tree Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 firstly i want to say thankyou to mr magoo for saving my ass out on the water on saturday morning, i wish there was some way to thankyou.... it all started on sat morning when my friend called me up 4 a fish on our yaks, he came over at about 5 and it was raining so i told him we will wait till sunrise and see what the weather is like then. at sunrise the rain stopped so we loaded the yaks into the van and headed off to kurnell to launch and fish the hotwater outlet.. we fished for a while and after my 10th fish i decided id had enough and said we should head home... i was anchored up n water was coming in from the back.. i had my rear hatch open and didnt realise that water was being washed in while i fished.. when i tried to pull the anchor up it was stuck so i tried 2 pull harder and the rear of the yak dipped into a swell and the water rushed into the hatch and i started to sink. i tipped over and lost my tackle box, my new stella which just got new linesystem line(i think its bad luck after only using it a few times its been covered in oil last week and then this....), my heartlandz midge rod, my net, wallet, phone, keys, and my paddle..... is it me or does it seem like stellas love falling into the water?!?! its happened to others as well if i can remember right. tried to scream out for help but my friend couldnt hear me so i try and tread water holding onto my sinking kayak and try and drag/swim to the bouy at next to the fish farm... after a long struggle i was able to grab the bouy and scream out for help again... mr magoo boat heard my screams for help and rushed over to pull my kayak and myself into his boat and bring me to shore so again a big thank you to you and your old man.. since i lost my keys i couldnt get back into my car so i had to borrow a phone from the guy living accross the street so if your watching thankyou to you too.... i called my brother and he brought me a set of keys to the van so i could get home. once home i loaded the boat with my snorkel set and another friend and i headed off to try and get my gear back but it was too rough and we turned around after afew hundred metres from the boat ramp... this morning before work my brother and i set out again to try and salvage some of my gear.. we launched at kurnell boat ramp and made our way over to the fish farm... it was abit choppy and windy and things didnt look good but we stripped down and jumped in anyway.. the water was cold at 1st but got warmer as we moved around... saw something shiny at the bottom n thought it might be the stella.. the water was 16ft according to the sounder and i thought it was gonna be pretty hard to get to the bottom.. i dived down anyway and the pressure down there was killing my ears but i caught a glimse of my reel and kept kicking... grabbed the rod/reel and saw my box of jighead and lures so grabbed that as well... on the way up i thought i was going to drown and was about to take a lungfull of air but just managed to get to the surface in time.. i saw my net but i didnt think id last another dive down so i told my bro to hand me a metal lure with a treble and i will try and drop it onto the net.. we did and it worked he reeled it in... YES!!! i was stoked!!!! i got my rod back!!! i was so happy cause the reel i can get another but daiwa dont make the midge rod anymore so i wouldnt be able to replace my fav rod... we left after that because i had to head for work, the reel seemed to work fine but im going to have shimano look at it just in case. ive learnt my lesson, il always make sure my hatch is on before i head off... but thankyou again to everyone that helped me out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomahawk1999 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Geeez mate sound's like you were awfully lucky! May I suggest some swimming lessons if your not too comfortable in the water or at least wear a life vest. The old yaks aren't too forgiving when it come's to freeboard and swamping. Glad to hear it all worked out ok for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share Posted November 4, 2007 im a strong swimmer.. i only struggled with the yak because i was trying to drag it with me to the bouy and i stayed under a little too long when i went after my stella lol but thanks for the concern though, will be much more careful next time and close that hatch........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Glad to hear you lived to tell the tale !! Well done to Mr Magoo and the others who gave you assistance !! Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 (edited) Glad to see you safe. When yakking if not wearing our life jackets have them under a bungee cord on the rear deck so it is easy to get. Most yaks have no floatation at all. We also use wine bladders filled with air in any cavities we don't have gear in as then even if swamped the bail out is very fast and your yak floats. A lot of sit on tops may have many hatches but generally no bukheads so as soon a a leak happens it can flood the entire yak. If you have the screw on 6 inch hatches yu can replace the opaque plastic lids with clear polycarbonate ones so you can see if there is any water in your yak. Good you got your gear back. Edited November 5, 2007 by pelican Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 (edited) Gidday Tree... Welcome to the "Underwater Stella Club". I am still in the lead though.. I have had two in the drink and got them both back!! That was a stroke of bad luck. Lucky you came out unscathed. I sent my Stellas back to Shimano for a strip down and clean. They also replaced a couple of the bearings just to be sure. PM me if you need details. Edited November 4, 2007 by Ceph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylo Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Lesson to all with the sit-in yaks especially! I am lucky that I go out with a mate who is quite competant on his gear and the safety aspects of it all. Invest in a "dry-bag" which will not sink because it would generally be tied clipped on to a bungee cord on the hatch. That should save the wallet phone and keys at least. Good work too on salvaging the gear ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen801 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hi Tree, Glad it was a good end to what could have been mate and its only lost property. I know the feeling of terror on the water. We got rammed and sunk by a cruiser once. I have had car, motorbike and boat accidents and the boat was the most terrifying. I came out of it with some claret flowing and all my gear deep sixed about 70ft. My only advise would be to get one of those waterproof and floating pouches for your phone wallet and keys. All the best mate and i am glad that fellow boaters were able to help you and did so willingly. Good Karma for him. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 I always keep my phone camera in car keys in those waterproof bags even when on big boats as you never know when your going to do something stupid like falling into the water just getting on or off a boat!!!!! Good to here its all worked out well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inhlanzi Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 G'day Tree Reading that sent a shiver down my spine!! Good to hear you are back in one piece and got most of your gear back. Get some wine bags / noodles / soccer balls etc and fill up those cavities You do realise you are now a member of a very exclusive club - THE STELLA UNDERWATER CLUB I am sure Ceph will welcome you with open arms.. cheers inhlanzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 G'day Tree Reading that sent a shiver down my spine!! Good to hear you are back in one piece and got most of your gear back. Get some wine bags / noodles / soccer balls etc and fill up those cavities You do realise you are now a member of a very exclusive club - THE STELLA UNDERWATER CLUB I am sure Ceph will welcome you with open arms.. cheers inhlanzi Ha ha ha.... Tree, you have been honoured with your very own cartoon!!! I, too, have such a cartoon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Struth that young guy was lucky. Take care out there mate!!!! But what a brilliant drawing that is Mike !!!! :thumbup: the members will find that very classy. Mike I wonder if one day you could do a depiction of you and me in the Boston Whaler and sketch up those huge jewfish that must have been under the boat looking up at us Cheers Byron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Struth that young guy was lucky. Take care out there mate!!!! But what a brilliant drawing that is Mike !!!! :thumbup: the members will find that very classy. Mike I wonder if one day you could do a depiction of you and me in the Boston Whaler and sketch up those huge jewfish that must have been under the boat looking up at us Cheers Byron Byron, You must have lost an extremely expensive outfit to qualify for a cartoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloosh Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 LOL @ the miller bottom rig. glad to see that ur ok though...hopefully in future the only thing ull b gettin wet are ur legs on the sideo f the kayak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr magoo Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Thanks for the kind words tree youd do the same for anyone so dont stress ,take it easy ,good to hear you got your gear back, at least the stuff that counts . arman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 (edited) lol HAHAHAHAHAH that cartoon is too funny... thanks inhlanzi i think thats going to be my new avatar!!!! but again thankyou 2 everyone for your concern, my wallet phone and keys were in a ziplock bag but i never thought of having it attatched to the yak... il make sure i do next time, great ideas. zenman ive laso been in a few car and motorcycle accidents but i think this 1 freaked me out a little more because i cherish my gear more than most things and the thought of losing it was horrible lol thats why i had to come back and try and find it! im thinking about upgrading to a hobbiecraft... those things seem awesome and a few rod holders... give me another reason to justify me going out and buying that daiwa steez kingbolt to suit my certate r custom ive got ordered!!! hehehe but seriously does anyone have any experience with the hobbies? they seem cool.......... i was waiting for you to reply mr magoo, i was in at kyeemah bait n takle this arvo 4 a few hours just talking to gu and as soon as i walked through the door he knew what had happened and said he tried to call me but my phone was dead lol im guessing you had a talk with him? nice bloke... thanks again mate Edited November 5, 2007 by tree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzassj6 Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 (edited) Losing a wallet is like losing everything! too bad those 16 fish of yours wasnt there on the bottom. Edited November 5, 2007 by dazzassj6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPSGT Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 the stella's sent to Australia must be the "boomerang edition" People seem to loose them over the side, but some how against all the odds get them back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 I have been a bit slack in posting on the site for a few months. But these underwayer antics crack me up every time. There are some of the arseiest people in the country on this site. great stuff, on getting the gear back. arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Ha ha.. My brother in law has fitted our boat with lanyards which clip onto the reel foot. Very good idea as long as the boat doesn't sink!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 yeah i think that would be a very good idea.. afew manufacturers make rods now that are purposely made for yaks with a place to clip a lanyard... will have a look into this, hopefully it wont ever be needed lol my certate 2500R came today so will have to look into another rod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 OMG!! You were so lucky having Mr Magoo there to pull you out of the drink!!! I guess you won't leave the rear hatch open again! When I first got my yak, I was told never to anchor from the rear when in rough water or a tidal flow coming from the rear, as it is the most likely capsize point. What sort of yak do you have? Some yakkers also have a floatation device on their anchor rope, along with a quick release clip, so that if they get into trouble, they can unclip the anchor from the yak & retrieve it later by just locating the float. Even a milk bottle will work as the float. So glad you were able to retrieve some of your gear - just be careful going down to those depths! I am sure there are people out there with scuba gear that would go down for you (maybe for a few beers ) & do the hard yards for you!! Remember safety first! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Mr Magoo, yooooouuuv done it again !!!!! Good work and lucky you were there to lend some help. I hope we don't all have to lose rods or sink our boats to get a cartoon done!!!! inhlanzi - you're a legend. Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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