9/3/2023 Big River Surfing Rescue Report (Incident)
Date: 9/3/2023, 2:30 - 4:00 pm
Paddler and kayak:
- Jenny Zhang (Dagger Alchemy 14.0S)
- Johannes Grosse (Valley Avocet)
Launching location: Big River Beach
- Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/AxWiqPE8JyZ9jvpn9
- Trip planner: https://www.bask.org/trip_planner/5.76/?m=x24
- surf forecast: https://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Big-River-1
River Break...
Weather (wind, wave, surf, current, tide, temperature)
water temperature: 54F
Timeline
- 2:28 pm: launched
- 2:52 pm: recorded a gopro video, just start surfing for a bit (2:29 + 23)
- 2:57 pm: capsized (2:29 + 28)
- 3:05 pm: started paddling to the cliff cove (2:29 + 37)
- 3:11 pm: landing in a small beach under the cliff (2:29 + 42)
- swimming in the water for about 14 min
- 3:31 pm: launched from the small beach (2:29 + 1:02)
- staying at the small beach for about 20 min
- 3:36 pm: landing at Big River Beach (2:29 + 1:07)
- 4:00 pm: landing at original launching location
GPS Tracking
swim distance 250 m
red circle: sandy beach at the cove
- the yellow curve shows where the sand island located
- blue and red are different direction surf
What happened?
Johannes and I left Caspar Beach at around 1:30 pm. We wanted to check the surf conditions at Big River Beach and, if they were good, go surfing. Earlier, we had been rock gardening (park and play) close to Caspar Beach. I told our group leader, Jan, about our plan before leaving.
Before launching at Big River, I cleared some stuff from the front deck of our kayaks. Since we were going surfing, things on the front deck could easily get washed away. I put the bilge pump, paddle float, first aid kit, and tow belt back in my car. I only brought a VHF radio with me. I thought that if we capsized, we could roll back up. If not, we could easily swim to the beach and empty the water out of the kayak there. There was no need to plan for a deep water rescue or reentering and emptying the kayak.
Before we paddled out of the Big River mouth, we spent a few minutes observing and talking about the conditions. The waves looked very promising. They were breaking quite far from the beach, which meant we had a long distance to surf without getting pushed all the way back to shore. We could also choose different-sized waves to surf. If we paddled out a bit, the waves were bigger, maybe 5 feet. Closer to the shore, the waves looked friendlier, around 3 feet. It seemed like we could surf on both sides – the north side, which was closer to the cliff, and the south side, which was nearer to the sand island I had landed on yesterday. At that time, there were two groups of surfers out there – two surfers on the north side and 2-3 surfers on the south side.
We were happy with the conditions we saw, so we decided to start from the north side. As I paddled out a bit, I realized the waves might be too big for me, and they looked quite intimidating. I hoped they wouldn't break on top of me. So, instead of going out further, we began playing in the surf. I capsized once but managed to do a combat roll. It seemed like the time between each wave was very short, and I struggled to turn my sea kayak 180 degrees between two waves.
Later, I capsized again but failed to roll up on the right side. I tried rolling again but failed a second time. I panicked and the next thing I did was wet exit. I noticed Johannes was closer to me at that time and tried to help. I held onto my boat and paddle and tried to swim toward the beach. However, after several waves crashed on me, I lost my boat.
Johannes paddled to get my boat and attempted to empty the water for my boat, but we were still in the surf impact zone, making the rescue challenging. Later, Johannes also couldn't hold onto my kayak due to the continuous waves. He had to let it go, and it shot off immediately toward the cliff to the north. We lost my boat...(I was thinking, "Oh no, I don't want to lose the boat I borrowed from Margot. Sorry, Margot...")
I was still in the water, and I tried to paddle and swim to the beach, but I found I couldn't make any progress. Johannes asked if I was okay, and I replied, "No, I need help." I asked him to tow me to the shores. He offered me his stern and I was holding onto the toggle, but I couldn't maintain my grip when the waves crashed into us. I lost his boat several times when he was paddling toward the beach.
Johannes wanted me to hold onto his bow because he thought the bow had more volume then he could paddle faster. So, he paddled to the outside, between the ocean and me. I shouted to him to head toward the beach side because the waves could send his boat toward me. Indeed, it did, and I had to dove into the water to avoid a collision. During the rescue, Johannes capsized one or twice, but luckily, he rolled up each time; otherwise, we would have had a very bad situation: two swimmers in the surf zone.
Later, I held onto his back deck deckline with both hands, and he tried to tow me towards the shore. After paddling for 1-2 minutes, we realized we weren't getting any closer to the beach. Johannes figured out that we were paddling against the current from the Big River. He decided to go with the current, so he started paddling toward the small sandy cove on the north side of the cliff, that was the direction my boat had gone anyway.
It took us about 5 min to get to the sandy beach. There were several times when Johannes almost capsized. Finally, after about 10-15 minutes of swimming, we safely landed at the small sandy beach, and luckily, my kayak also ended up there.
As soon as we landed on the sandy beach, I lay down in relief. We were so happy that we had made it safely to the small cove, and we talked about what just happened while enjoying the place.
Later, we heard a lifeguard alarm, and I worried that they might be coming to rescue us. So, I sent a "securite" message on channel 16, letting them know that we had safely landed in a small cove and were okay. (I think nobody heard this message because of the U shape cove/cliff blocked the transmission)
After a 20 min break, we launched from the sandy beach and paddled back. I have to admit that the paddle wasn't easy. It definitely required good surf zone skills, and there was a significant risk of capsizing again.
I paddled directly to the west end of Big River Beach and initially landed there, but Johannes signaled to me that we needed to paddle back to the launch location...ok fine...
When we got back to the launching spot, on the nice and calm river. We tried back deck carry and compared it with swimmer toggle tow. It was a huge difference! With the swimmer on the back deck: head close to the paddler's back, arms around paddler's waist, paddle parallel to the boat, it worked best.
I am so happy that we made it back safely at the end. I didn't get injured nor even feel cold.
Lesson Learned
Big River Surfing Spot
- I've just learned that the Big River surfing spot is a river break, and during the ebbing tide, it can be quite dangerous for kayak surfing. If you capsize and can't roll back up, it's very challenging to swim back to the beach due to the strong ebbing current. Big River acts as a bay or big lake.
- Reef breaks or river breaks are great if you have solid rolling skills. Otherwise, it's a very long swim back to the beach.
- I knew the general rule is to avoid doing rescues in the surf zone. However, in that situation, I couldn't swim to a safe place because of the ebbing tide, and the waves were breaking in all directions with a large impact zone. There was no easy place to move to for safety.
Mistakes We Made / What we can do better
Trip Plan
- We didn't do any research before the trip.
- We didn't know about the ebbing tide or potential dangers in the area.
- I didn’t carry any rescue gear, like a pump, float bag (tow belt shouldn’t be used in the surf zone).
- Small team: we only had two person
- I was overconfident on my rolls
About the Rescue
- When I failed the second roll, I panicked and immediately did a wet exit. (I could definitely hold my breath longer and try a couple more rolls...)
- At that time, Johannes was very close to me. I could also try a bow rescue first... (But should we try bow rescue in the surf impact zone?)
- I didn't hold onto the kayak tightly, and it went away. Otherwise, I could have tried a reentry and roll or a cowboy scramble rescue.
- When Johannes towed me, I was still swimming in the water, which created a significant drag in the current. We could use a back deck carry instead of a swimmer tow, which would be much more efficient.
- I should practice rolling skills more to make my roll more reliable.
What We Did Correctly
- I dressed appropriately for swimming and the water temperature. Despite spending 10-15 minutes in the 54F water, I didn't feel cold because I dressed properly. However, I did notice that my helmet obstructed my vision while swimming.
- We carried a VHF radio, which was a good decision. In the worst-case scenario, I could call for help using a mayday call.
- We successfully avoided collisions between our two boats in the surf impact zone.
- No bow carry, only stern tow/carry
- We made the right choice by going with the current instead of persistently paddling against it.
Mark Berger kindly sent a very recent photo of the mouth of Big River at low tide.
Paddlers' Skills
I think it would be helpful to include the skill levels of paddlers and group dynamics in this incident report.
I took a surf zone lesson in 2021 and had four additional kayak surfing experiences with friends/clubs this year (one in Moss Landing and another in Mavericks this summer). I was confident in my combat rolls in the surf zone because they had never failed in the surf zone before this incident. So, this was my first time swimming in the deep water in the surf zone. I also completed an ACA L3 incident management lesson earlier and participated in BASK OTG rescue practice this June, passing the ACA L3 assessment this summer. I had been paddling and rock gardening for the past three days in Mendo before this incident.
However, I didn't have experience in being rescued or rescuing others in the surf zone. Prior to this incident, my knowledge about surf zone rescue was not doing rescues within the surf zone. Swimmers were supposed to swim out of the surf impact zone and perform regular deep-water rescues there.
Johannes also had several kayak surfing experiences and reliable rolls. We had kayak surfing twice together and paddled together in different times and places, so we knew each other quite well.
During this incident, I considered the back deck carry as a rescue technique, but I didn't attempt it for several reasons:
1. While I have experience with the back deck carry, I wasn't certain if Johannes had done it or knew what I was planning to do. We had never practiced the back deck carry with each other before.
2. We were constantly in the breakers, and I couldn't find a suitable moment to jump onto his back deck. I was concerned that I might capsize his boat if I attempted to jump onto it from one side.
3. I was concerned that carrying a swimmer on the back deck might make the kayak less stable. (which I now realize was not the case; it actually can help the boat to surf).
4. I hadn't realized that the back deck carry would be much easier than towing a swimmer in the water.
Comments from other paddlers
- Dave:
- I think the tidal flow would shorten the amount of time you get between the waves.
- That looks like a fantastic place to paddle. The combination of surf at the mouth of a river would be different from anything I've experienced.
- Nathan:
- Yes, I've surfed the Big River. It is a very unforgiving spot, good fun sometimes but when incidents happen, they can be serious.
- Question: should we do bow rescue in the surf impact zone? no?
- Nathan: There are no hard and fast rules. Maybe it’d work if you’re lucky. If not, that’d be a dangerous situation to be in. It just depends. But I wouldn't rely on getting one. Also too noisy in the surf. You’d have to be lucky enough to have someone see that you capsized. In the surf it’s usually roll up or swim to shore. Not much else.
- Question: when we have to swim to shore, how likely are you able to hold on to the boat?
- Nathan: Unlikely. Waves will bring it to shore.But at a river mouth all bets are off and the risk is way higher
Learn more about surf rescues:
https://www.onlineseakayaking.com/products/sea-kayak-rescues/categories/3991505/posts/14900832
Other information: Coroner identifies beginner surfer killed in rough water along Mendocino coast
