An embarrassing and potentially deadly sticky situation

Advice
#1

Advice needed. This is a very embarrassing situation. It could have been deadly.

With 20 years of paddling in freshwater and saltwater environments, I thought I was ready for everything until three days ago.

I was in my Loon 16T kayak, two hours into a planned 8 hour SOLO trip through the mangrove islands of Florida’s central gulf coast. I ALWAYS wear my PFD.

I decided to stop for lunch in about a foot of water near some mangroves. The bottom was silty.

I was in the back seat and reached for something in the front seat. It was like watching in slow motion as I lost balance and rolled out of the kayak, swamping it in the process; it did not capsize, but did fill completely with water.

I’ve snorkeled from this kayak many times, so entering and exiting had always been a routine, simple matter.

In over 20 years of kayaking, I had never fallen out of this kayak.

But this time I instinctively tried to stand and my legs went into the muck halfway up my thighs before stopping on a more solid surface. It was about a foot of water and I immediately started bailing.

I then tried to move and my legs seemed hopelessly stuck in the muck! With great effort, I raised one and took a step, only to sink in and get stuck again. All this time, I was looking for gators! Oh, the tide was also rising.

Looking for a way to get out of the muck, I managed to get one shin onto the surface of the muck, and then the other. This took a LOT of effort; i mead A LOT of effort, and my legs and back still hurt today. I managed to bail out more of the water, and crawled toward a cluster of weeds/grass that I used for support to “step” into the kayak.

I cut my day trip short and paddled 90 minutes back to the kayak launch.

BTW. My phone and my GPS were in waterproof cases, so I could have called for help if needed along with my coordinates. The area is pretty remote and other boats passing by was unlikely.

So, I made it out OK, but I’ve since been worrying about this. I had no idea just how tight a grip muck could have on your legs! Luckily, my feet found a firmer surface before sinking down further. I always wear my PFD, so drowning wasn’t a real concern unless the pull of the muck could hold me down as the tide rises. The biggest concern was a gator coming by. They were extremely rare in the saltwater bayous but I often paddle on rivers where they are plentiful.

So how would you get out of such a “sticky” situation? I ALWAYS carry a spare paddle, and considered sacrificing it to the muck for a surface to step on. I also bring an extra cushion to sit on; maybe it could help?

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#2

Lay on the kayak and use the huge buoyancy of the boat volume so you can force your legs up and out of the muck. Paddle with arms and legs to get to deeper water to re-enter if you have to.

#3

I paddle in the mangroves in Southwest Florida and had a similar thing happen to me. I was exploring a mangrove tunnel in Robison Preserve and about 30 feet from where it opened into Perico Bayou I ran out of water. I walked to the front of my canoe and decided to get out and pull it through the shallow water section. After a few steps I sank in the muck. Not quite as badly as in your experience but I did have fear that I would get stuck. I put most of my weight on the canoe and was able to lift my feet out of the muck and get to the Bayou.
I can also relate to your concern about gators. I paddle in the rivers in the winter when the gators are less active and mostly in the intercoastal when the water is warmer and the gators are more active. I paddle an Old Town Camper that is very stable and have never flipped it or fallen out. Coming across and gator when siting relatively high up in my canoe seat is not really a big deal although I avoid them if at all possible. Seeing a gator while stuck in the muck is an other matter all together.
I am glad to hear that you made it out of the muck OK.

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#4

As SeaDart said, use the kayak for support. But if you get separated from the your boat, the best way is to commit to getting muddy, and “swim” in the mud.

Mud is a lot more dense than water, even very soupy mud. It is easier to “swim” in than walk through, though our instinct is to keep as much of our body out of the mud as possible. Lay down and belly crawl/swim and you can stay on top and make it easier. You will just have a lot more of you covered in mud.

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#5

That’s a great kayaking spot! I heard that the hurricanes did a job on the boardwalks.

I live in Hudson. Werner Boyce is a fantastic 7 mile stretch of creeks and bayous, each different than the others. I was in Pound Net Creek when this happened.

#6

Thanks everyone for the responses thus far. My biggest concern is being stuck in the muck and NOT being able to get on top of the kayak for leverage.

Imagine falling out, standing up in the muck but sunk in so deep that your shoulders are barely above the deck of the kayak. Too low to use the deck for leverage. I wasn’t in quite that deep, but worry that it is possible.

#7

Wow. Thanks for sharing this story. In my brainstorming this scenario, I would want to attempt to treat it like quicksand and some of what Greg mentions is similar.

If I feel like I am sinking when I stand up, I would immediately sit back to distribute weight and stop further sinking. I would want at least one communication device (whistle, etc) on me or attached to pfd. It also makes me think about footwear, what is best to use or having an extra pair if lost in muck. Check out a few sites on getting out of quicksand for ideas. All of this is easier said than done in that situation.

#8

@michigansnorkeler Nightmare fuel that one. Could’ve been alot worse. What if your kayak had shot away from you when you tipped over and the wind carried it away. We plan for the worst but thats Murphy’s Law at its finest…,.

#9

A good post. A way to increase awareness of hazards that people don’t think about.
Safety needs to be in the front of more people’s minds when they paddle.
Practice rescues, wear PFDs and dress for immersion.

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#10

Thanks for all the comments. Researching quicksand escapes sounds like a good idea.

I’m sure glad this didn’t happen the two times I paddled to Deep Hole in Myakka State Park. Being surrounded by over 100 huge alligators is the norm there, although there are no documented attacks so far. Search YouTube for videos on that place.

I have a whistle attached to my PFD, and was ready to give it a blow if any boat came by, but that rarely happens there except on weekends.

Having the boat float away certainly would be a nightmare scenario. I’m not sure, but I believe that I held onto the boat the entire time I rolled into the water. “One hand for the boat” certainly applied here.

My biggest mistake was standing after rolling into the water. But it “appeared” that I was in only a foot of water. That’s why I stopped there for my lunch break. Now I know better.

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#11

Myakka SP is alligator central. My observation was if 10’ or less they would disappear
, over that and they would be considering if you are lunch.

#12

Pluff Mud is a common bottom substrate in coastal marshes and mangroves and many other places like swamps and bogs. You can’t move through it vertically without great difficultly if at all. Even mid-shin let alone mid-thigh it is difficult to remove your feet and shoes are often pulled off of feet in the process. Keeping a hand on the boat was important. Being in a foot of water did limit your options but if you could have bailed while lying on the surface it might have reduced the exertion you experienced. Unless you have experienced dealing with it you have no idea of the difficulty. I have had to launch through it at low tide and walked my kayak out by sitting on the back of the boat for buoyancy and laying across it as the water deepened. The loose mud was about knee deep. Once I had the boat floating, I very carefully reentered my kayak with the modified ocean cockpit. I can’t imagine going into it headfirst.

During a neighbor’s drowning in about 10 feet of dark lake water I dove down trying to find him. My arm went into this type of mud up to my shoulder when I got down to the bottom trying to find him. This sent me back to the surface, but realizing I had to go back down I did. I was lucky on that try as my hand found the man’s face, I could not see it in the dark water. I was a teen at the time but manage to come to the surface with the man. While trying to empty water from the lungs dark fluid mud came out. We were unable to save him. Not exactly your situation but that mud requires respecting it’s potential.

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