Thursday, September 16, 2021

My Kayak Capsized!

 On my latest kayaking adventure, I visited  a small beach in Ventura, near the harbor.  As I drove in, I spotted a few people loading their kayaks onto their cars.  I decided to park there and explore a new location.  

I had spent the morning bicycling along the beach bike path, watching the surfers, and wading in the water.  The waves were strong, and the undertow current was intense.  I normally go to the beach earlier in the morning, but had decided to wait for the fog to burn off, and the sun to appear.  I had an uneasy feeling about going kayaking, but decided to push through the resistance.  Before leaving, I had loaded up all of the equipment in my car.  I chided myself for not trying something new.

Getting out into the water  was slightly challenging, because the inlet had some small waves near the shore.  I paddled hard through them, and quickly made it to the deeper water, which seemed much calmer.  I was concerned about the wind, though.  I stayed in the view of people on the  beach, just in case.  After a short journey, I decided to head back to shore.  My plan was to ride a small wave in, and jump out of the kayak.

All was going well, but when my kayak hit the sand, the wave knocked it. It flipped the kayak upside down as I was getting out; it was such a shock.  I quickly grabbed the kayak and pulled it onto the sand.  It was filling with water, and getting heavy.  I reached for my paddle, as well, grabbing one in each hand.  The kayak felt weighted down because of the sand and water inside of it.  Luckily, I had inflated my float bags and placed them in the stern and bow of the boat before leaving.  They take up space and keep the kayak afloat.

I ran back into the water and saw  all of my things floating away from me: my dry bag, my white, wide brimmed vintage sun hat, my rubber gardening shoes with the pink tulips on them, I even spotted  my cane!  I snatched up everything as quickly as I could.  Thank goodness for the dry bag.  It was securely fastened, floating, and worked perfectly.  Inside of it was my pouch, which had my keys, my identification, vaccination card, and phone.  Phew!  I was missing one shoe, which I never found.  I felt very guilty about that black piece of rubber floating around in the ocean with the sea lions, whales and dolphins.  

To be continued...

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14 comments:

  1. Scary as, Stephenie. Glad you're okay. But you know you pushed through your fear and that is just so amazing xxxxx

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  2. Thanks, ratnamurti. I think my intuition was warning me. I am going to look for the boat ramp with the kayak launch next time. I found it on Youtube.

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  3. Oh, no! I'm glad you were ok and retrieved everything apart from the shoe.
    xx

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    1. Me, too, Joy. It could have been so much worse. It taught me several lessons.

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  4. Oh, Stephenie! Thank goodness you were okay. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to kayak in the ocean. X

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    1. Thanks, Jules. This kayak is not designed for the ocean. The water looked deceptive. I normally paddle in a marina that is very calm. (in the morning.) I learned from a senior kayaker that the water gets rougher in the afternoon.

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  5. Very scary and sorry you lost your shoe, but, so glad you are safe and was able to recover most of your other items!

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    1. Thanks, Bless. Me, too. It felt weird to drive home barefoot. It really bothered me to litter in the ocean, too. Oh well.

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  6. What a scare. I am so happy your losses were not more than one shoe. Eagerly awaiting the next installment of your tale.

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    1. Thanks, Anita. I am excited to hear about your trip, too. It was a reminder to listen to my gut. My intuition was urging me to go home, but I pushed myself. I was very fortunate.

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  7. Oh my goodness that must have given you such a fright. Glad to hear that the only thing lost was a shoe.

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    1. Thanks, Cherie. Things scatter so quickly in a situation like that; I noticed a sailboat started to float towards me, so they must have been keeping an eye on what was happening.

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  8. oh goodness... sorry to here that you lost your shoe!! I cant wait to read the next part of your story!

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  9. Thanks, Angela. All's well that ends well, as my dad used to say.

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