worked out good though my pal Young lee got slamed by a rogue wave today in the bay of fundy.paddling in 6-8 foot waves & high winds in chance Harbor NB. I gotta say the Tempest 17 handled great, no discomfort whatsoever. Had to abandon the prijon though, it’s pretty cold still in eastern Canada.
no bulk heads so she filled all the way. Crazy how heavy and really impossible to move a high volume kayak without bulkheads is.I got my pal young lee to hang on to the back of my tempest and towed him to shore.we came up to a lobster fishermans pier and went under it out of the wind where I gave him the contents of my dry bag. A dry long sleeve, pair of cargo pants and nice thick hoodie.A dry bag with a fresh change o’ clothes goes a long way.
the tide was coming in, so by the time he was changed the prijon had sufaced neaby I jumped in the tempest and went after it. Still couldn’t move it, it got sucked into a sort of tidal river type thing that really wasn’t a river at all but acted just like one. It was just a alot of water moving around a few small islands.It hit a shallow spot and since it was full of water it was grounded in the gravel. Anyways I’m pretty happy to have my friend and my old prijon back.Young stayed very calm under the worst case scenario that was key. Only then can you make good decsisions, and in the winter time in the bay of fundy you don’t want to waste any time.
simple choices must be made within a few seconds.
And today I’m proud! we worked well together and overcame a possibly tragic situation. I will hopefully alaways paddle with young lee, nice to see a good head under pressure. I know if it’s me next time we will work it out, proly the same way.towing my buddy in to shore worked well though he was very consioous not to panick or dump me in at the same time.well a happy ending to my day.
and now it is time for a beer.
cheers
Rob.
tidal river-type thing
tidal bore?
write it up and send it in
look forward to reading about it in sea kayaker magazine 
ya
I thought I was in a river conected to the next harbour.
nice story
I like to read the ones that end this way.
You read all to many that end in tragity.
Keep on paddling.
JOHN
well done
you both managed the water and weather really well. Was the Prijon skirted? did your friend capsize skirted and have to wet exit? aor did the wave break over the open cockpit and flood it?
Most importantly your friend survived because you knew how to paddle in conditions with someone on the stern.
A skill worth practicing.
Well done Rob
That drybag was a real bonus. I never paddle Fundy or elsewhere without one, even in summer. What model Prijon was it?
You are both …
very, very lucky and your quick thinking and your actions likely prevented a much worse outcome. But, why did you put yourself and friend in this predicament in the first place? Why did you paddle a boat with no bulkheads, during winter, that was not equiped with floation bags?
~wetzool
old taifun
almost 13ft expedition whitewater boat really stable and fun in the waves.
well
we looked out at the surf and thought ya, it’s pretty chopy out there.But When started out the waves were still quite managable 3-4ft. We decided that we would still go for a rip and stay close and look out for each other while not venturing to far.As well the tide was on the way in from all the way out low tide so we had a long time with the water in our favour (coming in).only after we paddled out a ways did the wind really increase and bring with it huge waves, one in particular just came up huge and caught young off guard. I think he was checking out a big harbour seal. Anyways calculated risk I geuss. We thought about and then we did it. the *#!@ hit the fan and we dealt with it.
I am going to invest in floatation bags for the Prijon. As I will no doubt dump it again. I don’t think we were lucky, we were calm and just did what we had to do. Mind you I was sort of lucky to get the prijon back.
cheers
Rob.
skirted
he dropped his paddle and had to wet exit.