by John Lull
When sea kayak paddling in rock gardens it is very handy to be able to launch or land on a rock, an island, or the rocky shoreline, even in the absence of a nice sandy beach. In this situation you need to use a seal landing or launch. Eric covered seal landings in an earlier blog, so I’m going to follow up here with some techniques for seal launches.
The basic idea is to get off the rock and into the water. There are numerous variations on this basic idea. I’ll outline the three fundamental methods below.
Rock Slide:
If you’ve ever watched a seal slide into the water off a rock, you’ll already have a good picture of this method. In a nutshell, you climb in the kayak and push off the rock into the water. Ideally, you want a gently sloping rock, with either a ledge at the top or a reasonably stable spot to place the kayak as close to the water as possible, but above the surging waves. You’ll also want to look for a reasonably smooth rock surface to reduce friction and abrasion on your hull. A drapery of kelp covering the rock is best of all.
Once you have your launch site, sit in the kayak, attach the spray skirt if you’re in a closed deck boat, then push off using your paddle blade on one side and your knuckles on the other (just like pushing off the beach). Try to time it so you hit the water as it surges in to help minimize friction. Then simply paddle away from the rock.
It is possible to launch off a fairly steeply sloping rock, but you’ll need to anchor yourself at the top while setting up. A handy ledge will suffice. It’s also possible to launch off a vertical surface, as in the photo above. This is more of a stunt, and can be a lot of fun, but use your judgment.
Surge Ride:
With this method, you are going to ride the surge off the rock, similar to riding the surge onto the rock in a seal landing. Of course, for a launch, you are letting the surge carry you off the rock. Look for a relatively level wash rock, with only an occasional wave surging high enough to cover it. Watch the waves and time it so you have time to get in your kayak and be ready to go when the wave surges high enough. Allow the surging wave to pick up your boat. Then paddle vigorously off into the water. Be aware that your stern might snag on the rock if you don’t quite get carried off. In that case, relax, brace with your paddle if necessary, and wait for the next wave to allow you to paddle off.
Water Launch:
Technically, the water launch is not a seal launch, but I include it here because it can be used to launch off the rocks and may be the only way to go if you don’t have a good surface to launch from or the rocks are seriously jagged and abrasive. It can even be used to launch off a cliff, assuming you can dive in after tossing the boat in the water.
Pick a good place where you can get close to the water. Also look for a relatively calm area out of reach of breaking waves. Toss the kayak in, swim out to the boat and climb on. If you are using an open cockpit kayak, swim onto the deck on your stomach and rotate around into a sitting positon. With a closed deck kayak, pull yourself up over the cockpit onto your stomach. Then rotate your head toward the bow, staying low, and hugging the kayak for stability (if you sit up too soon, you’ll capsize). Once facing forward on your stomach, sit up straddling the cockpit directly above the seat. Then pull in your legs one at a time while dropping into the seat. Instead of climbing on, you could re-enter and roll, but then you’ll have to pump water out.
One variation when you can launch at water level, is to jump in with the boat in one smooth movement. This is more practical with an open cockpit kayak than with a closed cockpit (see photo of Eric).
The three methods outlined above will cover most situations, but there are other variations on the basic theme.
Please feel free to comment with your favorite methods or refinements and critiques of the methods outlined here. I think it is important to be able to get on and off the water wherever possible, both for safety reasons and to increase your ability to explore the area.
OMG, John, that first pic really cracked me up. And the text below: “Ideally, you want a gently sloping rock…” Or not.
Hey it can be fun to launch off a cliff, but I’d rather do that in a small whitewater kayak that will simply bob back up after hitting the water!
Yes, it’s best to find a nice gently-sloping rock ramp to do a seal launch.
Hey John – read your article – looks scary/fun!!
I do love that vertical drop launch! For the abalone divers out there the seal landing and launch allow for unique access to great spots for Abalone diving and since this is opening day 2012 I wanted to be sure and mention it. Those landings truly open another world of access to those harder to get to locations that are reserved for hard core swimmers or kayakers!
So land, dive, pull and saute!
Great subject, John! I just wish we had more kelp-padded rocks in Rhode Island…and so does my hull! Just out of curiosity, how did that vertical seal launch in the first picture end up? Or would you rather not say?
Tony
Eric told me about this vertical launch. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the one pictured or not. I’m not sure he did it more than once. Basically, the guy in the back crashed into the guy in front (Eric) because they weren’t seatbelted in and there’s this thing called gravity. Then the boat landed on top of them. They were lucky they didn’t get damaged. I guess it just goes to show how enthusiasm can act as a form of protection. It did make for a great stunt, and as Eric would have wanted, now we have the photo for posterity:)
Seal landings and wash overs are definitely a blast. And as King points out, they are great skills for coastal exploration. They really open up areas less visited and make for some funny memories.
Thanks John for the post.
Tony, to be honest I have no recollection of how that ended up, so it probably wasn’t a big deal (or I would have remembered!). There’s a rock on the American River that rises about 15 ft off the water and we used to eat lunch there, then drop back into the river off the top of that rock. With a little whitewater kayak, the boat just punches in a few feet bow first, then pops back out. If you capsize, you just roll back up.
Hi Summer, welcome to the Tsunami Rangers blog! Seal launches aren’t really all that scary, depending on where you do them of course.
Great post! Before Eric’s passing he asked me to produce a video for him on this very topic, which I did and which he loved. He never got to use it, but since you’ve written this post I thought I’d share the link to it. Cheers, FP
http://vimeo.com/34639894
FP, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this link! It’s an invaluable contribution to our post. Your choice of music was perfect and I can see why Eric loved this video. Well done!
My pleasure Nancy. 🙂
Hi John!
Found this link thru Summer . . . wanted to pop in and say HI!
It’s nice to see what you are up to these days–awesome!! Been a long, long time.
Love the ‘Surge Ride’ picture/lesson : )
~Sandy
Hi Sandy! Good to hear from you.
Hi,
Great site! I’m trying to find an email address to contact you on to ask if you would please consider adding a link to my website. I’d really appreciate if you could email me back.
Thanks and have a great day!
Great instructions! I never tried the Rock slide because what I usually do is the surge. Maybe it’s time for me to try other techniques this time, something more exciting.
Hey Sea Kayaker, actually if the rock provides a nice easy ‘ramp’ and some kelp to reduce friction, sliding in is easier than waiting for the surge because you don’t have to time it perfectly or hope for the right size wave. It’s still a good idea to time the surge (if any) so you minimize the distance you are sliding. Push off as the surge moves toward the rock.
It gets more exciting with increased distance to slide and/or a steeper slope. Maximum excitement is obtained with an air launch off a vertical surface. But I only like to do that in a short whitewater kayak.
Enjoyed the article John, and how cool to have the back-up video from Fat Paddler! Seal landings and launches are sometimes the only option, or the safest choice, to get off and on the water. Rocks are your friends! This method can be even more “interesting” when your kayak is loaded. But honestly, in a loaded kayak, a seal launch off a rock (or preferably a kelp-covered rock!) can certainly be a lot easier than trying to get a loaded kayak off a sandy beach. This type of landing can also be useful when choosing to camp on a rock islet instead of brown bear infested surroundings! Love the photo of the double rock slide launch!