The way I remember the crackup is more like this. Don and I had moved down the beach so that I could catch the next wave going out. It was very hard if not impossible to tell how big the next wave would break. It turned out that the next wave was much bigger than had been coming in for some time. Don was unable to keep hold of my stern in the out going flow. The next thing I know I am heading down the beach fast, thinking, "Oh shit I have to make this work". The next wave broke just in front of me. I was able to push past the leading edge of the white water. As I was being washed back in, I looked behind me to see if I was going to hit anything. It was going to be close. See the rocks low on the beach on the sage, yak, and the rocks that did him in part 2 picture .I started paddling hard to try to stay as low on the beach and stay away from the rocks. At this point something happened I still am not sure what. One moment I was facing down the beach the next my bow was swinging around away from the waves. (That must have been when the stern damage occurred.) I jammed my paddle into the sand and tried to keep the boat from going further up the beach. As the wave started to retreat I had just enough time to reach for my grab loop before the next wave started to through me back up the beach. Now I am facing the beach. On this trip in I caught the same rocks and one other set. This was the damage in the cockpit area. By this time I was far enough up the beach to be fairly safe from any a more wave.

I am sure this was much nicer than getting pounded while diving. My yak took all the hits. On the way up the beach the second time I rolled the yak to take the hits instead of taking them myself or going over face first into the sand and rocks with the kayak and wave behind me.

Sage