Montauck Wipeout

From JonS at the kayak fishing store

I lost my cell phone so I sent Paul an email. It simply said ‘if your wipeout was a 1, mine was a 7 or 8’. Here’s how I rate crashes. 10 you’re dead, 9 alive but seriously injured, 8 injured but a full recovery is expected, 7 only minor injuries but major equipment loss and damage. I’ll stop there because I concluded mine was a 7.

One of the outdoor magazines I use to read while growing up had a segment “This happened to me”. This did happen to me and it could have been a lot worse. Paul had a wipeout coming in at Turtle Cove in Montauk. It was just one of those things where his kayak rolled just as he was getting ready to get out. Other than a reel being ground into the sand nothing happened. He decided to head home since the forecast for the next day was ugly. We had booked a room for the night and I figured I’d hit the water for the evening bite, hoping some bass would show up. Also while kayak fishing might not be good in the morning a change in the weather often triggers a striper bite. We had missed them in the morning. So after Paul left I launched and bottom fished a bit to kill time. I got several small sea bass then started seeing boils between the rip and the cove. A long cast produced a nice striper that got off before I could get it to the kayak. Next cast was a small blue. The following cast another striper. Since I was near the rip I looked out towards the ocean to check my position and to my horror the current had already moved me into the path of the big breakers that had formed in the rip. I was in the worst possible place I could imagine. The waves were 8-10’ and one was heading for me and I was broadside. If I couldn’t get perpendicular I was in HUGE Trouble. I hit the throttle on the Torqeedo and steered into the oncoming wave. I was at a 45 degree angle as I crested over the top of the breaking wave and did a slow roll that seemed to last forever. Everything had slowed down. I still had the rod in my hand with fish attached. I dropped the rod and tried to flip the kayak but another wave hit me. I was pulled under for a while. I’d guess about 30 seconds. I realized there wasn’t any way I was going to flip the kayak, get on top and then get out of there as the waves were driving the kayak towards the rocks under the light. Surf fishermen on the rocks were yelling to me to head out as a boat had seen me go in and was coming to pick me up. So I swam out abandoning the kayak. I needed to get to an area where the boat could pick me up. The boaters pulled me in and we got out of there as it wasn’t safe for a boat. They told me they were with the Coast Guard and were out fishing. They asked if I was OK. I was other than I was exhausted. They complimented me on my gear. I had a full vest on, Mysterioso underneath and Kokatat Tempest jacket and pants. After my near miss last year I had decided I would only wear a full vest in the ocean for now on. This decision probably saved my life. After I caught my breath the coast guard guys asked what I wanted to do. We discussed it as we watched my kayak being pounded on the rocks. Surf fishermen tried to get the kayak but it was too dangerous. I asked to be dropped at Turtle Cove and swam in. They headed back to port and when I came back to the parking lot from ascertaining the situation from the rocks they were there. They suggested I wait until the morning’s low tide which was at 8AM and definitely wear Korkers. That’s what I did and I managed to salvage some stuff.

Getting back to my 7 classification I was not injured in the wipeout. My back is wrecked but I had thrown it out Friday, and couldn’t get to the Chiropractor until Tuesday anyway. It progressively got worse and the long drive back to the shop did it in. I was able to retrieve my milk crate, Torqeedo motor, battery and mounting accessories (I haven’t determined if they survived yet), game clip, rudder slides, seat, Visicarbon, bag with lures and assorted gear and a few other items. Here’s what I lost; prescription sun glasses, cell phone (which I didn’t like), Torqeedo controller, TFO fly rod with reel, TFO spin rod with Penn Battle reel, lip grip, paddle, dry bag with hat and nightlight and kayak.

It could have been a lot worse as I’m safe. Like I said above having a real vest was the most important thing along with proper clothing. Besides staying far from the rip there isn’t much I’d do differently. My glasses should have been attached with tightened Cablz. If my fly rod was tethered to the crate, not just in the Scotty Powerlock, I might have the reel and pieces of the rod to send in for warranty replacement. In the future I’ll have my cell phone on my person rather than in a hatch. Other than these things I don’t know if there’s anything I could have done differently. I could have had my Korkers with me (as I usually do when I go to Montauk), but that’s minor. I had removed cameras and such and I’m glad I did as I don’t know if the cases for my video and regular camera would have survived.
At least I know someone in the business where I can replace a lot of the stuff at a discount.

Damn

Damn that sucks. But atleast your still here to tell the story.

wow fjr....glad your allright

Was this you or JonS at the kayak fishing store?

Not me It was JonS, but thanks for the concern

WOW happy he made it OK sad the gear was lost but shoot you can replace all that stuff........