June 16th Depoe Bay Notification

Spot · 06-11-2012, 08:59 AM

Hey Salty Dogs,

This Saturday, June 16th, Northwestkayakanglers.com will be holding their 5th anual Oregon Rockfish Classic Tournament out of Depoe Bay. As this Saturday is an all depths day, I thought y'all should get a heads-up on the extra traffic.

Two of NWKA's primary objectives are to teach people how to approach the sport safely and to foster a strong relationship between powered and non-powered craft. In such, you can expect all participants in this tournament to follow local protocals for exit from and entry to Depoe Bay. Passage will occur in groups to minimize impact. All kayaks will fly a safety flag for greater visibility. As well, it is explicit in the contest rules that no one is allowed to fish the Channel between the harbor and the buoys.

At the ramp, you can expect to see some people offloading their gear adjacent to the launch. Most however will roll thier yaks down to be launched off the left side of the dock. We will actively work to minimize our impact on the launch of powered vessels but appreciate your patience and cooperation!

Final weigh in is at 2:00PM and we should be clear of the parking lot shortly thereafter.

Thanks for your cooperation!

-Mark Veary- (aka Spot)

Tinman · 06-11-2012, 09:06 AM

In all my dealings with kayak anglers, I've been impressed with their courtesy, skill and sense of community. I see more and more of them at Pacific City, always flying marker flags, and quite well equipped, including VHF. Kayakers are a welcome addition to the sportfishing fleet.

INSAYN · 06-11-2012, 09:14 AM

Another quick note for communication out on the water Saturday, most of us will have VHF radios on and closely monitoring channels 16, 80, and our main kayak friendly channel 69.

Any issues, fishy way points, trolling sharks, etc.... don't be shy.

Hope to see some big Hali's being processed at the cleaning table!

-INSAYN

yaknitup · 06-12-2012, 10:49 AM

Can't wait! I look forward to this every year!

Spot · 06-13-2012, 06:06 AM

Shameless bump .... I just want to make sure that as many dawgs see this as possible.

-Spot-

Spot · 06-15-2012, 07:51 AM

One final bump for y'all.

We're expecting approximately 60 contestants to paddle out tomorrow.

-Spot-

Treeshot · 06-15-2012, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by INSAYN

most of us will have VHF radios on and closely monitoring channels 16, 80, and our main kayak friendly channel 69.

-INSAYN

Just a thought, are the ones that don't have vhf going to enter and leave with someone who does? I'd hate to see a yak get mowed by an incoming power boat who didn't know anyone was in the hole because of lack of communication.

MaiToi · 06-15-2012, 04:26 PM

Saw that this morning had 4 in front of me going out and didnt hear them on ch 80 I said something and one of the guys answered back he couldnt remember if he had called outbound or not.

INSAYN · 06-18-2012, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Treeshot

Just a thought, are the ones that don't have vhf going to enter and leave with someone who does? I'd hate to see a yak get mowed by an incoming power boat who didn't know anyone was in the hole because of lack of communication.

Yes.

Tip-Sea · 06-18-2012, 03:00 PM

I have been very impressed with the Kayakers out of Depoe. Great communication, and do there best to stay out of the way.

I do appreciate the guys that fly the flags. They make you 1000 times easier to see out there! Stay safe and have fun!

fungunnin · 06-18-2012, 07:28 PM

We had an amazing event with over 60 anglers! Thanks to Spot for a ton of work he put in.

Salty Dogs you guys are a wealth of knowledge and from what I have seen over the years a great group of competent power boaters. Any guys who were out of Depoe on Saturday and have any feedback for the kayak crowd I would be happy to pass those messages along. Both positive and negative comments will be passed on. We are constantly striving to improve interaction between the two groups.

Thanks guys!

Nalu · 06-19-2012, 07:44 AM

I was out the hole prior to most of the kayak guys going- about 5:30 or so, but my observation was that it was organized and everyone took it seriously about avoiding conflict.

One thing that might be mentioned more leading up to the event would be that those pre-fishing also are aware that fishing in the channel between the Bell and the hole is not the best place to be. I made a run out to the Whistler and back on Friday night so my son could see the Sea Lions and there was a kayak and either a kayak with outriggers or cat that were in the channel area. I motored slow from the Bell to the hole to be cautious, but the kayaker crossed from South by Flat Rock to North directly across the channel in front of me. After I passed he then crossed from North to South back to the Flat Rock area.

I was cautious and aware and there was no conflict as I slowed to avoid him altogether, but I was not able to operate at normal speed due to his direct crossing the channel in front of me. An issue? No. But I would say that it was a poor idea for him to start crossing perpendicular to the channel directly in front of a power boat that is making the approach to the hole. The fact that he crossed back after I passed was a little confusing. The other individual that was with him stayed South of the channel and out of the way the entire time. Of course this meant that I bisected the two lone paddlers that were in the area at the time while I stayed in the middle of the channel.

In my opinion it would have been prudent for the kayaker to stay grouped with the other individual and simply waited for me to pass prior to paddling across the channel and back instead of cutting in front of me across the channel then paddling back across behind me. There were no other power boats there at the time and waiting a couple minutes for me to pass would not have seemed to make a difference.

KingSlew · 06-19-2012, 10:04 AM

Hey Mike, was he paddling a Nalu by any chance? (grin)

Spot · 06-19-2012, 10:52 AM

Thanks for the info. Nalu! I know the craft you're refering to and that was his 1st time in the salt. I'll make sure to pass along the feedback.

I'd like to thank the rest of the Salty Dogs for putting up with us on an all depths day!

The tournament was a great success! We did have one member get lost in the fog but level heads kept the situation well in hand. In fact, the failure analysis is proving to be a powerful tool in establishing protocols for avoiding similar issues.

-Spot-

Nalu · 06-19-2012, 11:11 AM

No problem. I only mentioned it as you asked for feedback. As I said, it was not a big issue and certainly no conflict. I could see that a big boat charter might get bent out of shape even though the kayaker had the right of way. I'm sure if that was his first time on the ocean there was a lot of things going through his mind! Way to get someone out there.

The group lined up out of the way on the West wall in Depoe avoiding congestion in the harbor Sat morning, and it seemed like a lot of the participants were well aware of surrounding.

Treeshot · 06-19-2012, 07:15 PM

I didn't have any complaints saturday other than when I came back to drop off our halibut around 1:30. You guys with your giant pile of fish made me feel so inadequate I had to drag my crew back out and catch some rock fish of our own, lol. Looks like you guys put a beatin on the reef dwellers. Hope everyone had fun.