Just saw this video. Based on the short descript, apparently a paddler, new to the ocean, got flipped while trying to paddle out in what looked like 1’-1.5’ choppy waves.
Reminds me that there are better ways to build up the skills and reflexes than to just go at it. I did a bit of drilling with partners in my first year and then honing my braces and rolls to take rougher water on my own on small wave days.
what are some ways you go about doing that?
sing
I like to wait for the ferry 
OR I ride the rescue sled off the North Shore 
I have not had too much excitement with a
Kayak because I don’t have a dry suit and our water is very cold.
I’m sure I’ll get to it in the next couple of years, baby steps
First step is to buy the new boat in three weeks after Mont Blanc.
I see more Tofino and San Juan’s in our future.
Is this a serious question? Go out in tougher and more difficult conditions. Go with a group.
Yes. I meant this as a “serious” question. There are ways to train to get ready and to let others in the group get a sense of what your skill level is at. Otherwise, you get what is presented in the video.
Also, in the past, I’ve ran into groups when newbies at taken out in conditions beyond their skill level and become “rescue bait.” Maybe fun for the more advanced folks, but it doesn’t necessary impart confidence or develop skills of a newbie.
Yes, again, a serious question.
sing
Don’t know the water temps you are thinking but a wetsuit, from my perspective, can be very much the appropriate immersion gear. In fact, I much rather have my wetsuit than my drysuit for surfing and expecially rock play.
sing
Might not be popular, but I would put a pre-req of having a roll before EVER going out in surf (to practice or otherwise) in a seakayak (or WW kayak).
Preparation is good, but at a point I think there’s nothing left but to get into it. It’s one thing to learn about some important keys to maintaining balance as waves act on your kayak. Actually experiencing it can still feel so different.
It really depends a lot on the individual. If the person isn’t feeling intimidated, and had expectations of capsizes, getting capsized by this could be fine and useful. Stepping back to learn, work through some exercises to better ready themselves (like maneuvering among the smallest broken waves and slowly graduating outward) can be a rewarding process.
I think a person can feel some anxiety and still be in a good place mentally for learning. This person could have capsized without feeling anxious at all? If the anxiety becomes a more pronounced fear, the session can quickly become destructive as far as development is concerned.
Something I’m realizing thinking about it is that as a coach, I try to be careful not to read too much into isolated paddling moments. It might be a good opportunity to have a conversation with both paddlers to learn what happened from their perspective before sharing what I saw from my own.
But I definitely agree that there is a such thing as too much too soon.
I pulled them out as I have about TEN but they seem a little stiff from storage. Maybe a 5 mil would be okay? I think the 7 mil is too bulky for my shoulders.
I have a hooded vest I could try under the five.
We don’t really have waves here unless we drive to the Netherlands (8 hrs?
Last year at Delmarva there was a rough water course. I wanted to take it but I opted for rolling instruction instead. Now that I have a bit more skill, however, I would love to do this with a bunch of better paddlers.
Since paddling rough water is a lot of unconscious muscle memory reactions, the only way to master rough water paddling is to spend hundreds of hours in rough water. You dont think about bracing, you just do it. If you have to think I need to brace now, in rough water you are already swimming.
So committing bracing and balance to subconscious muscle memory is required. The best way to get it in memeory is to progressively step up the wave size and steepness, always pushing yourself slightly beyond your comfort zone.
Staying in your comfort zone will result in a skill plateau quickly. Embracing discomfort and being willing to push yourself to new levels is key. Seat time is also key. If you only paddle rough water once a month you will never improve. Frequency of exposure helps a lot.
As a personal example, I have mastered my boat in almost any conditions. 12ft swell, 4 foot wind waves, you name it, Ill paddle it if it looks fun. But just 5 years ago I remember going out on the ocean for the first time in 1-2ft baby waves and was freaked out! I had a poor boat so I upgraded hulls. I got proper immersion protection so an extended swim wasnt dangerous if I failed reentry. I paddled and paddled and paddled, often at the edge of my ability. I went out even though I was fearful, knowing I had the skills to survive. Eventually I realized I had the skills to thrive. Now, I have only seen a handfull of days I would not consider paddling on, and its typically because its dangerous (15ft+ waves breaking outside the breakwall when swell is massive) or too windy to get out of the harbor.
One of the most beautiful things on earth is being out on the ocean, alone, a mile off shore, with 30kt winds and 10ft swell. Swell and wind from various directions. Reflected swell coming back off the cliffs and breakwall. Its complete chaos. But once you are skilled enough its like a scene from a movie where the super hero watches everything in slow motion and casually reacts to the mess. You tune out the chaos, empty your mind and just paddle. Reaction is all subconscious. Its very zen, and a place very few people ever experience. 12ft waves are my temple.
Now I say Fun Begins with a Gale Warning. You can get there too, if you have the desire…
Mitigations:
All equipment checked.
Learn how to roll first
Training
Arrange things so wind and tide take you in a reasonable landing, not rocks, not ocean.
Dont try it alone. Go with an experienced group or support boat.
Warmest conditions for your area.
When I first bought a sit on top tandem kayak for ocean use, I had done a fair amount of whitewater canoeing and paddled several weekends in a SOT on the Sea of Cortez. Our local beaches are known as great surfing beaches and a bit more challenging. A classic case of you “don’t know what you don’t know.” With my 14 year old son in the bow we paddled out into 4-5’ barreling waves, turned around and attempted to surf in, the bow buried, the kayak broached and we got thrown over the falls by what felt like an enormous wave at the time.
After that I signed up for a sit on top kayak surfing glass from a local shop. I paddled several times with beach launches and landings with a local SOT kayak club, and after gaining quite a bit of experience I went on a surf safari in Baja with very experienced instructors. I got into surfing whitewater boats, high performance surf kayaks and waveskis. I started surfing a lot with very experienced paddlers who welcomed folks who wanted to learn. After a few years I took a few classes from a Level 5 BCU coach for surf kayaking. So although I did most of my practice on my own. Each time I stepped up the difficulty I got some training, so I was learning in more dangerous situations with experienced paddlers who could teach what I wouldn’t learn on my own.
A big problem is a lot of the resources I used are not available anymore. The shop where I got my first lessons from has closed. The second shop and outfitter who had great lessons for rolling and surfing, and took guided trips to Mexico was bought out by a very novice tourist oriented boat rental company. The highest level instructors have either moved or don’t generally give lessons.
Jeff Laxier who guided several of the trips I took is now in Fort Bragg, and gives lessons from his company Liquid Fusion Kayaking. There are now only a few businesses that will take you out for rough water paddles on the 850 mile California coastline: Central Coast Kayaks in Pismo Beach, Kayak Connection - Santa Cruz /Moss Landing, and Sea Trek -Sausalito (maybe).
Yup. Agree that we should not to “read” too much into the situaton of the video. The description posted on the video read: “High waves, wind force 4 to 5 for my partner it was her first time at sea…” So, I don’t know if the two in the video (were there more?) were out there to “play” in the surf, or to get out farther out beyond the surf to paddle to a destination. Regardless of that, the waves and the description of force 4/5 winds paralleled the conditions I had just paddle surfed in this past weekend. It was challenging enough to be invigorating and fun, but well within my capabilities. I have gone out in similar and more challenging conditions by myself. Even so, I “gamed out” what could happen and what I would do if my paddling skills failed me. In other words, I took the outing seriously enough to not just head out.
Yeah, so I pretty much share your framework for practice, preparation, and progressive skills development in incrementally more challenging conditions. Because the above video showed a SINK (a craft that I also paddle with in conditons), I would also include @raisins’ priority of a roll. In my first year, I spent a lot time on a large lake with a small contingent of a larger paddling club, learnig to do self and assisted rescues, as well as rolling and bracing. With bracing practice, to emulate some challenge of rough water context, a partners stood behind me on the stern and would rock the kayak back and forth, gently as well as aggressively to force a capsize. So, I would be able to practice low braces and, with more confidence and skill, the inclusion of high braces when my partner really tried to topple me over. So, in my first year, I had developed what I would consider to be rudimentary bracing and rolling skills in a “practice/training” as opposed to “reality-based” context. So, in this first year, I went out in the ocean in a handful of club outings but only in calm, flatwater conditions.
My second year, like @SeaDart, I took several specific progressive training courses with an instructor on sea kayak surfing, which went from bracing and being comfortable in the “soup zone” to increasingly watching and understanding wave formation, types of waves, rips, etc. and how to take advantage of these to surf (no specific paddle surfing skills yet). These were followed up with informal surfing sessions with paddling partners in mild surf, mostly 1.5’-3’ max. As I got better with confidence and ability in “reality-based” bracing and rolling, I then began to ramp up the types of conditions I was willing to take on with equally or better skilled partners.
I think in my third or fourth year, I took a weekend ww training course with the NH-AMC. This also greatly upped my confidence as well as rough water handling ability. More importantly, it taught me edging/ferrying skills that as just as vital dealing with tidal flows/currents in the ocean environment.
And, somewhere along the years and skills continuum. I began to do more and more solo outings. Going out alone is now more the norm than the exception for me. As such, I take gaming out the venue, the contingencies, the equipment, my state of skills capability physical (and mental) conditioning very seriously before heading out. The honest assessment of individual capacity and abilities is essential as these are notstatic, but rather change depending the season and/or what is happening in other areas of one’s life.
I think if one is going to go out and enjoy “rough water” paddling, it is not something you just go and do – with a group or otherwise. So, I share MCImes and SeaDart’s more intentional and progressive approach to doing it.
sing
I’m not a sea kayaker, but if I wanted to get into it, I can see myself going to the beach and doing just what they did, over and over, until I got it right. It looks like they went out in relatively mild conditions, just rough enough to learn something but not so rough that she was likely to get hurt.
When I wanted to learn how to roll and didn’t own a kayak, I borrowed my buddy’s touring kayak and spray skirt when we were hanging out at the beach and just went for it. Being at the beach in ~4 feet of water, when I couldn’t get upright I’d just pull the skirt, exit and stand up. Then I’d flip the boat over and dump most of the water out of the cockpit hole, walk back to knee-high water, hop in, and try again. I must have done that a dozen times over the course of an hour until I was spent.
I also like going to a beach to practice capsize and re-entry with the kids, doesn’t have to be the ocean though.
I’ll tell you as I do it - I’m still in the baby-wave stage. My plan is to build up to more challenging conditions over time. I’ve taken some classes to make sure I have the basic skills - bracing, ruddering, etc. I’ve been practicing self and assisted rescues, but the back deck scramble gets me every time. Maybe at some point I’ll get serious about trying to roll. My trips so far have been mostly touring, but hopefully there will be some easier rock gardening or surfing trips coming up. We’ll see…
I agree. If they went out with the intent to just play in the surf zone, it would be fine for a practice (although I advocate strongly for a helmet!). However, If the intent is to get out beyond the surf zone and head somwhere else, then I would opine that it would not be a good move for someone who is on his/her first outing in the ocean. I was out in similar conditions just this past weekend. I know if someone without rudimentary skills (i.e. bracing, rolling, remounting) came of his/her boat, it would be dicey without sufficient assistance.
PS. This past weekend saw several drownings of swimmers getting swept out to sea by rip currents. The conditions were not benign, especially for those not prepared or skilled.
sing
Hey, it a good route to go. The RICKA surf and rock contingent is comprised of some highly proficient, advanced paddlers. What I would suggest to you is to not engage in “rock play”, but to just watch. Messing up in the rock play venues (depending on the conditions) is pretty serious and puts you and would be rescuers in greater danger. Spend a lot of your early rough water skills development in the surf zone. It’s more foregiving in most cases (no rocky or dumping breaks!) and relatively safe (as long as you wear your helmet and PFD!).
sing
BTW, here is a description of force 4/5 winds and their MPH and knots equivilent.
https://www.weather.gov/mfl/beaufort
sing
I grew up playing in the waves. I just launched in about 2-foot surf in a tandem canoe when in my twenty’s and paddled out into it. I learned rather quickly how difficult a flooded canoe can be to control in the surf. Many years later when I bought a 10-foot Pelican kayak without bulkheads I did much better but spent a good amount of time draining the thing on the beach. When I bought a sea kayak and helmet later that same year Eurika! I had many years of canoe paddling and some kayaking in a Folbot so understood the basic principles of using a paddle. I never put my Folbot Super in the surf I knew the power of the waves could damage the frame. I don’t recommend my method, but I admit I enjoyed doing it.
So, the funny thing was that one of the folks in my initial kayak surfing class was in Folbot. He was next to me and caught a 2’ wave with his Folbot and surfed it straight in all the way to the beach. Meanwhile, I was broaching, side surfing and bracing all over the place with my Impex Montauk. At the lunch, I caught up with him and asked, “Wow! How did you get that long ride!?!” He just smiled and nodded. (Hmm… skill, luck, what!?") Regardless, I had a vision of what I wanted to do with my kayak on a wave. 
sing
