ArvadaGeorge - 3-26-2006 at 06:34 PM
Trip to Smith Island 1983
The winter of 1983 a friend and I drove my van with M/C in tow to L/A Bay where we camped for 2-3 weeks. We had an inflatable boat which we used with
oars close to shore
several times fishing and exploring. Jerry spent several days bugging me to go out to
Isla Smith. It had been calm for several days so early one morning we packed some lunch, beer & pop. At the last minute I took my little survival
stuff off my M/C (not much, just some matches, lighter, T/P, small space blanket, aspirin and filled a milk jug with water & threw them in our
little boat with our 1 life jacket. Jerry made fun of me and complained of the room they were taking.
The row out was uneventful. We stopped on the island and explored the little lagoon
which was salty but warmer than the ocean. We paddled around the island fishing and caught some real big triggers and some cabria (I think). Landed
again and had lunch ?a real pleasant day. We came around the southern end of the island late in the afternoon when the wind hit that little boat and
I could barely keep it even with the waves. I tried to row it across but it was real apparent this wasn?t going to work, so I got it into the little
bay.
I figured we could make it across the channel if we would each take a paddle and sit or kneel on the side. I showed Jerry how to do it and we
practiced a little in the protected bay. I told him we could do the and it would be ok even if the wind pushed us a long way
from town we could walk back; but it would take both of us and a hard paddle.
Jerry was already starting to freak out, but I tried to explain that we had matches,
water and a lot of fish we could cook. And our sweats would dry out by the fire and
There was wood on the island so we could spend the night if he wanted;
But I thought we should at least try to get back. He put on the life jacket and I tied down our water and stuff in case we capsized---
Bad move -- Jerry even freaked out more. ?We?re going to capsize ?capsize? he kept on saying. I got him in possession on the up wind side and
paddling; but he was too freaked out to do any good with his paddle. Then we got out in the wind?the waves were almost 2 feet high by now. We managed
to get turned around and back to the little bay. I was suggesting we land and set up a camp with a fire and dry out our sweats. I told him it usually
came down at night and 1st thing in the morning we could paddle back.
About this time Jerry saw a motor boat and started waving frantically.
They saw us and turned around and we soon were along side. We explained our predicament so the American driving the boat threw us a line. We tied it
on the front and soon realized we were in for the ride of our lives. The wind and waves pushed us around like crazy and Jerry really got freaked out.
For a while I thought he was going to jump out so I held on to him.
Finally we got to shore where Jerry jumped out and would have kissed everyone in the boat if he could have gotten over the railing. He kept saying,
?You saved my life, I was going to die, I was going to die? & he meant it. When he got ashore he fell on his knees and hugged and kissed the
beach. Jerry never got in that raft again and I don?t think he has ever been in Baja again
awww Jerry...
eetdrt88 - 3-26-2006 at 09:16 PM
come back to baja,it aint all bad
bajalou - 3-27-2006 at 09:07 PM
Quite a story George, thanks
I have the feeling that "Jerry" was not in tune with Baja-----
Barry A. - 3-27-2006 at 09:49 PM
-------and that is ok. We can't all be crazy, and think that Baja is the most fantastic adventure we have ever been on.
Good story, and thanks for posting it--------
I try to be really careful about who I introduce to Baja-----you got to do "due diligence" before you embark with somebody, into the wilds-------
Still, for you, I am getting the idea that you really loved the whole thing, and that I can identify with.
JZ - 3-27-2006 at 11:16 PM
I don't go out in my dingy without a radio, life jackets, and an anchor.
The winds of BOLA
Hook - 3-28-2006 at 12:08 AM
will scare the chit out of even the most avid Baja boater.
I've never seen worse anywhere.
David K - 3-28-2006 at 12:47 AM
Like this Hook?
Photo taken by Bedman at Camp Gecko, April, 2002.
now thats a baja photo!
eetdrt88 - 3-28-2006 at 09:47 AM
love to see some more like that
David K - 3-28-2006 at 09:51 AM
Bedman has several great photos that I have hosted...
Do see http://vivabaja.com/bedman and http://vivabaja.com/bedman2
More great photos in the section called 'Contributed Photos' on my home page near the bottom (from people such as Desert Rat, Neal Johns, M, Seatwill,
Ken Cooke, etc. : http://vivabaja.com
Tomas Tierra - 3-28-2006 at 10:58 AM
re BOLA wind..
the only time I hav ever been out to BOLA was in '97. My wife and i wer driving north after a coupla weeks inthe La Laguna/ datil area and decided to
run out there for the night. We camped north of town at an rv park on the water, can't remember the name, nice spot with a little Palapa to back the
truck up to and pop the camper up..Gorgeous place!!
Next morning took the double Kayak out to go fishing, decided to head for the big Island that is the closest, don't know the name, stopped in the
middle of the bay on the way over to fish the rubber deep. Insto cabrilla bite, and a couple of unknown break offs on 30#..Nice cabrillas, maybe
a five pounder the biggest. Totally glassy, but some strange clouds starting to drip down over the mountains to the west..I'm thinking ok notgoing to
the Island..some pangueros came by and gave us a beutifull little starry flounder(I think thats what it was) for a couple of rubber tails and a led
head..
They were on they're way right about the time I feel a strange warm puff of wind with no mark on the water(down draft) I say to wife that we better
beat it for camp...not 30 seconds later, boom 30 knots of wind!! straight off the beach..now for any of you Kayakers 30 k's of wind coming from where
you want to go is not happening right...we were paddling our burros off to get back to camp, it took us about 45 minuted of flat out paddling to get
to shore...
When we got there some of the old duffers on the beach were launching they're alluminum boat for rescue...probably some of you fine Nomads, although i
think you were Amigo's back then...THANK YOU!!
The wind ended up increasing steadily for the next couple of hours, got to maybe fifty before the rain started....can only immagine what would have
happened if the fish weren't biting!!
ArvadaGeorge - 3-28-2006 at 09:35 PM
Glad you liked the story.
I have several more, like this, that have been told many times but never written down.
I?m thinking may be they should be written
ArvadaGeorge - 3-31-2006 at 08:29 PM
Our camp at La Gringa
ArvadaGeorge - 3-31-2006 at 08:33 PM
Jerry & the Raft
bajarich - 4-1-2006 at 01:59 PM
I think we were camped in that exact same spot when I paddled my sea kayak over to Isla Smith. It was 9 in the morning when I launched and the water
was glass smooth. I was over to the Island in no time at all. The tide was slack, so I paddled into the lagoon that almost devides the Island. When
I got to the other side, I landed and got out to take a photo, then I paddled back.
When I got back to the mouth of the lagoon, I had to carry my boat a short distance as the tide was comming in and the current was too strong. I
noticed that the north wind had come up to a point where I didn't feel comfortable making the crossing. I tried a couple of times, but it was the
kind of wind that could rip the paddle out of your hand and the waves were too big. It was only 10:30 am.
I spent the rest of the day waiting for the wind to die down. I had no way of communicating with my wife that I was ok. I was really not prepared to
spend the night out there and only had my lunch to eat.
Finally, the sun went down and the wind slacked off a bit, but there were still good size waves as I paddled back as it was growing dark, knowing that
I didn't want to get tipped over out there. I was glad to have 20+ years of paddling experience on white water as I needed it.
When I got back to camp, my wife was not there, and I new that she had gone to find help. A short while later she came back, not having found anyone
willing to go out in the waves in the dark. She was very glad to see me, and I promised that I would never go out without a radio or extra food and
shelter after that.
I was amazed at how fast the water could turn from glass smooth to wind whipped waves with no real warning.
Tomas Tierra - 4-1-2006 at 05:29 PM
That makes three lucky crossings in BOLA on this thread so far..Any more out there???
If I recall, afew years back, there were some college girls that were not so lucky..Was that in BOLA as well??? Anybody remember??
[Edited on 4-2-2006 by Tomas Tierra]
In BOLA???----Yes, I believe so----a real trajedy.
Barry A. - 4-1-2006 at 05:39 PM
I have made the "crossing" probably 10 times-----
Barry A. - 4-1-2006 at 05:41 PM
------in a raging gale in my 12 foot tin boat, and later in my 14 foot tin boat. It takes concentration, and the proper speed, when you have a
motor-------I cannot immagine doing it with paddles-----scary!!!!!!
TMW - 4-2-2006 at 06:58 AM
Great stories keep em coming. The pix of Jerry and the raft must have been before the trip since he has cozied up to it.
bajarich - 4-10-2006 at 06:28 PM
Weren't a group of scientists drown there when a large inflatable was flipped in the wind several years ago? I seem to recall hearing that story.
They had been studying life on the Island.