Twice actually.
It had been on my mind since I will be fishing Oak Island the week following the Meet n Greet at Fort Fisher and will be out alone and possibly launching from the surf. (After some stripped kayak practice).
I remembered the video Lefty posted regarding self rescue, waders, and a swimming pool etc. I watched it again last night for some pointers.
I went to the Falls Lake Dam and used my homemade kayak cart to haul the battlewagon to the water. It fell off the cart twice, need to glue those support bars! Fished for an hour or so while my wife read a book, then paddled in and stripped the fishing gear from the kayak.
My wife was there in case anything went horribly wrong. Like getting run over by a ski boat or clotheslined by someone on a tube.
I went out about 100 yards from the dam, and over I went. So the first rule is to hold onto your tethered paddle or you can lose the boat!
Reaching over the kayak to the handle on the other side is a start. The first time pulled the kayak over. The second attempt, keeping my legs kicking out and up got me to where I could squirm into the kayak and plant my butt into the seat. I raised my arms like Rocky on the steps of the Library in Rocky I. Kinda hard to jump up and down when on your butt.
My wife was onshore and some of the other landlubbers wondered if they should call the authorities since I fell out of the kayak. She told them I did it on purpose. Something about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane comes to mind.
In any case I decided to do it again. While in the water I saw a boat racing toward me. This time I had a good idea of how to get into the kayak and was able to kick my legs out and pull myself in with a bit less trouble than the first time. Like riding a bike!
The boat was a Sheriff Patrol and they said they saw the empty kayak. I told them I was practicing self-rescue and they waived and left. Big Brother comes to mind. There are some cameras on the cement dam structure/walkway. Not that I have a huge problem with that.
Kinda fun after all. Success is a good thing!
The only downside was being wet and standing in line to buy ice cream cones on the way home.