CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Strong winds can make paddling difficult on a kayak.
Carrie Meyer, an experienced kayaker, said another challenge on windy days is knowing how to secure your vessel.
“It can drift away from you and if it gets caught by the wind, it's like a big sail, it will just disappear, and you'll lose it,” Meyer said.
James Mahoney with the United States Coast Guard told Action 10 News it’s not uncommon for kayaks to get away from individuals as they are wade fishing, due to high winds.
In fact, since January, the USCG Command Center has received reports of two lost kayaks this year, which raises some concerns.
“If you’re fishing or bird watching or doing something else other than kayaking and you put your paddle down. You can turn around and your paddle is gone, and it floats away. Then what do you do?” Meyer said.
In most cases, the USCG said people make the mistake of leaving everything in their kayak leaving them stranded without any type of communication.
If there is enough evidence to believe someone is missing, the Coast Guard will move forward with searching for a person in the water.
Meyer suggested planning before going out on the water to avoid this from happening.
“You study your route, you look at your weather forecast, you look at the tide," Meyer said. "So, you’re studying a lot of things that you can control and plan according to the tide and the winds. You should also think about taking a friend."
In addition to that, the Coast Guard encouraged the public to place distinguishing marks on their kayak and report a lost kayak to as soon as possible.
Plus, the Coast Guard has vessel identification stickers that help them track the owners and will assist officials during rescue calls.
