Kayak sailing: An Eventful Afternoon - by Jess Haas

I went kayak sailing on Sunday and it seems I managed to nail my timing perfectly for learning the most in the shortest period of time. I launched from the Marina Del Rey public boat ramp and got on the water about noon. It was high tide and the forecast was for 8-11 knots of wind and that seemed about right except it was coming from the north instead of the usual west/north west. With the winds coming from the north it makes for an easy sail out to the ocean instead of having to beat upwind but is always a bit rougher.

Kayak sailing lunch

I ate my lunch while sailing and it only took about 30 minutes to get out to the breakwater and the entrance to the ocean. At this point you can exit to the north or the south. When winds are high and from the north it can be difficult to exit on the north side due to a strong current flowing through. Exiting to the south is easy but if the winds and current are pushing you south it can make getting back into the harbor difficult.

More wind, more waves

By this time the wind from the west had picked up and the falling tide had created a bit of a current making exiting to the north easy. The water is always roughest directly outside of the mouth to the harbor and today was no exception. I wanted to head up the coast a little bit but 6-7ft waves were coming at me and I didn’t want them on my beam so I pointed in to them to get away from the confused seas around the breakwater. Winds were a steady 10-12 knots but they kept switching between coming from the north and coming from the west/southwest. I turned to the north west and was making a small amount of progress up the coast but I was also moving further out to sea. The waves I was expecting to diminish as I moved away from the harbor mouth instead seemed to be growing. There were actually two different swells happening. One was in the 6-7ft range from south-west and another from the north-west of about 2-3ft with a higher frequency. Sometimes they would add on top of each other and sometimes they would subtract. At one point I noticed a really cool cross hatched pattern of swell on the surface of the water.

A surprise gust

I was much more comfortable beating into the large waves than running before them but I was over half a mile from the beach and didn’t want to be too far from shore so I tacked. The large waves were passing under me with no problem and I was sailing nicely towards shore when winds of 30+knots started coming from the north. So much for the 8-11knot forecast. I needed to be home soon because my wife had plans to go swimming so I decided this was as good a time as any to head back. As soon as I got turned around a nice big 7+ft wave came from my right. I felt a little wobbly but was doing fine passing over it when a 30+knot gust came from my left and I failed to keep the boat upright.

Reentry trouble

This is only the second time I have capsized while sailing and the first time where I felt it was actually from the conditions and not just me doing something stupid in high winds. I have actually been trying to push things to find the point where this would happen and I guess I finally succeeded. My first train of thought when this happens is to stay calm and make sure I am clear of all the lines and in no danger of getting tangled. Twisting around quickly is the surest way to get tangled in a line. I was confident that I was clear of the lines and I had my paddle in my hand which was attached to the boat by my paddle leash so had no problem staying with it. The next course of action was to un turtle it. I reached under the boat and uncleated the forestay and boom vang lines so that the sail wouldn’t fight me when I went to flip it over. Then I lifted the side closest to me, got it to the point where it was about to flip over and it fell right back down. I did this twice then realized I needed to stop and assess the situation.

Autopilot off, brain on

I have righted and reentered my boat while kayak surfing many times without even thinking about it but today autopilot seemed to be failing me. Normally the wind and waves would be pushing me towards the shore but instead the combination of the tidal current and the wind from the north were actually pushing me out to sea. Fun! I had my VHF radio in my PFD like always but had left my PLB at home so no backup if shit really hit the fan and the VHF failed me. I wasn’t very concerned but still those thoughts ran through my head as I turned to why I was having trouble flipping my boat.

For one the waves were pushing it back down when I tried to lift it and I probably would have succeeded if I was on the other side but the truth of the matter was despite knowing better I was just plain doing it wrong. Lifting one side of the boat works fine when in the surf where you can touch the ground but it just causes the boat to slide away from you when you can’t. I know this and that is not how I normally right my boat. I have been avoiding doing too much with my right hand since I hurt my wrist and it seems on autopilot I was trying to flip my boat one handed.

Now with my brain engaged I calmly lifted the side closest to me with one hand and reached under to grab the handle on the opposite side. It flipped over easily like it usually does. I quickly hopped in the boat then realized at some point I had set down my paddle. I followed the paddle leash to the paddle which was luckily right there although I noticed the knot holding the line to it looked rather loose. I have been meaning to figure out a better knot for that so I guess that is a sign that I need to get on it. I hadn’t brought much with and everything still seemed to be secured in place so it seems that I got that right.

Back in the saddle

Now I needed to get my sail back in order. I could have stowed it and just paddled because of the rough conditions but what fun is that? I picked the sail up out of the water and set it loosely on my lap and looked to the lines. I dressed the sheets to make sure they weren’t tangled but the forestay line had pulled out of the cleat. On a bigger sailboat this line would be the perfect candidate for using a stopper knot to keep it from pulling out of the cleat as it can be a pain to retrieve when it does. I figure minimizing entanglement hazards is a far more important priority though and I would rather a line pull free than get snagged on it when my boat capsizes. On the flip side taking more time to get going again after such an episode could result into drifting into dangerous rocky shores, etc… I am not convinced my system is right but as of now I don’t use stopper knots on anything. Luckily it only took me 2 attempts to fish my forestay line out of the water with my paddle and I was quickly sailing towards safe harbor with a 30 knot breeze behind me.

Heading home

As I entered the sheltered waters of the main channel both winds and waves were much calmer. Winds here were back to being from the west and I contemplated throwing the spinnaker up but decided I had enough excitement for my short 2 hour adventure. I sailed at a good pace and was actually drying out a bit when a large 2 masted sailboat overtook me rather close with unreefed main, mizen and a jib flying. It is a no wake zone but sailboats can often get away with a bit of speed and I underestimated just how big of a wake their large boat would make. After getting a bit swamped I pulled over to the dinghy dock to dry off before continuing home. I then sailed on and headed home happy about another successful and educational day on the water.

---
Written by Jess Haas and originally published in his Facebook group Kayak and Canoe Sailing February 16, 2021

Like what you're reading? Cool - then get notified of new CGoN posts here!