Where do we start? This fisherman was lucky to survive a situation for which he was not prepared—his kayak sinking 3 miles off the Alabama coast. He and his friend owe a big thank you to the Coast Guard and other rescue personnel who stepped up to save their bacon. After all that, who cares about a little parking ticket?
A Sinking Kayak Means You Messed Up
The fishing trip begins normally enough, with a drag down the beach and scenic launch into the waters off Alabama’s Gulf State Park. The host and his friend plan to fish at a local reef for triggerfish and snapper. All goes well until 3:50, when the footage cuts to a scene of wreckage—one kayak has flipped and spilled our host and his gear into the drink.
“It’s filled with styrofoam, it should still float.
I might try to get up on it just to get out of the water.”
In the comments, uploader FishinAll50 explains that his boat was disabled by a crack in the hull, which prevented him from righting and re-boarding it. A complicating factor, sure, but if he had properly checked his kayak for wear and tear prior to launching this fatal flaw might have been detected in advance.
Nonetheless, he has smartly added extra flotation to his sit-on-top fishing kayak, making it harder to sink and easier to re-board in the event of a damaged hull. “It’s filled with styrofoam, it should still float. I might try to get up on it just to get out of the water,” he says. Great idea—even with a disabled boat—but he is unable to pull off the self-rescue maneuver. His friend is focused on talking to 911 rather than providing assistance.
Keep Your Cool and Don’t Get Distracted
Situations like this are a great reminder how important it is to properly train and equip each member of your group. In a crisis, you must be prepared to assist your fellow paddlers and be responsive to their survival needs first.
Always stay aware of your surroundings, including changing weather conditions, water currents, marine traffic and other obstacles. Wear the right apparel for immersion in cold ocean water and don’t skimp on rescue equipment like a waterproof VHF radio, GPS device, bilge pump, sharp rescue knife and most importantly a proper PFD. If you’re wearing an inflatable PFD, check it in advance.
Nothing Beats Proper Rescue Training
Above all, invest in adequate safety and rescue training from an accredited kayak instructor before you paddle, and take the time to practice these maneuvers in advance. Thankfully this story has a happy ending, but when you’re swimming in the swells beside a sinking kayak it’s a little too late to brush up.
Warning: This video contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
SO IRRITATED that this guy didn’t have any self rescue technique. The reality is with a PARTNER this would have been a SIMPLT “T” rescue and no rescue would have been needed. Great to show as a lesson learned. ALSO. A VHF radio with MMSI is $180 buck and SHOULD be something ALL ocean Kayakers have with them.
This video needs SO many disclaimers! First of all the guys seems like the typical egocentric kayaking expert, even his statement towards the end: “If I didn’t have the balls to be out here I wouldn’t” If he had the brains, he would have been more prepared but it’s yet another case of Joe Schmuck videographer/kayak fisherman thinking he’s some great film adventurer when in fact, he’s pretty much an idiot! His buddy is not apparently wearing a life jacket or any other flotation and appears to be more of a rookie than the video guy. Also, is it really prudent for sit-on-top kayaks to be that far from shore in rougher seas? This is so lame on so many levels, I question why it’s even been posted except to show how ill prepared some people (even those who are legends in their own mind) can be. I’m glad negative points were brought up in the article but seems they could have been even more forceful than they were.
This is coming from a guy that never comments on any posts whatsoever, but in this case, I will make an exception. I could not agree more with my man Tom’s statements above. These jokers had NO business being out there with their cheap kayaks, duller than a butter knife blade, and all-but-absent skill or knowledge (much less, common sense) to be out there. Then you consider their entitled, millennial mindset displayed by their attitudes towards the coast guard and rescuers saying, “It’s your ***ing job…it’s not our fault…” ….Really? So, who’s fault is it that you are floating in frigid waters 3 miles off the coast without the ability or equipment to handle the situation? Tom noted how the “buddy” didn’t appear to be wearing a PFD. To stress the stupidity involved, notice his uncontrollable shivering…and he’s not even in the water. If anything, this video should be filed with the amateur hour videos or “How Not to Kayak” tutorials. The real tragedy about the whole thing is that tax payer dollars had to be wasted on rescuing on these ungrateful goobers, and, to my shame, in watching this video I gave this clown one more view on his YouTube channel to fuel his over-inflated narcissism. Oivay.
It appears that the kayak involved in this mishap is an Ascend 133X sit-on-top Angler Kayak with MinnKota electric motor, which is exactly the kayak offered by BassPro for an amazing price that I had intended to check out and maybe buy to replace my old Ocean Kayak Torque motorized kayak. Curiously, there is no video on what happened before the kayak capsized, including any actions of the occupant, that explains what caused an otherwise stable looking kayak to fail so badly. Is there a record of other similar capsizing or failures of this particular kayak model? Is there a design flaw with the kayak or is it entirely pilot error that caused this crash?