A neoprene hood is also good to have.
So a 4/3 with gloves (and possibly a hood)… . I presume that I would need boots also
You definitely need neoprene socks and boots. In a wetsuit, my feet always get cold first - not necessarily a safety risk, but uncomfortable.
Could you walk 80 yards from the car to the water in such boots?
Definitely - most people wear something like this.
https://www.nrs.com/category/2582/men/water-shoes
Thanks. It looks like I might be able to slip swim fins on over those boots, although my swim to shore would never be more than about 1/2 kilometer. This summer I’ll definitely be spending time trying to get back in this SOT from the water, something I’ve never tried.
@carvinae185@gmail.com said:
Thanks. It looks like I might be able to slip swim fins on over those boots, although my swim to shore would never be more than about 1/2 kilometer. This summer I’ll definitely be spending time trying to get back in this SOT from the water, something I’ve never tried.
Mastering your reentry and preventing being separated from your boat are far, far more important than worrying about how you’re going to swim to shore.
Agreed. I do have a line securing the paddle to the kayak, but nothing securing the kayak to me. Dark thought — I guess you’d want to make sure that had a quick release. My kayak being hit by a whale in Lake Whatcom and sinking isn’t likely, but who wants to be dragged to the bottom by a wrecked boat? 
Properly designed and outfitted kayaks don’t sink even when full of water . Practice falling out or off and holding on.
Yes. I was just thinking of the those times when the whale hits me or the 300 HP jet ski
@carvinae185@gmail.com said:
Yes. I was just thinking of the those times when the whale hits me or the 300 HP jet ski
Why would a whale want to hit you?
Probably wouldn’t in the Lake where I kayak B)
@string said:
Properly designed and outfitted kayaks don’t sink even when full of water . Practice falling out or off and holding on.
String is spot on. Freya Hoffmeister’s kayak split in two this summer during her North America expedition. It didn’t sink. Not only did she manage to save her gear, but her two-piece kayak now graces the wall of Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe.
Just circling back to “I should try that” regarding your remount…
…YES! This should be the first thing everyone tries, because sooner or later it will happen and its a piss poor time to figure it out when your’re in the water for the first time in questionable circumstances.
You may want to wait until its slightly warmer to try this, but get the 4/3 suit, gloves, socks/boots, maybe a balaclava and go just past standing deep water and practice getting back in your boat until you run out of energy. Also good advice that I practice all the time - practice remounts at the end of the paddle when you are tired, as you’re most likely to capsize when tired and also most likely to fail a remount when tired, a bad combo to be prepared for.
2nd, in semi-controlled conditions, when the water is rough, but not too rough for you skill (hard to judge, i know) practice remounts in less-than-calm water, ideally on the windward shore so you’re blown in or with a rescue spotter/boat/friend that can assist
I know you can just swim to shore easily so it may not seem applicable in your pond, but if you develop a love for kayaking and want to progress your skills, remounts/self recovery will be the cornerstone of future antics. at any rate, all paddlers, anywhere, anytime, should have a plan for what happens if they capsize. Even if your plan is ‘freak out and die’, at least you gave it more thought than the paddlers who ‘will never flip over’ and dont even bother to entertain the idea
Last, a SOT should never sink without a hull puncture (or more likely, multiple punctures or a catastrophic failure like Freya’s kayak above). This is exactly why I love surfski. I fall out all the time, but I’m back in less than 15 seconds later