I paddle solo from time to time, OK maybe better described as often, as I think many of us do. There is great pleasure in doing so.
There are a myriad of nuts and bolts details inherent in any consideration to do so, not the least of which are your skills and ability, equipment and conditions. Most important of all imho is to use local knowledge to your advantage. NEVER take it for granted.
Perhaps the best piece of equipment is your own hard core self assessment of those myriad factors as they apply to you, not someone else's experience, and the ability to draw those factors well into the 'more safe' rather than the 'more risk' overlap of the old Venn diagram. No one but you can decide that. When you can do that, grasshopper, then you don't need the advice of anyone here as to whether you should or shouldn't.
I will say that beyond the usual complement of skills and equipment, know how to use everything to your advantage. The best VHF, reentry gear, EPIRB or whatever won't work if you need it and don't know how to use it. Also, don't necessarily count on the assistance of others. I know from direct experience from 2 friends of mine who were overdue from a paddle we made a couple of years ago. They were not in *real* trouble, but fired flares, called "mayday" on the VHF, and even fired off their EPIRB. You know what? No one started to look for them until we called in the Coast Guard. Using all those devices doesn't necessarily initiate help unless someone sees them and investigates. Colorado indicated they had received the signal, 2 hours "after" we called it in to the CG. No search had been initiated prior to that time. Lesson learned. But in this case, all was well that ended well.
BTW, the Merlin XT is a *great* boat! If you see it as a stepping stone, I think you will be surprised at how capable it is.
not you. I was just complimenting seadar The archives can be less than easy to navigate. I just meant to compliment seadart and suggest this list get posted somewhere more prominently.
a PLB made by ACR. My error in referring to it as an EPIRB. Same story. It was only after we called the CG that we were informed they had received the signal in CO. They had all the details about who it was registered to and recited it back to us. A CG Sea King was dispatched and appeared about 20 minutes after our call in though, ca 2.5 hrs after the PLB signal.
The problem with the VHF was the lady did not know how to operate it correctly and had it set on low power. The CAP maintained contact with them since they could receive a clear signal while water rescue sources could only read them intermittently through the obstructing estuary grass. I could hear them from my elevated position at the dock.
If you want to paddle Unless you luck out and find somebody in your area who is very handy and is free to go paddling any time, you had better be prepared to paddle a lot by yourself. I’ve been paddling alone for many years and it has worked out very well. When you paddle alone, you learn to be self reliant, you get to go where and when you want and you don’t have to worry about whether your partner is able to keep up and what he, or she can handle.
To begin with and always follow rule number one: Stay within your comfort zone. That zone will expand as you gain experience. It isn’t going to happen overnight; it might take years and a lot of it might be dependent on the boat.
A perfect example of comfort zone and boat happened to me yesterday. I was just out for a paddle in very familiar water and thought I had seen it at its worst many times. Well, yesterday a wind came up from an unusual direction and created a wild chop that a few years ago I would have avoided. From a lot of experience, I had extreme confidence in the boat and knew that if I didn’t do something stupid it was just another day on the water. The wild conditions did actually just make the day a little more memorable and as always, the boat seemed to laugh at the slop.
AS you progress, if you’re like a lot of the rest of us, you will acquire the equipment you want and need and you will become a kayaker.
There are plenty of sheltered places around Anacortes where you can safely learn the ropes. Living in that area, I’m sure you are well aware that conditions in the Rosario and other straights can change very quickly ; never let the lure of the islands cause you to go for it until you have no doubt whatsoever.
Thats disturbing That they didn’t send help AFTER receiving the PLB signal right away. Two hours is a LONG time to be in the water even with a drysuit on. Even more reason to have a bullet proof roll.
they made a bad decision to try to cut through an estuary, on a falling tide, and at dusk, based on a GPS map and were not floating in the water but holed up in the estuary. We had just arrived at the island and had no local knowledge yet other than general charts and landmarks. We did a semi circumnavigation that afternoon after settling in then took a short beach rest. Against the advisement of the rest of the group, they wanted to continue a longer circuit paddle back to our put in point rather than retrace with the group. Two of us with better navigational reckoning skills had determined that even under optimal conditions and 3 hours of continuous paddling they could not arrive at the put in point until about 30 min *after* sunset. Although skilled paddlers, and well equipped, strong headwinds made it clear about 2 hours into it that they would be unable to complete their attempt, so they turned back, too late. The attempted cut through was a bad decision since they got lost in one of the braided estuary creeks, on a falling tide, after dark. If they had stayed to the outside of the island on one of the beaches, things would have been simple since they were equipped to spend the night on a beach. But deep in the estuary, they got a little panicky.
We too were surprised there was not an immediate search based on the PLB signal. Maybe they considered it a false, that is accidentally activated, signal. CG reported there was an attempt to call the PLB owner's home, apparently a standard procedure, to verify a float plan or knowledge of an overdue paddler. However that was far away and no one was there. At the 2 hrs overdue point, I and the rest of the group called it in.
Beyond the obvious f'up, it was a pretty textbook S&R, more of a real "exercise" scenario than the usual bad types of events. But no doubt, once the S&R was on, it was on all the way. CAP, MD state police, USCG, US F&W and local responders all participated. For the first Sat of Memorial Day, they declared it a good, and successful, learning experience. I guess since the "participants" were ladies in their 50s/60, it seemed a worthwhile effort to turn out for. As I said, they were skilled and well equipped paddlers, but lacking local knowledge, overestimating their abilities in the weather conditions (high wind), and making a bad judgement call on navigation led to a situation that could have been avoided, yet when it happened proceeded fairly well. Everyone learned something. The local S&R folks coordinated well, it was an exemplary real life exercise on their part for early in the season, and the "participants" learned a few things. As did we all. It's a good story with a good ending. I've thought about writing it up, even though it doesn't have that dramatic "about to die" aspect to it that most Deep Trouble stories do. Even though to this day one of the paddlers insists they didn't need help and would have been fine, once she called "mayday" on the VHF, fired flares, and lit up the PLB, it's in for a penny, in for a pound. Or perhaps thousands if you keep insisting otherwise merely to save face. Better to err on the cautious side and suck it up later if you feel it necessary than to face a potentially real bad situation.
Merlin Good to hear! It really is an older model (1998) but the guy that sold it to me had to sell quickly and gave me everything (skirt, self-rescue kit, PFD, paddle) for less than I can buy a 9’ sit-on-top for so I really wanted it
Rosario Yes, very aware! From the park by my house I can look down and see the currents changing and it’s impressive. I’ve done that paddle with guides before but that’s one of the last ones I’d tackle alone (and certainly not Deception Pass!). I didn’t realize until I started looking into it more that there are several lakes on the island too that have each launch points so milling around there might be a good way to log more paddling hours.
clothing, skills and gear. For lessons, check out Body-boat-blade or Rogue Wave adventures. Both are very good. Most outfitters don’t have the interest or teaching skills to teach anything more than the very basics. I’ve met several guides in the area who don’t even have a basic roll.
Tidally, the san juans and anacortes are very active areas full of rips, whirlpools and currents much stronger than your average paddler. Many passes and channels are only doable at certain tidal flows. Planning, navigation and paddling in currents is an ESSENTIAL skill in the area.
A vhf radio is very useful besides calling for help. I use mine for calling vessel traffic before crossing rosario, checking weather forecasts, etc. DSC radios can transmit your gps coords to the CG. I’ve already had one friend rescued in the Bellingham area using his.
I paddle there in a drytop and wetsuit in summer and a full drysuit in winter/fall. I also have a reliable roll. I’ve been caught out in Rosario Strait under-dressed in a sudden squall. Not a pleasant experience.
First, let me admit I didn't read all of the replies. So what I say here may be repeat, or contrary to, what others have said.
I do paddle alone pretty often. When I do, I always paddle with extra backups in place. Some thoughts:
- when I paddle alone, I only paddle in conditions which are easier than I have practiced self-rescues in the past. In your case, to match this level would require taking classes and then also practicing your self rescues. best to have more than one self-rescue skill in your bag of tricks. The basic classes teach paddle float and T-rescue, but you will also want to learn the scramble and maybe a roll (even if it is just a paddlefloat assisted roll). Save the regular paddlefloat rescue for last chance.
- when I paddle alone, I am over-dressed for the conditions. My clothing choices are such that I could survive a prolonged swim in the water. If you are in the Salish sea, to do this same level would require wet suit or better yet a dry suit.
- when I paddle alone, I have a reliable form of communication. I keep a VHF attached to me, and have a cell phone in a dry bag in the boat as a backup. I am likely going to buy a PLB as added backup in the near future.
- when I paddle alone, I generally avoid places where I am actually truly alone. I paddle in areas where I can usually see other boaters somewhere around. Other mariners can often get to emergency sites faster than the coast guard.
- when I paddle alone, I always have someone who knows roughly where I am at, where I launched from, what my boat looks like, and when I am expected back. When I get off the water, I email or call them saying I am off. If they don't hear in a reasonable time, they will call the Calvary in for me.
- when I paddle alone, I also carry a bag of extra emergency gear, snacks, and clothes.
- ADDED EDIT - when paddling alone, I chose weather, surf, and tide conditions that are well under what I can do. We have tidal currents in the SF Bay area comparable to what you may see in the Salish Sea, and I avoid times where a problem would cause me to get flushed to sea.
There may be more, but that is all I could think of off the top of my head.
Even with all of this, I know I am putting myself at added risk over having a buddy, and accept that risk.
Tell someone your trip plan I ride horses alone, would call my daughter and tell her how long I thought I would be, and then call when I got back. Hiking, same, check in with rangers, tell a friend. Paddling, same, if there is a check in, if not tell someone, I’m going to so & so to put in, plan to paddle in this direction, should be back to the put in by such and such. Check back in when all is loaded and heading home. Much easier now with cell phones and texting, I prefer to call after, so they know it’s me.
Go for it…some thoughts I drove big commercial tour boats and landing craft up there for years. Live in the area. San Juans have strong currents as noted in above posts and at times these can be a challenge for beginners. Strongest in summer with big tidal ranges. Winds stronger in winter months. Fog common in later summer but can happen anytime of year. Shipping lanes run up and down Rosario, Haro Straits and Bellingham channel. As you know lots of cool islands and camping. Saddle Bag is very close and an easy paddle as is Pelican Beach, Cypress. James Is also nice but involves crossing Rosario. Get a current guide and become familiar. Guemes Channel Ebbs and Floods hard as well and the area where Bellingham and Guemes Channels meet at Rosario can be very very rough! Bird Rocks in Rosario likewise! We did the CG light replacement job out there.
Of course other areas of the islands have strong tidal action and as such i think a lot of beginners could get fooled in those waters. Carry a VHF on deck and don’t fear using it!
Traffic 5A
Commercial Vessels Bridge to Bridge 13
USCG Emergency 16, 22A, 5A
Big Landing craft operators often on 8, but always monitor 13 and 5A
Whale watch vessels 78, sometimes 79, 13, and the bigger ones 5A
Be wary in the lanes and don’t hesitate to call traffic before a crossing to see whats in bound or out bound. If you have a smart phone download ship finder and you’ll see vessels on AIS. This is really helpful as you can see who’s out there and call them on 13 etc if you get in a pinch.
Dress for the water. I wear dry top and neo pants but I haven’t swam in years…at some point we all have or will again, so…
Stay off the water in dense fog as there’s too much traffic and weekend warriors get all sorts of messed up in the fog.
Drytops are not when immersed I second the post about dressing for long-term immersion when paddling alone. In your area with cold-water paddling year-round, this means a full drysuit.
Drytops work only when you’re in your boat with a sprayskirt. They do not stay dry when you’re in the water. Neither do bibs & drytops with roll-together aprons.
And as long as you’re investing in a drysuit, be sure and get it with built-in feet. Makes a huge difference when immersed or when paddling in cold air temps.
Dry Suit Feet Along those lines - you say to get a drysuit with built-in feet. Do you just paddle in the booties? Or is it just a sock and you have to put footwear over it? Total “newb” question I know haha!
integrated booties Think of them as socks. You put some sort of booties over them, and usually wear something under for warmth (dry suits don’t really keep you warm - just dry. What you wear under the dry suit keeps you warm).
the booties make it easier. if no integrated booties on the dry suit, you have gaskets there which are hard to get in and out of and a bit uncomfortable for some. gaskets are also the most common item that needs repair, so the more gaskets you have, the more likely the dry suit would be damaged and out of use until repaired.
Boots Okay, I’ll have to look into this. I dive with drysuits occasionally, but that’s a different type of suit than just a kayaking drysuit. I’m guessing I could slip some larger dive boots over the booties? I’m seeing an awful lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ with this hobby haha!
wate socks or water shoes I use cheapo water socks over the booties when I am not in some place where they would get sucked off. When in some place where they could get sucked off (such as when I am surfing), I use something that straps down better. There are a variety of brands out there, I happen to use 5Ten Water Tennies.
Most kayaking dry suits are $500+. there is a new company out there - Mystic dry Suits - that is making some that are more like $350.
I personally would not be totally against a wet suit and paddle jacket for this use, if you were conservative enough in other areas so that you really minimized the chance of needing it. But YMMV.
Using dive boots Our winter paddling boots are from a dive shop. There is not much diff between these neoprene tall boots and paddling mukluks, except the diving boots are a bit warmer and were a little cheaper. They work great over the lower legs and booties of a paddling dry suit. You want coverage for those booties inside (wool or polatrec socks) to keep your toes from scraping up the waterproof membrane, and boots over the top to protect them.
But for the most part diving neoprene is a mill or so thicker than what you use for psddling. So our diving boots are wonderful things in winter temperatures, especially inland with 38 degree water. But they are really too warm for summer wear.
