something went wrong...but of course I left that at home. The launch was smooth from the steep concrete ramp off of Fishermans Road and an easy paddle to the northern heads area.
Having arrived at the northern headland area, the water became choppier and the waves increased with the NE winds. It was not severe but just enough to remind me why I loved my Outback: stability, easy to turn without having to paddle, and most importantly...no soup axx. Overall, I really enjoyed how the Marauder handled and I never felt unsafe or tippy; just very wet
:twisted: Around 1:30pm I saw 2 guys paddling a yellow/red sit-in kayak and heading up the middle of the bay past the headlands. I thought that they were going to NZ. Having fished the area regularly I was aware of the changing conditions of the bay and remembering all the signs of "bad things are about to happen," I paddled over towards them. Both of the guys seemed very amused and having a good time without life jackets (PFD's), and mentioning that they were having trouble with their rudder. Offered assistance but they refused and said g'day. This was not the end of their journey... :?
I returned back close to the headland and had a chat with a guy in a tinny who was anchored up and not really catching much. Interesting thing, he was by himself, small tinny and no PFD. :twisted: Anyhow, I had kept an eye on the two geniuses who by this time had capsized from their kayak. I watched from about ~250m while they tried to get back into their sit-in kayak. Anyone who has fallen out of a SIK knows that it's a pain to get back in and bail out the water without proper technique and equipment.
After watching for an agonizing ~5 minutes of them trying to re-enter I paddled over to them to help them out. On my way over to them, I realized how difficult it is to see someone in the water holding onto a half-submerged kayak. Glad I wear my bright orange long sleeve top every time
By the time I got there, both of them were just holding onto the kayak and had decided to swim back to shore with their sinking kayak. The kayak was getting swamped, and it was only a matter of time that it would have sunk.
With the wind and the current they were more likely to blow into the southern headland and not be able to swim back to the bay. I waved over to the tinny man who came over to help out. Had I not chatted to the tinny guy and asked him to keep an eye on me while I go over he would have never known due to him facing the opposite way. While he was on his way I had another chat with the fellas.... :twisted:
I asked them where they were from, both answered Maroubra...B.S. I though and asked again...Germany. Any life jackets on board...nope, no paddles by this time either. :twisted: By estimates, they were in the water (16.5C) for ~15 minutes. I am not 100% sure about signs of hypothermia, but I'm sure that they were pretty close. By this time the tinny got there and these 2 guys spent the next 5 minutes struggling to get into the boat. They towed the kayak back with them and I'm sure that they thanked the guy in the tinny at the end.
The lessons from all of this is always wear a PFD and know the condition of the kayak prior to going offshore, and I'm sure that I could keep on going.
However, if everything happens for a reason, than I am glad that I slept in, procrastinated, and decided at the last minute to fish Malabar. Not patting my own back, but if I had not made the effort to keep an eye out for these 2 guys :-? , things could have turned out very sour for them and their families. At the end of the day, I am just glad that they did not end up on the news.
AND A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO THE MAN IN THE TINNY!
It was a great day to be on the water and Malabar or Long Bay was calm and flat. This was to be my maiden offshore voyage of my recently acquired Cobra Marauder. I was just going to bring my bare essentials, not a lot of fishing gear and 1 rod. I usually bring my emergency dry bag with the basics in case something went wrong...but of course I left that at home. The launch was smooth from the steep concrete ramp off of Fishermans Road and an easy paddle to the northern heads area.
Having arrived at the northern headland area, the water became choppier and the waves increased with the NE winds. It was not severe but just enough to remind me why I loved my Outback: stability, easy to turn without having to paddle, and most importantly...no soup axx. Overall, I really enjoyed how the Marauder handled and I never felt unsafe or tippy; just very wet
:twisted: Around 1:30pm I saw 2 guys paddling a yellow/red sit-in kayak and heading up the middle of the bay past the headlands. I thought that they were going to NZ. Having fished the area regularly I was aware of the changing conditions of the bay and remembering all the signs of "bad things are about to happen," I paddled over towards them. Both of the guys seemed very amused and having a good time without life jackets (PFD's), and mentioning that they were having trouble with their rudder. Offered assistance but they refused and said g'day. This was not the end of their journey... :?
I returned back close to the headland and had a chat with a guy in a tinny who was anchored up and not really catching much. Interesting thing, he was by himself, small tinny and no PFD. :twisted: Anyhow, I had kept an eye on the two geniuses who by this time had capsized from their kayak. I watched from about ~250m while they tried to get back into their sit-in kayak. Anyone who has fallen out of a SIK knows that it's a pain to get back in and bail out the water without proper technique and equipment.
After watching for an agonizing ~5 minutes of them trying to re-enter I paddled over to them to help them out. On my way over to them, I realized how difficult it is to see someone in the water holding onto a half-submerged kayak. Glad I wear my bright orange long sleeve top every time
By the time I got there, both of them were just holding onto the kayak and had decided to swim back to shore with their sinking kayak. The kayak was getting swamped, and it was only a matter of time that it would have sunk.
With the wind and the current they were more likely to blow into the southern headland and not be able to swim back to the bay. I waved over to the tinny man who came over to help out. Had I not chatted to the tinny guy and asked him to keep an eye on me while I go over he would have never known due to him facing the opposite way. While he was on his way I had another chat with the fellas.... :twisted:
I asked them where they were from, both answered Maroubra...B.S. I though and asked again...Germany. Any life jackets on board...nope, no paddles by this time either. :twisted: By estimates, they were in the water (16.5C) for ~15 minutes. I am not 100% sure about signs of hypothermia, but I'm sure that they were pretty close. By this time the tinny got there and these 2 guys spent the next 5 minutes struggling to get into the boat. They towed the kayak back with them and I'm sure that they thanked the guy in the tinny at the end.
The lessons from all of this is always wear a PFD and know the condition of the kayak prior to going offshore, and I'm sure that I could keep on going.
However, if everything happens for a reason, than I am glad that I slept in, procrastinated, and decided at the last minute to fish Malabar. Not patting my own back, but if I had not made the effort to keep an eye out for these 2 guys :-? , things could have turned out very sour for them and their families. At the end of the day, I am just glad that they did not end up on the news.
AND A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO THE MAN IN THE TINNY! 
