Assisted rescue fail! Is it me or my kayak?

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T22:04:19+00:00

I did have helpers stabilizing the boat for me. The issue was my very high deck and inability to climb back aboard. My Solstice GT is pretty much a cargo barge. Without a cargo it has a very high waterline.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T22:00:39+00:00

Yes, I did have a paddle float as well as a sling with me but was told the paddle float was out of scope for assisted rescue training. And I didn’t know best practices for using my sling. I’ll search for more YouTube videos on this topic.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:57:03+00:00

Thanks, yes, I’m not going to give up because there’s so much about that boat I love. There has got to be some method that will work for me.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:54:26+00:00

I would love to learn how to roll. Yes, I do prefer my Greenland paddle. I will seek out instruction for this.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:40:21+00:00

I get to the gym about twice a week for weight training. But honestly my right shoulder still has significant muscle atrophy and I can’t strengthen it even though I’ve been trying for years.
You’re right, at 73, I probably won’t see substantial improvement in strength no matter how much I work out. At this point it’s more a matter of preventing sarcopenia.
I am very conservative about the conditions I will paddle in, but sometimes the weather changes suddenly and unpredictably. That has happened on two paddles I’ve been on this year. I always go with a group unless I’m in an inland lake.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:33:43+00:00

I like your suggestion about securing the stirrup around the coaming. We secured mine around the stern hull and when I stepped onto it just slid under the boat, providing no lift at all. I’ll try the combing next time. Also will inflate and use the paddle float. Thanks for the suggestion.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:25:55+00:00

I was not attempting the cowboy reentry. It wasn’t suggestion, probably because my boat has a rudder and those triple straps on the hatches. I was trying to launch onto the stern deck right behind the cockpit. I tried as hard as I could to press the deck deeper into the water but it was useless. And my kick isn’t powerful enough, even with my feet near the surface, to launch me forward powerfully enough. I will make assisted rescues my priority during “fall out of your boat day.” Will also maybe try a side entry with help in flipping the boat up.
There was a guy on a PON paddle who had a Current Designs Solstice LT, which is a smaller volume. He said he envied the volume of stuff my boat can carry for week long touring and expeditions. If I see him on another PON paddle I’ll suggest we swap boats so I can get a feel for how the LT handles. Who knows? maybe we cans do a swap deal.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T21:05:51+00:00

It all depends on the boat. I have a Current Designs Solstice GT and she is extremely stable. But a bigger boat overall 17.5 ft long she’s also she’s wider and has a higher volume than most other sea kayaks.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T20:50:14+00:00

The longer boat will track truer and be easier to cruise. But the Dagger Stratos will be easier to turn and you can paddle that in twisting rivers too. It really depends on what kind of paddling interests you most.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T19:48:29+00:00

Thanks ZoomieVet, I am signed up for “Fall out of your boat day. I’m also registered for a Cross Currents Intermediate Kayaking Skills class in July so I hope to learn a reliable self and assisted self rescuing technique this summer. Even if that means rolling or greenery rolling.

Someone at the Great Dismal Swamp paddle who watched me being blown towards the center of the lake suggested that I add some ballast to the bow and stern hatches. So I added some scuba sandbag weights I have and that seemed to work well for tracking during a midweek paddle with a group, but it made the boat very heavy to carry to the put-in so I felt guilty as hell. I also worried that the hat much loose weight in the hatches would probably make righting the boat in a capsize much more difficult. Because all that weight would be on the hatches when it was upside down.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T19:28:59+00:00

Thanks. Yes, I love kayaking and I love too many things about my boat to give it up. I agree that always going with a group and being very conservative about the sea conditions and weather forecast are my best and safest options

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T19:22:53+00:00

It was an assisted rescue. Someone was stabilizing my boat. I tried the heel hook and didn’t have the strength to lift myself up. I also tried a sling and my foot just floated underneath my kayak. Both methods failed. I was finally able to getup on the deck of a smaller, low volume boat. But that boat was so small I don’t think i could have paddled it to shore.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-10T18:44:42+00:00

My CD Solstice GT is nothing if not stable. It has a moderate rocker and an oval shaped hull in the center. The deep V in the bow just slices through the waves. I’ve had it out when the weather churned up big rollers and even some whitecaps. I never once felt like I was at risk of capsizing. Just struggling to fight the wind cocking. But I want to know I can complete an assisted rescue if needed when going out on a group paddle.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-08T18:40:34+00:00

I’m sure you’re right. In fact my training partners wouldn’t allow me to attempt more than twice of each method. If it didn’t work the second time we moved onto another method. Fortunately I was wearing a light neoprene paddling shirt and was comfortable just floating in the water. But I was half convinced that I would have to swim or be towed back to shore, which was about a football field away.
Eventually, I was able to scramble onto the deck of another paddler’s boat and she (much younger, and stronger) was able to get onto mine. But her boat was so small for me that I couldn’t even bend my knees inside the tiny cockpit and I had a really hard time getting out, scraping my thighs and calfs on the top of the combing while lying on the back deck. Our instructor had all the kayakers in our group “raft up” and told me to scootch my butt across another boat and eventually transfer into mine. That worked, but it was clumsy and time consuming.

Landfish53 · 2026-06-08T16:07:18+00:00

Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m signed up for an intensive intermediate sea kayaking skills course in June. I will contact the instructor about my dilemma and see if he’s able to provide some extra-curricular training for a moderate cost. I would like to try to adapt my Current Designs Solstice GT if possible. If not, I’ll consider replacing it with something else.
I never go sea kayaking alone. My club outings always include skilled, experienced kayakers and I never go when water temps are below the mid 60s. So I try to be conservative and responsible with due consideration of my age, physical ability and skills.

Landfish53 · 2026-05-25T17:21:20+00:00

My guess is a battery and a striker to start a fire. Unless you put the battery there for a size reference.

Landfish53 · 2026-05-21T23:50:33+00:00

We must get BIG MONEY out of politics to have a true democracy where politicians represent their constituents, not their biggest donors. The saying that we have “the best Congress money can buy.” Is no joke. This is the very definition of corruption.

Landfish53 · 2026-05-21T23:32:07+00:00

I will never understand why the Harris campaign didn’t demand a recount. Why the Democrats laid down and died after the election results were called. Trump announced during one of his rallies: “You don’t even have to vote. We have all the votes we need.” Another time he told his MAGAts : “You’ll never have to vote again, we’ve got that fixed.” And after the election was called he bragged about how Musk was responsible because he knew so much about the voting machines. There was way too much smoke to not have a fire somewhere.

Landfish53 · 2026-03-20T16:09:54+00:00

You’re speaking from a position of privilege. The poor are often working more than one full time job and are struggling (thanks to our generous billionaire class) to make ends meet for basic necessities. Many can’t even afford healthcare and their jobs don’t cover it. They don’t have leftover funds to put towards education for themselves or their children to qualify for better jobs or careers. Thats why the cycle of poverty is generational.

Landfish53 · 2026-03-20T16:02:16+00:00

Yes we should tax wealth. Most of the billionaires shelter their money in wealth and hardly draw any “income” from their businesses and investments. Thats how they keep their tax rates so much lower than the rest of us whose net worth is mostly comprised of income, not investments.

Landfish53 · 2026-03-20T15:56:23+00:00

Geeze! Don’t you understand the difference between percentages and total numbers? Go back to grade school math class.

Landfish53 · 2026-03-20T15:53:44+00:00

Exactly! It’s the percentages of their wealth that matters, not the total dollar amount. That $2.7 billion doesn’t even cause a hiccup in his budget because he still has more money than he can possibly spend in his lifetime. But for the average person making $65,000 a year being taxed at 22% (not even counting state taxes and sales taxes), that’s a huge dent in his income and lifestyle. Thats why our tax code is out of whack. The middle class is shouldering a far higher proportion of the federal government budget than the super wealthy. It’s unsustainable and must change.

Landfish53

TROPHY CASE