Ever lose some gear? Help me feel better

Paddlers' Place
#41

Thread might be old, but my boneheadedness continues.
My morning commute is about 10 miles highway at 60 mph, then through town (over RR tracks) with a couple of stops for traffic lights and a couple of turns. Earlier this summer I was driving to another office to deliver some documents and when I came to a stop sign, something metal slid down my windshield, landing on the windshield wiper.

Had a sinking feeling when I saw it was the pivot pin that attaches my Hullavator cradle to the rack because I “always” put the pins in a plastic bag when removing the cradles. Seems I had forgotten “always” the night before. Jumped out of the car to retrieve it and amazingly, the second pin was still on the roof, resting against a foot of the rack. No explanation why they didn’t come off the roof while backing out of my garage or during the drive into and through town.

Guideboatguy mentioned no i.d. on the tackle box he found. Last summer I ordered personalized waterproof labels for my gear. They carry my surname, land line and cell #s and email address. Two are on my Cyprus, are underwater with each stroke, and show no signs of wear. Ten bucks for 24 and free shipping: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0189VSNBY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

#42

Way back in the day, we did lose a canoe on the Saco in NH. Wrapped a cheap fiberglass canoe on a rock and had to leave it there. I’ve lost three pair of prescription glasses so far. Not bad for almost 5 decades of good times paddling!

#43

Lost my wife several times in department stores. I don’t go to those any more.

#44

A good buddy & I were doing a 100 mile, tandem canoe trip on the Buffalo river in the early 80s.
Came upon an old couple who had broadsided their aluminum canoe on a large boulder in the river.

The canoe was generally speaking, “wrapped around” the boulder. None of their gear was tied into the boat.
Other paddlers(family members), were gathering up all the gear that floated; pfds, paddles, etc
It took about 15 of us pulling on a rope we tied to the canoe, and 2 guys on top of the boulder, using a small log as a pry bar to get the canoe loose. The boat was totaled.
They were traveling with a family group & continued downstream in canoes with family members.

The guy was upset because he’d lost his fishing poles, and tackle box.
His wife was not happy either; she had lost her purse.

My buddy & I decided to camp on the gravel bar near the scene, and do some “treasure diving”.
We had face masks we’d brought along for that express purpose.
We took turns hanging onto the end of our rope(used to pull canoe), while the other guy acted as an anchor upstream, and reeled in the “treasure diver”.

Among the items we found were the lady’s purse (empty), 2 rods & reels, 90 dollars in small bills, misc clothing items, and the guy’s monster sized tackle box, which was locked. We opened the box; there had to be close to 100 different lures, AND a Colt Diamondback pistol.

We caught up with them & their family the next afternoon, pulled them over & gave them ALL the gear we’d retrieved. The guy was ecstatic! Wife not so much; she’d lost her wallet from the purse, and all that a woman’s purse contains; credit card, driver’s license, etc.

As a reward, they gave us all the cash we’d found, plus another 10 bucks.
In the early 80s,100 bucks was quite a bit of money to us; even split 2 ways.
Heck of a lot more than we had with us…

BOB

#45

Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.

:smiley: Sorry…

Not paddling, but sailing. Leaned over the transom to lower the auxiliary at the dock…ploop! There goes my weather radio, out of my pocket, into the deep water. No diving gear. :frowning:

Mostly, I find stuff. When poling upstream, I have the luxury of checking out every eddy. On the local river, I have found countless tennis balls, flip flops (never a matching pair), duck decoys (some with shot holes), baseballs, basketballs (?), a kid’s bicycle (tossed off a bridge?), paddles (usually cheap and/or broken), inflatable raft cushions, PFD’s, unopened beers (Keystone…yuck!), and, like GBG, a drybox/case full of about $200 worth of artificial flies.

#46

Rarely lose anything I just can’t find it for an hour or two. Running around looking for my headlamp today working on my truck. So after much yelling and time wasted it was in my pocket.

#47

I also have mostly been a finder. At least two kayaks (pool toys), at least 2 nice paddles–one, a Werner still had the price tag on it, several pfd’s, lots of boat fenders, tennis and golf balls by the buckets full. However, the other day I lost a pair of sunglasses that my wife paid at least a dollar for. i guess that’s karma–since recently I have found several very pricey sunglasses in perfect condition. Anyway, I’ve vowed to kick up my OCD a notch and quadruple check instead of triple checking everything and I won’t be hanging my sunglasses on that little loop by the zipper on my pfd.

#48

Okay, one more post here, which might be obvious enough but it’s advice that has worked for me. It’s a rule to follow that my dad impressed upon me when I was about 12 years old (we used to frequently launch a little fishing boat from walk-in access points). The rule is, don’t ever set a piece of gear on the ground. Set it in the boat or set it in the car, but never anywhere else. Every case of gear being lost involves breaking this simple rule. It’s just too easy to forget an item that was set down “only for a moment”. And never leave a campsite without specifically giving it a once-over for forgotten items after you are fully packed. Every now and then there will be an item discovered which otherwise would be gone forever.

I broke that rule a year ago last fall, although not even in an obvious way. At a brushy and rocky launch site, I set my kneeling pad on the ground within about six feet of my boat. When the time came to launch, I thought I must have lost it, and I ended up using pieces cut out of a friend’s kneeling pad so I could make the trip. Imagine how silly I felt when we found my kneeling pad at the put-in later that day.

#49

@Guideboatguy said:
Don’t ever set a piece of gear on the ground.
Never leave a campsite without specifically giving it a once-over for forgotten items after you are fully packed.

Hear, hear! Two rules to live by for sure. Especially in the backcountry where lost gear can be a serious problem.

I have a slightly different version of the first one, though it’s the same concept. I establish “gear drop” locations and if setting anything down it must be in one of those locations. Typically this is either beside the boat in a safe place where stuff won’t roll into the water, next to a tent prior to loading everything inside, or on a picnic table if one is to be had. This avoids having everything strewn all over the place and greatly simplifies the final walk around before leaving camp.

#50

How about 7 charts, a GPS and Werner Graphite Camano all in one fell swoop.

The sordid tale can be read here: https://www.bcmarinetrails.org/coastal-journeys/2565-careless-cove-forever-after

Jon
http://3meterswell.blogspot.com