So I am driving the beach on Race Point the other day......and I see this guy and his teenage son maybe 16 years old with a sit inside kayak stuck in the back of his Jeep and I watch them take it out and set it in the surf and I watch the son paddle out offshore a darn dood distance and could not help but notice....no life vest???! My observations besides this were...the sit inside kayak which was obviously quite beat, that they got it cheap recently and or given to them and were very, very new to kayaking and had not done their homework?! Now.....I ask myself.....do I go over to the gentleman and offer him a little good advice about the fact that his son is A) Not wearing a life vest of any kind nor do I see one with him and if he has one....when he does get in trouble he may not have time to put it on. B) A sit inside kayak is most definitely not a great choice for fishing the Race.....with the currents out there if they flip it will simply fill with water and they will never get it bailed out. C) What will you do sir if these things happen and your son is out there in trouble, you have no means of calling on your cell phone as there is no signal out on the Race, you will not be able to swim out to him for sure??? Against my better judgement I chose not to approach the gentleman as most often the response you might get is "Mind your own business" or "Oh we do this all the time".......so many times I do not bother. So my question to you folks is.....should I have said something to the gentleman or should I have just gone on my way as I chose to do??

PS- I will finish my story after a few folks chime in......and I posted this in the main forum as this scenario could apply to any form of fishing and potential dangers....do you offer your advise to anyone who may need it??

Offer to loan the kid a PFD. He may just get the hint...
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I would have given mine to him if I had had it...I did not.

I'd just say something. You don't have to come across rude, just mention you kayak a lot in those waters and you've had some close calls...you'd hate to see something unexpected happen etc...

If they get upset then say you hope the kid is adopted :hihi:
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DITTO. What Jeff said!

OK so here is the rest of the story! We went back on the Race the next day.....and happened to bump into the man and his son coming out of the Ranger Station. The man happened to engage me in conversation and mentioned that after we had seen them the day before that he (the father) actually found himself in trouble out on the water as he had gotten caught in the ripping currents off the beach! He told me he could not break from the current and had to just go along with it until he could and that he had taken a couple of waves and a little water had gotten into the yak but he made it out ok! I told him I had my concerns when I saw him the day before about the lack of a life vest and actually the fact that a sit inside kayak was not the way to go out there! He claimed he had a life vest on (which I find hard to believe since we saw them out on the water a couple of times with no sign of a vest at all, certainly not being worn at any time) I am glad he made it out but I will certainly be trying to give people the heads up in the future despite what their reaction might be.:uhuh:

Let Darwinism take its course !
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should have said something

It is not the kid's fault his dad was a dumbass and hopefully he will not suffer for it. I usually would have said something and if I didn't I might be kicking myself after the fact.

For the kid's sake - glad they made it back

When i see something wrong, and this something could be hazardous or even fatal, yes i would say something!

I usually do say something and I should have! My point is have you ever offered someone some friendly advice only to have them start pissing in your ear like a friggin' know it all?? It happens alot to me! But I had a bad feeling on this one and should have gone with my gut!:smash:

No life vest was stupid. Now if you spoke to him about it and he got mad and told you to mind your own business , that would have been "double stupid". So I guess I'd have at least said "No life vest??" If I got crap back for saying it I would just accept the fact that "double stupid" out on the ocean won't survive long anyway.

I agree with going with your gut feeling you may get a smart arse remark but at least you know you did your part in trying to prevent something bad from happening. If you don't say anything and the kid and or father were injured or worse both killed you would feel bad that you didn't try at least. People don't realize the power of the waters in which we fish.

Say something-they seriously may not know and you could save a life. I'm sure we've all been called names before, and it goes in one ear and out the other.

I usually do say something and I should have! My point is have you ever offered someone some friendly advice only to have them start pissing in your ear like a friggin' know it all?? It happens alot to me! But I had a bad feeling on this one and should have gone with my gut!:smash:

You'll get over some a-hole snubbing his nose at you pretty quickly. Maybe not so much if the worst happened. Especially a dumbass unknowingly leading his son into lethal conditions. Picture the news interview, " I had no idea it was like that out there".

Maybe the son though the same thing you did but didn't want to sound like a wimp to dad.

It's really no different than offering to help some id10t who's not catching when its on fire and every one else is slaying. All you can do is offer your experience. If it falls on deaf ears, at least you tried.

I was out there about 8-10 years ago and saw a guy in trouble flipped over in a sit in. The thing was so water logged he couldn't get it up right. He had a vest on, and this was before the sharks. (luckily) I pulled him in with him holding on to my yak with one hand and his water logged one in the other. I felt like I was in a strong man competition. I didn't even get a plug out of the deal. So Larry, did you get any fish??

Never mind the kayaks, what about all those guys riding bikes along the canal without helmets!? :eek:

I'd a said sumpton! :)
Big mouth

Exact reason why I never bother my father in laws sit in. He always asks me if I want to take it out there. All set with a sit in
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I was out there about 8-10 years ago and saw a guy in trouble flipped over in a sit in. The thing was so water logged he couldn't get it up right. He had a vest on, and this was before the sharks. (luckily) I pulled him in with him holding on to my yak with one hand and his water logged one in the other. I felt like I was in a strong man competition. I didn't even get a plug out of the deal. So Larry, did you get any fish??

No fish Mikey...only got out there 1 time as I worked 3 days and the wind blew the end of the week!

I would never head out there in a sit inside....did I mention the seam on the back deck was cracked??

I find it so stupid that people think they know everything they don't even consider looking into or leaning about the new sport they're going to start, take a lesson for heavens sake

there is a conductor
of the band
that directs people to you....

or if you just couldn't stand it

you might have just said, "new kayak?"

9 out of 10 times, it's all in your approach. <All in the way you say it>
You should definitely have said something, if not only because there was a child involved. I never try sounding like a "know-it-all" when offering advice...I usually throw in a "not that I know what I'm doing, but in my limited experience"...that way they don't feel like they're getting preached to and take your words a little more to heart. Just my opinion. ~

Never mind the kayaks, what about all those guys riding bikes along the canal without helmets!? :eek:


IDIOTS:nopics:

I agree with bloocrab, if you approach it correctly, it might be easier to get the point across.

One time I was surfcasting with TDF and the surf was decent that night and I saw some teenage yahoos in a canoe... thought about just calling 911 when I saw them even though they weren't in immediate danger, then they went out around a corner and I forgot about it. An hour later, emergency personnel shows up to our spot and has to pluck them out of the water!! So I think trusting your gut is probably the best way to go..

I would have said something as in trying to be helpful.

In those situations I always say something. and yes, it sucks, because most of the time, you get a some pissy #^&#^&#^&#^&ing reply. But, I'd rather have some douche gimme a little attitude than to hear about a catastrophe and know I could have helped maybe.

No life vest was stupid. Now if you spoke to him about it and he got mad and told you to mind your own business , that would have been "double stupid". So I guess I'd have at least said "No life vest??" If I got crap back for saying it I would just accept the fact that "double stupid" out on the ocean won't survive long anyway.


Didn't Darwin first coin the phrase "double stupid" as in the double stupid seal ate the dynamite even though he was being shot with paint balls.

do what you can...and let nature take care of the rest.

You said you were driving.. you have no obligation to stop and get out and instruct this Guy . If you were parked next to them a friendly Hello you might what to have a life jacket on surfs no joke..is cool

If I stopped for every stupid person while driving I would never make it to my destination .. from people walking in the road with a baby carriage with a sidewalk next to them or people riding bikes with ear buds the list is endless

I agree with Bloo too.....approach is everything. Yes I agree it would suck if something bad happened that you could have helped avoid but at the same time I believe in the "freedom of the Hills" ideal. Who am I to tell someone else what or how to do something (I know this is a little different situation, but still...). You dont necessarily know everyones story just by seeing them and think you know, then again your hunch could be dead on. I remember being pretty peeved quite a few years ago when trying to drive the beach and couldnt get up a hill on the first try. A bunch of people tore the HELL out of it before us but we gave it one shot, didnt make it, backed up to let more air out and to fill on the ruts others left when some "do-gooder" decided to come strolling over the hill from the other side. He must have thought we tore up the hill for the last 45 minutes and that we had no experience because he had to tell us all about what we had to do, why we had to do it and what we were apparently(??) doing wrong. we politely agreed, smiled and nodded and "yep, yepped him". Thinking to ourselves "really?" Trust me we did know what we were doing and needed to do...nuff said

I guess my point is while its possible a situation could be what it looks like they arent ALL what they could appear to be and some people may not take very kindly to you butting into their business! Which brings me back to the approach is everything!

In an unrelated note, I was fishing at an UDL near Rockport, and got passed by like 20 kayaks that were all the same manufacturer and color. Some singles and some tandems. They had to be rentals.

Two out of maybe 30 people were wearing a life jacket.

What makes me kind of pissed, being someone who dumped a yak pretty badly my fourth or fifth time out, is that how could a business that rents kayaks not absolutely require their customers to wear life jackets??????


Just a thought.

And I was a long swim away from anywhere and the only boat around for a while.