Others might think this belongs in the kayak club, but Venice is not your typical kayak run, so I put it here as specific to Venice. If the consensus is that it doesn't belong here - my bad.
I had a fellow diver ask me about kayaking Venice. He seemed to appreciate the response and, as I am newer and less frequent to the activity than most of the locals and regulars I think I still have the newb perspective enough to explicitly state those things that others might assume as 'well yeah, duh!' I ask those who are regulars to view and add to or correct the information as appropriate.
Anyway, for those curious about and/or wanting to try kayak fossiling...
I haven't kayak'd Venice since I went to steel tanks but I'd be glad to offer what I think is important. If you haven't dive yak'd before, practice your dismount/mount a few times in the water before you load your gear. First and foremost plan for contingencies: kayak tipping, wind picks up, current picks up, etc. First I have a set of basics, then if I can I go for redundancy on the critical items. The following is also a very helpful link - http://jimspears.net/kayakdiving/topics.htm
Basics:
1) I tether everything. Plan for tipping (especially on entry and exit if there's surf). Especially the paddle (you're essentially screwed if you lose your paddle, and have to tow your kayak back by swimming). I have brass rings installed on all my tanks because I usually take an extra with me and use the ring to clip the tank to the tether. Secure everything surfside with tethers then strap it in, straps are better than bungies. Make sure you tether your paddle! No matter how I secure it, the paddle always seems to come loose and I find it floating in the water when I surface. A lot of people don't take extra tanks as it makes for a lot more drag (more work paddling), it's easier just to come back in, creates more load stress on the kayak, and also creates a risk for losing an unattended tank. It is a lot more work than I expected to get a kayak out to where I want to dive, so I take the extra tank to avoid repeating the experience. Personal choice on that.
2) I plan as much as possible for the wind and current conditions. The wide, stable kayaks such as the OK Scrambler have a lot of drag (especially laden with gear) and are more affected by conditions than the sleek kayaks so keep that in mind. I look at the wind and current and plan my entry for where I want to dive and return to. I travel upcurrent and/or upwind to the destination and then it's usually easier to get back. You really can't generate that much thrust with a paddle and when you're using a wide, stable diving yak with a lot of drag, it's easy to be overcome by the force of the current/wind and get exhausted. When this happens, I paddle straight in to the beach and use the anchor line to tow my kayak back to my start point. Seriously, I have ended up a mile from where I started due to conditions - it's no fun towing a fully loaded kayak back to your start point, but it's better than trying to fight the current. With a wind/current from the North, I go in at Sharky's for the boneyard, from the South, I go in at Alahambra.
3) I prefer an anchor to towing the kayak behind me. This is preference, but I've found surge and surf can really play heck with your kayak at the surface and jerk you around so much as to make toothing nearly impossible. Much more pleasant to carry a small anchor. I use a small (5 lb) fluke anchor rather than the collapsable PWC anchors most others use as I think it sets quicker and more securely. Also, see # 2 above - the anchor line provides a nice towline if current conditions suck.
4) I'm not sure about security - stealing from a man's boat is a good way to get killed in my opinion, but I've heard cases where it happens (someone reported a gps taken a while back). This is another reason to tether your stuff. I drop my extra tank over the side so it isn't sitting in the sun, but also it isn't out there for potential thieves to see.
5) Large car wash sponge in the bilge if your yak has hatches (again, tethered with a small line). With two tanks, my hatch sits at/below waterline and there is some seepage into the bilge. I use a sponge to bail it before I load my tanks back on when I'm ready to head in. I leave my BC and tanks tethered, but floating when I first mount after diving, then pop the hatch and bail any water seepage with the sponge. Then I load it all back up for the trip to shore.
6) Drinking water. Keep hydrated.
7) I never go further than I could swim in an emergency. Worst case I lose all my gear and yak. I'm not ready to die yet. I figure I can do 1.5 miles easily in a mild current like Venice, so I never exceed that distance from shore.
8) Lift bag (or SMB will do) and a mesh bag for large finds. This year I found a prox mammoth femur and it was heavy and large. It would have been nice to be able to clip it off and not drag it around.
Redundancy:
1) If you can, bring an emergency paddle (the sectional/collapsible kind you can stow in the hatch area). They aren't very effective, but if the primary paddle gets lost I'd like to have a backup. You're pretty screwed without a paddle.
2) Drinking water
3) Extra tethers - never enough tethers. Be mindful of entanglement though. :~)
4) Extra flag - easy to stow and easy way to avoid a fine.
5) Anything you couldn't make it back to shore without
Everyone add to as you see fit. If there's enough interest it might make a decent sticky - I could have benefitted from such a thread my first time out for sure.
I had a fellow diver ask me about kayaking Venice. He seemed to appreciate the response and, as I am newer and less frequent to the activity than most of the locals and regulars I think I still have the newb perspective enough to explicitly state those things that others might assume as 'well yeah, duh!' I ask those who are regulars to view and add to or correct the information as appropriate.
Anyway, for those curious about and/or wanting to try kayak fossiling...
I haven't kayak'd Venice since I went to steel tanks but I'd be glad to offer what I think is important. If you haven't dive yak'd before, practice your dismount/mount a few times in the water before you load your gear. First and foremost plan for contingencies: kayak tipping, wind picks up, current picks up, etc. First I have a set of basics, then if I can I go for redundancy on the critical items. The following is also a very helpful link - http://jimspears.net/kayakdiving/topics.htm
Basics:
1) I tether everything. Plan for tipping (especially on entry and exit if there's surf). Especially the paddle (you're essentially screwed if you lose your paddle, and have to tow your kayak back by swimming). I have brass rings installed on all my tanks because I usually take an extra with me and use the ring to clip the tank to the tether. Secure everything surfside with tethers then strap it in, straps are better than bungies. Make sure you tether your paddle! No matter how I secure it, the paddle always seems to come loose and I find it floating in the water when I surface. A lot of people don't take extra tanks as it makes for a lot more drag (more work paddling), it's easier just to come back in, creates more load stress on the kayak, and also creates a risk for losing an unattended tank. It is a lot more work than I expected to get a kayak out to where I want to dive, so I take the extra tank to avoid repeating the experience. Personal choice on that.
2) I plan as much as possible for the wind and current conditions. The wide, stable kayaks such as the OK Scrambler have a lot of drag (especially laden with gear) and are more affected by conditions than the sleek kayaks so keep that in mind. I look at the wind and current and plan my entry for where I want to dive and return to. I travel upcurrent and/or upwind to the destination and then it's usually easier to get back. You really can't generate that much thrust with a paddle and when you're using a wide, stable diving yak with a lot of drag, it's easy to be overcome by the force of the current/wind and get exhausted. When this happens, I paddle straight in to the beach and use the anchor line to tow my kayak back to my start point. Seriously, I have ended up a mile from where I started due to conditions - it's no fun towing a fully loaded kayak back to your start point, but it's better than trying to fight the current. With a wind/current from the North, I go in at Sharky's for the boneyard, from the South, I go in at Alahambra.
3) I prefer an anchor to towing the kayak behind me. This is preference, but I've found surge and surf can really play heck with your kayak at the surface and jerk you around so much as to make toothing nearly impossible. Much more pleasant to carry a small anchor. I use a small (5 lb) fluke anchor rather than the collapsable PWC anchors most others use as I think it sets quicker and more securely. Also, see # 2 above - the anchor line provides a nice towline if current conditions suck.
4) I'm not sure about security - stealing from a man's boat is a good way to get killed in my opinion, but I've heard cases where it happens (someone reported a gps taken a while back). This is another reason to tether your stuff. I drop my extra tank over the side so it isn't sitting in the sun, but also it isn't out there for potential thieves to see.
5) Large car wash sponge in the bilge if your yak has hatches (again, tethered with a small line). With two tanks, my hatch sits at/below waterline and there is some seepage into the bilge. I use a sponge to bail it before I load my tanks back on when I'm ready to head in. I leave my BC and tanks tethered, but floating when I first mount after diving, then pop the hatch and bail any water seepage with the sponge. Then I load it all back up for the trip to shore.
6) Drinking water. Keep hydrated.
7) I never go further than I could swim in an emergency. Worst case I lose all my gear and yak. I'm not ready to die yet. I figure I can do 1.5 miles easily in a mild current like Venice, so I never exceed that distance from shore.
8) Lift bag (or SMB will do) and a mesh bag for large finds. This year I found a prox mammoth femur and it was heavy and large. It would have been nice to be able to clip it off and not drag it around.
Redundancy:
1) If you can, bring an emergency paddle (the sectional/collapsible kind you can stow in the hatch area). They aren't very effective, but if the primary paddle gets lost I'd like to have a backup. You're pretty screwed without a paddle.
2) Drinking water
3) Extra tethers - never enough tethers. Be mindful of entanglement though. :~)
4) Extra flag - easy to stow and easy way to avoid a fine.
5) Anything you couldn't make it back to shore without
Everyone add to as you see fit. If there's enough interest it might make a decent sticky - I could have benefitted from such a thread my first time out for sure.
