Let this be a lesson to me...

[Toad Patrol]

and maybe you too.
 In 35 years of kayak fishing, making and selling the original Ocean Kayak back in the 70's and teaching dozens of newbies the skills of kayak fishing, I've never had to call 911. That ended this morning.
A old pal and carpenter I work with has been bugging me to take him kayak fishing for a long time and finally I told him he could fish with me at Big Rock today. He's never tried it before, but he's younger than me and seemed atheletic enough for this. So we arrive at Las Tunas beach around 7pm and conditions are beautiful; glassy and calm with little surf. I gave him the lowdown on launching, paddling and fishing. I told him when we land to wait outside the surf line till I land first and I would signal him when to paddle and help him pull the kayak from the surf. I like to do that with all first timers in the surf. I made a point to remind him to cut the hook from his line before landing so he wouldn't hook himself by accident, as he jumps out of the boat.
Small to moderate shorebreak had easy lulls, and with right timing we both launched dry. He had never paddled before but got it dialed in quickly, and we were soon in the kelp beds soaking squid. I caught a few small calicos inside and decided to paddle a little farther outside the kelp when he tells me he's feeling "kinda spooked" (I think the bobbing around might have gotten him a little seasick) I told him to sit in the calm, flat water in the kelp and see if his stomach would settle.
As I start to paddle a little farther out I see a huge flock of pelicans and gulls diving about a 1/4 mile farther out. Hmmm, maybe some Cuda? I put it into gear and race in that direction. I paused to tie on a rapala for trolling and could see him paddling back to shore. Not what I had intended, but he should be able to handle it. He starts to land and looks OK. In the next second the kayak's upside down and he's sitting on the wet sand. OK, a little soaking, no big deal.
When I look again the boat is still floating upside down a little farther out and he's still sitting at the waters edge. That's when I hear him yell Arggggggg HELP ME !!. Damn, so much for the barracuda. I turn around and race back to shore.
Turns out he paddled right up onto the sand but sat there as the backwash pulled him into a shorebreak wave that rolled him and the kayak into the sand. Fractured his leg and severly sprained his wrist. He said his hip hurt really bad and he couldn't lay down. Ouch.
Oh yeah, and completely drove a 1/0 mutu circle hook deep into his right bicep, only the eye of the hook was sticking out. Double ouch. Why didn't he cut it off before landing? He said it didn't seem that important. Doh!
I run back to my van and dial 911. A coupla fire trucks and 4 lifeguards show up, scramble down the cliff trail with a streacher and haul his sorry ass off the beach. Curses.
I feel terrible this happened to a good friend who only wanted to have a little fun in the sun, maybe catch dinner.
Should I have stopped paddling farther out and turned right around and helped him land? The launch was, on a scale of 1-10 about a 2. Shoulda been easy. This is gonna bug me for a while. I know it's definately bugging him, that's for sure.
Live and learn, mi amigos.
-Scott

[surfsup]

sorry to hear it.  your friend will eventually heal his wounds.  dont stress over it.  it happens.  any sport that involves, knives, hooks, toothy creatures,  isnt without risk. 

[aka alex]

That sucks
 Hope he is ok.
 Man that is a bad way to get introduced to the sport.

[Rhino]

Sorry about your buddy, no fun. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

On a good note, he got the bad day out of the way, they should all be gravy from here on out, with limits every time!

So he is officially nick named "Crash" until further notice....Ouch!

[spotfin]

Sorry to hear about your buddy. I hope he'll be ok and give it another try.
This is very timely, since I'm planning my first surf launch this Saturday(I ususally go out of King Harbor). I'll make sure to stow my gear on the way out/in to avoid such a mishap.

[whitey]

Toad, so sorry to hear about your friend.  Helluva thing.  Reminds me of a similar outing I had with my brother a few years back at Leo, north parking lot.  Big surf and shore break, so timing was crucial.  Gave him the same instructions - wait unitl I beach and then wait for my signal.  I should mention that he was using one of my yaks with all my gear.  So I make it to the beach, turn around to look for him, but he is already on his way in.  Not only that, but there are huge lines coming up on him.  He gets totally barreled about 5' from dry sand, landing on his head.  Believe it or not, he was fairly uninjured.  My gear was another story.  Two poles snapped, all tackle and a mask and fins set were lost.  He lost his glasses, hat, sandals, dignity and pride, but came up laughing.  This was also his maiden voyage.  He has redeemed himself in Mexico several times now.

Anyway, sorry about your buddy.  I wish him a speedy recovery.

Whitey

[Spike]

Let this be a lesson to ALL.
You did a great job Scotto and this incident just confirms another reason I like fishing with you.  Let go of the guilt, you have none to assume.  I fished North Leo Sunday and the surf was indeed a 2.  Even in near calm surf I packed my Accurate Reels away and secured my rods to trhe deck.  I was demoing a new fishing kayak, the RTM K Largo (not yet available in California).  Stepping off the kayak in a perfect landing, my shorts got stuck on a nylon hook (the paddle retainer) to the kayak and all went wrong.  I couldn't tear loose, got hit by a 1 foot wave, rolled the boat and got knocked down. Luckily, I was alert to protect myself from the kayak and just got scraped up.  No gear damage, broken legs or smashed head.

The "little stuff" like staying away from your boat, removing hooks and securing gaffs is just as important in small surf as in the big zone.

I hope your friend's recovery is short and sweet.

Thanks for sharing that Scott!

PS  I fished Tomales last week with a couple of chefs who made fine fare out of tyhis leopard shark.  Marinated in miso and prepared as ceviche.  I'm not a shark eater and I really enjoyed it.

[jdouble]

Sorry for the bad day Scott.