Pyramid 2/12

[DFrink]

Dude you should get your own TV show, like The Wild Within, or Man vs Wild. You definately sounds more prepared than most. Although most probably don't realize the potential danger of the situation.

Dan

This individual who ended up on Anaho island, How was he rescued? Your friend who went for a ride was fortunate he did not end up in the water. He surely would have died fast.

You have to have your wits about you on this lake or any big water and be ready for a survival situation especially with winter boating and icy water temperatures. That goes for any water craft no matter the size. If you don't you can die easily. I go out in a 24' North River Deep V and an 11 foot kayak. We have had to beat back from Hells Kitchen against 60+ mph SW gusts in the Big Boat. Not fun but the boat can handle everything the lake throws at it. Swells never get very big on Pyramid but the wind comes up quick and when it blows hard with the chop on an angle,,,,if you are one of the 99% of idiots out there in boats with zero boating skills or even a coast guard boating safety class under your belt you can get into trouble fast. But that is the case for most large bodies of water. On Pyramid there are 4-5 foot white caps/chop which are not easy to deal with IF you do not know how. I am always prepared to swim. On my buddies boat I bring a bag with my dive suit, hood, booties and gloves, life jacket, dry bag with survival gear. If you are out there in a boat, and capsize you are done fast if you can't extract yourself (which you won't) from the frigid water. Hypothermia will kill you fast. So you better be ready to swim in it and have the necessary wet or dry suit to stave off hypothermia.

In the kayak I wear a Stohlquist Dry Suit with plenty of extra fleece under neath, Stohlquist Life Jacket, I have a wetsuit neoprene dive hood, neoprene dive booties and neoprene dive gloves handy on the deck in easy reach, I have float bags in the front and rear of my kayak so it won't sink, a bilge pump, I have a surf board shock cord that I can quickly attach myself to my boat, a paddle leash, I carry a survival dry bag(which also adds flotation) with the necessary gear(bivy, sleeping bag, water purifier, stove, food/water, clothes etc) to keep keep me alive for days. I am prepared to swim and survive. I also recreationally swim the lake regularly throughout the winter to acclimate myself to being in the cold water so that when an emergency situation arises I am prepared to swim for hours. And to just test out my dry suit on a regular basis to make sure none of the gaskets have any leaks.

If you tube or pontoon stay close to shore, you are better off in a tube, less wind resistance. Pontoons in 20-30 mph out there.....you got problems.

[JasonB]

...On my buddies boat I bring a bag with my dive suit, hood, booties and gloves, life jacket, dry bag with survival gear. If you are out there in a boat, and capsize you are done fast if you can't extract yourself (which you won't) from the frigid water. Hypothermia will kill you fast. So you better be ready to swim in it and have the necessary wet or dry suit to stave off hypothermia.

I like the overall tone of your post, and I agree 100% with your intent to warn others to take all needed precautions. When you talk about having key safety gear stowed in a bag in the boat, I have to question the usefulness of it; I'm not personally too confident or enthusiastic about the idea of having to pull out the wetsuit and try to shed my shoes and clothes and don the wetsuit all while trying to tread water in FREEZING cold water. Maybe I misread this somehow? Not trying to be critical, but I do think we probably are in agreement that it's always good to think through the "what if's" BEFORE they become "Holy %*@!" moments. Good things for us all to think about, let's all be safe out there.
JB

[bigfly]

The guy who took the ride was picked up buy boaters the next morning.
Once while playing a nice fish, I stopped paying attention to the wind.
By the time he was released, the wind had gone off shore and so had I.
I finned hard until it slowly dawned on me I could only hold my own, not gain ground.
Just then, the wind paused. When my heels touched down, my pulse was 160, and my eyes were saucers!!!
The guy on the ladder next to me, just smiled.
Swamped my boat in following seas at pelican ramp last season. Waves breaking a foot over the dock.
We rallied, but not everybody was so lucky.
I don't want to say malevolent, but no place for pikers.
And yes, the survival suit needs to be on in advance. In AK, the coasties gives you 3min. to don it.
Good to be prepared in life, for anything....

Jim

[betty]

Pontoons(with oars) do not have to pay any boating fees.

Well that's interesting, cuz that's not what I was told at Ranger station. Hmmm???
Betty

[1flyfisher]

Read the regs. page 20 defintions of Boat

Boat "Boat" means any vessel moved by oar, paddles, sails, or other power mechanism, inboard or outboard, or any vessel or structure floating on the water, whether or not capable of self locomotion, including but not limited to houseboats, barges and similar floating objects, provided, that boat does not include float tubes, small rafts, sail boards, or any other small flotation device used solely for single person recreation.

Well that's interesting, cuz that's not what I was told at Ranger station. Hmmm???
Betty

[1flyfisher]

When I am out there in my kayak I avoid any sort of dangerous conditions. If the wind kicks up....I head right in. So it would be a pretty boring show with me on the beach. I carry that stuff because in the event something unpredictable happens I may be able to deal with it and survive. But I try and avoid it at all costs and i don't take any chances at all out there. I don't want to ever have to swim...But if I ever have to....I will give it my best shot to make it to the other side.

Dude you should get your own TV show, like The Wild Within, or Man vs Wild. You definately sounds more prepared than most. Although most probably don't realize the potential danger of the situation.

Dan

[1flyfisher]

Yes you miss understood slightly. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I am avoiding putting on anything while in the water. When I am on my buddies boat. I have a bag with a dive wetsuit or dry suit, hood, booties, gloves etc. If it gets hairy we batten down the hatches, On goes the dive suit or my dry suit. My partner has a full on survival suit, I have what I have. Will it allow me to survive, I do not know. But I do have a plan and I do have some gear(wetsuit/drysuit).

When I am in my kayak I am wearing my dry suit and life jacket already. I end up in the water. I have the hood and gloves right there on the deck. As shit gets nasty on go the hood and gloves. But I could pop the hood and gloves on while clinging to my kayak. I also have a spray skirt which comes out and goes on as conditions deteriorate. The only stuff in my kayak survival bag is a bivy, sleeping bag, back pack stove, food, water purifier,etc,,,that stuff is in a dry bag.

I like the overall tone of your post, and I agree 100% with your intent to warn others to take all needed precautions. When you talk about having key safety gear stowed in a bag in the boat, I have to question the usefulness of it; I'm not personally too confident or enthusiastic about the idea of having to pull out the wetsuit and try to shed my shoes and clothes and don the wetsuit all while trying to tread water in FREEZING cold water. Maybe I misread this somehow? Not trying to be critical, but I do think we probably are in agreement that it's always good to think through the "what if's" BEFORE they become "Holy %*@!" moments. Good things for us all to think about, let's all be safe out there.
JB

[bigfly]

1ff, bravo! Especially the bivy sack, mine goes everywhere with me. I've voted it best piece of gear for decades.
Saved my arse more than a few times. This is a good place to say again, that you should experiment with the gear before the stuff hits the fan. Practice the thought process too. Spend an "unplanned" night out, in foulness even, near the car..
I look for, and enjoy finding the flaw in my plan, (I needed a wind proof fleece hat or water, or a foam pad to insulate from the ground), whatever.
I add carob coated coffee beans too. Sometimes you need to stay awake to live, and need some calories as well.
Like I say every year here, "Have fun, be safe and.. try to do both at the same time".

Jim

[1flyfisher]

I have a 2.5lb danforth anchor. It holds my kayak like a rock. I was at south south nets anchored about lineup distance out in april. The wind came up one day and went from zero to 50+ . It broke my anchor loose(first time ever) and that was with 30 feet of line out in only 3-6 feet of water. By the time I got my anchor and anchor line in the boat and my flyrod and line stowed in the boat I was moving fast to the east, 200 yards or so off shore. I had to beat back on an angle and the sand was blowing across the water so hard it was blinding me. By the time I got to shore it was like I was rolled in the sand. Sand filled my ears, nose in my eyes, hair. I was a lucky bastard that day.

I got pinned on the east bank of Freeman at davis a few years back. Wind started out the day around a blustery 10-15 mph not too bad. By 2 o clock it was a solid 30+ with gusts well over 50+. I literally could not paddle my kayak from one side of freeman to the other. I tried 3 times. AND I am a solid strong as it gets paddler with gorilla arms. I was soaked to the bone, boat filled with water. Air Temp was low 50's, water about the same. If I could have walked i would have left my boat there and hoofed it but I use a wheelchair and I am non ambulatory. So I figure I was spending the night. I peeled off all my clothes and sat on the back of my kayak buck naked with my pants blowing in the wind on the end of my kayak paddle drying out. I had to get my clothes dried out or it would have been a very chilly night. My choice was to make a last chance attempt after dark if the wind dropped or sit there with no bivy or sleeping bad all freakin night freezing my nuts off. BUT IF i attempted to make it back and re doused myself and got soaked to the bone and didn't make it back I was screwed. Well the wind dropped a bit and I went for it and made it back soaking wet.

AFter that I went out and got my dry suit, float bags, a new life jacket, spray skirt, etc and started thinking about safety and survival and possible scenarios and plans. So now I am mentally prepared. Panic will get most folks once they hit that icy water. Most people drown within 100 feet of shore.

The guy who took the ride was picked up buy boaters the next morning.
Once while playing a nice fish, I stopped paying attention to the wind.
By the time he was released, the wind had gone off shore and so had I.
I finned hard until it slowly dawned on me I could only hold my own, not gain ground.
Just then, the wind paused. When my heels touched down, my pulse was 160, and my eyes were saucers!!!
The guy on the ladder next to me, just smiled.
Swamped my boat in following seas at pelican ramp last season. Waves breaking a foot over the dock.
We rallied, but not everybody was so lucky.
I don't want to say malevolent, but no place for pikers.
And yes, the survival suit needs to be on in advance. In AK, the coasties gives you 3min. to don it.
Good to be prepared in life, for anything....

Jim

[bigfly]

It's funny, how an epic will sharpen your resolve, to get your poop in a group. If you live through it.

Jim