Kneeboarders help capsized Fisherman in Baja
Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 3:02 pm
Jim Richardson and I went down to Baja over the weekend to look at a couple of trailer properties and catch a few waves. We were staying right there in a trailer set-up at k38. The waves on Saturday morning were a nice and glassy 3-6ft and reeling down the point. The sun was shinning and we were having a great time.
About an hour into our session, Jim took the first wave of the set and I took the second. We ended up somewhere in the middle of the bay. As we paddled back out, we noticed some comotion and splashing another 500 yards to the south. My eyes are bad long distance and could not make out so well what was happening. Another surfer on the inside with us said it looks like a capsized boat with two men hanging off the back! We knew they were in trouble so we all paddled over as fast as we could. It turns out two older men tried to beach launch their small fishing boat up through the middle of the cove. Easy in theory deadly in practice. They said they got hammered by a set wave that strung itself from the point way down to where waves normally rarely break.
When we got to the boat, two other surfers were already trying to help. The poor older guys in the water were freezing and the boat was totally waterlogged and barely floating. Luckly, all their fishing gear and motor were still attached. Our first priority was to get the two guys to shore. One surfer threw a guy on his longboard and paddled him in the best he could. A ocean kayaker came and and retrived the second guy. We saw them get to shore ok so we focused on the boat. Jim took one side of the boat and I took the other. Two guys on surfboards attached their leaches to the front of the boat and paddled like hell. They were happy to see us because we had our flippers on and added a lot of horse power up the sides of the boat. We knew we could save the boat as long as another wave didn't smash us while we were angaling this water logged vessell in.
Often a set wave would roll in and we had no choice but to let go of the boat so we did'nt get smashed! We had let it float where the wave would take it. It was frustrating because we knew that the boat could easily take on more water which would sink it for sure.
After an about 40 minutes, we got the boat into shallow water. Then we made it to the shore without losing the boat. People were upon the beach cheering and all! We took the motor off, took out their fishing gear, gas tank etc. and got all that stuff up on the beach. We then got a bunch of guys in the water, waited for some white water to lift it up a bit. With all of our strength, we were able to turn the thing over and dump out tons of water! We carried the boat up the beach in tact. Amazing, I thought it was gone for sure.
The men and their wives thanked us profusely. We said we were glad we could help them and most importantly, they were safe. We then walked back up to the point and surfed waves that got even better throught the morning.! There were fun hard breaking rights and a rippable lefts on the backside of the point. After a few waves, I felt blessed that we were able to get the two men to shore and the waves were our reward for the day!
As you all know about Baja, always expect the unexpected!
About an hour into our session, Jim took the first wave of the set and I took the second. We ended up somewhere in the middle of the bay. As we paddled back out, we noticed some comotion and splashing another 500 yards to the south. My eyes are bad long distance and could not make out so well what was happening. Another surfer on the inside with us said it looks like a capsized boat with two men hanging off the back! We knew they were in trouble so we all paddled over as fast as we could. It turns out two older men tried to beach launch their small fishing boat up through the middle of the cove. Easy in theory deadly in practice. They said they got hammered by a set wave that strung itself from the point way down to where waves normally rarely break.
When we got to the boat, two other surfers were already trying to help. The poor older guys in the water were freezing and the boat was totally waterlogged and barely floating. Luckly, all their fishing gear and motor were still attached. Our first priority was to get the two guys to shore. One surfer threw a guy on his longboard and paddled him in the best he could. A ocean kayaker came and and retrived the second guy. We saw them get to shore ok so we focused on the boat. Jim took one side of the boat and I took the other. Two guys on surfboards attached their leaches to the front of the boat and paddled like hell. They were happy to see us because we had our flippers on and added a lot of horse power up the sides of the boat. We knew we could save the boat as long as another wave didn't smash us while we were angaling this water logged vessell in.
Often a set wave would roll in and we had no choice but to let go of the boat so we did'nt get smashed! We had let it float where the wave would take it. It was frustrating because we knew that the boat could easily take on more water which would sink it for sure.
After an about 40 minutes, we got the boat into shallow water. Then we made it to the shore without losing the boat. People were upon the beach cheering and all! We took the motor off, took out their fishing gear, gas tank etc. and got all that stuff up on the beach. We then got a bunch of guys in the water, waited for some white water to lift it up a bit. With all of our strength, we were able to turn the thing over and dump out tons of water! We carried the boat up the beach in tact. Amazing, I thought it was gone for sure.
The men and their wives thanked us profusely. We said we were glad we could help them and most importantly, they were safe. We then walked back up to the point and surfed waves that got even better throught the morning.! There were fun hard breaking rights and a rippable lefts on the backside of the point. After a few waves, I felt blessed that we were able to get the two men to shore and the waves were our reward for the day!
As you all know about Baja, always expect the unexpected!