PFDiva lives to yak another day

"Well there's floodin' down in Texas

All of the telephone lines are down

And I've been tryin' to call my baby

Lord and I can't get a single sound."

-S.R.V.

*Trigger warning for anyone who has lost somebody to drowning.

Tony has been telling me that I put way too many statistics in my blogs, and most people tune out because of that.  For this entry, I’ve decided to put away my research and just go for it:

People are drowning.  At Sea.  In Lakes.  In Rivers. In Texas Floods.  Lots of people.  In record numbers this year.  And almost all of those people could have avoided their deaths by wearing a life vest of some sort.  

As a kayak angler, there isn’t a single part of my brain that understands this blatant disregard for life.  I’ve seen anglers attach rod floats to their custom rods while explaining that, “that sucker cost me $300.  I don’t want to lose that fine piece of work.”  I’ve seen anglers buy floating keychains, floating fish grips, floating measuring boards, floating sunglasses.  These kayakers will buy paddle leashes, zip-ties, action cam mounts, floating stringers, bungees, etc.---- all in the name of protecting their precious cargo.  But God for-freaking-bid they protect the most precious cargo in that boat… their own lives.

There are plenty of excuses, and I have an answer to all of them:

1. PFDs are uncomfortable.  Yeah, well, so is a jock strap and a cup--- but I’m sure you don’t mind protecting those jewels.
2. PFDs are expensive.  Yeah, well, so are funerals.
3. PFDs are bulky and make me look fat.  Yeah, well, birth control makes you look fat, but I promise you look more fat when you’re pregnant.  
4. PFDs are constricting.  Yeah, well, I bet you won’t be able to move around much after you’ve drowned either.
5. I can’t find a PFD that I like.  Yeah, well, I bet your family won’t find a casket for you that they like.
6. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

If you think I’m being too harsh, I don’t care anymore.  I most certainly am judging you if you aren’t wearing a PFD while you are on the water.  You might think - “well, I’m familiar with this area of water.”   No.  No, you are not.  Unless you’re freaking Jacques Cousteau’s genius mentor/ submarine guide to the entire oceanic floor, then you are NOT familiar with that water.  That water is an unpredictable beast.  She is a doting wife one second and an angry mistress the next.  If you think you can clock her movements, with observable science, you need mental help.  If you think that you aren’t hurting anyone else, you are dead wrong.  That sea will swallow you whole and look for her next snack while your family and government employees lose weeks of sleep and suffer irreversible trauma because of your negligence.

I’ve got those excuses too.  I still haven’t found my go-to life vest because this PFDiva needs:

1. an appropriate length.  I’m 5 ft. 10 inches. Not all chicks are 5 ft. 2 inches.  It would be awesome if it didn’t look like I was wearing a toddler life jacket every time I sat down in the yak.
2. a cost that isn’t higher than my wedding ring.  Seriously--- if it costs that much, my husband might feel that my priorities were a little sketchy (Who am I kidding- we all know he’d be proud).
3. cute colors and a fitted shape because I am not trying to be one of the guys.  I’m a woman- and that PFD better be damn awesome if it’s gonna be covering up my Rowdy Maui shirt.  Maybe some girls want to wear RealTree Camo print, but I’m just fine NOT shooting a deer from my yak. Plus, I'd really like to NOT be "invisible" to nearby boaters. 
4. room for actual boobs to actually exist while breathing at the same time (not the kind that are paid for and just stay in one place, not the tiny runway model kind--- the kind that fed two kids and shift around during movement).  Also-  I have hips. Please account for that extra space, so my vest doesn’t ride up and give me double chins during my grip and grins.
5. While I'm at it--- Can I get an "AMEN" for top-loading pockets? Who in the hell decided that women's PFDs needed no pockets? Who in the hell thought side-loading pockets were convenient on a life jacket? I mean- I'm girly, but I damn sure don't take my purse out on the yak with me, C'mon y'all. For Real-----> top loading pockets, please. 
6. And a convenient place to clip my pink Smith and Wesson knife.

What it all boils down to is that this buttercup is gonna suck it up.  I just flat out don’t care anymore about any of those excuses.  I have them all too, but there isn’t a single part of me that thinks I will look cute getting sucked into the vortex that is Charybdis, grasping for my life or stuck under the root of a huge tree in the Trinity River while Equisearch and my family scour a grid on a map looking for my dead and bloated bass-eaten body.

This PFDiva will continue to sport a cheap Stearns life-jacket from Walmart until my design demands are met, but you (without a doubt) won’t catch me in the yak without it because forgetting your PFD is just like forgetting you left your baby in the backseat of the car during an August heatwave.  Both actions can destroy the most precious cargo.

Coastie Culture on a Mission

“In one way or another, every landform and creature on Earth

reflects the presence of the oceans.

Understanding the Earth’s oceans is essential to our understanding of human history,

the origin of life, weather and climate, medicines, the health of the environment,

energy sources, and much more.” 

The National Academies

Lately, we’ve been handing out Coastie Culture business cards left and right to any and every person we meet who seems remotely interested in water, kayaking, or angling- carefully explaining that our business will officially launch “soon”.  The one question that immediately follows is, “what kind of business is this?”  The answer to that question is something we have tossed around for a while now, and we have finally been able to nail that down.

Over a year ago, we sat looking at our one and only kayak and decided that it shouldn’t just be a toy in our garage.  We made the choice to shift our career-driven lives into a Coastie Culture.  Since then, we’ve added three more yaks to the fleet and spent hundreds of hours on the water (with and without fish).

Crystal and Tony (husband and wife)- Owners of Coastie Culture

After building our social media presence, collecting some wonderful sponsors, and meeting so many amazing people, we sat at that same garage table while staring at our yaks and, thanks to some advice from Brooke and Robert Dunning (our friends over at Allgood Auto), decided on a mission for Coastie Culture.

Mission: Coastie Culture is the connection between man (or woman) and water.  It is the idea that we are a reflection of the coastline.  It is simply getting outside to explore the merging of land and water. Coastie Culture is self-improvement, exploration, conservation, experience, and safety.

Self- Improvement

Getting outside for a mere 5 minutes a day has been scientifically proven to ease depression, improve your outlook and focus, as well as strengthen your immune system. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the closer you live to nature, the healthier you're likely to be. Even more so when you live closer to the water.  Science shows that just being in nature can improve your brain function.  

Coastie Culture focuses on kayaking as a means of spending time outside--- because of this, there are added physical health benefits.  Just one hour of kayaking burns about 350 calories! It improves strength by providing a full-body workout when implementing proper paddling techniques.  Kayaking decreases fat and builds lean muscle muscle mass.  Men’s Journal has even dubbed kayaking as one of the best workouts for heart health (Huffington Post).  

Exploration

Coastie Culture yaks in three counties: Galveston, Brazoria, and Harris.  

Aside from there being over 1 million different species in the ocean, about ⅔ of the ocean’s species remain undiscovered and according to the EPA, “The Gulf of Mexico yields more finfish, shrimp, and shellfish annually than the south and mid-Atlantic, Chesapeake, and New England areas combined.”  There are mysteries in our waters calling to curious minds.   

History tells us that the pirate, Jean LaFitte, had a big hand in establishing Galveston--- that, alone, is enough to pique interest, but I will also add that Galveston is said to be one of the most haunted cities in the United States.  You can tour all of these points of interest by foot or car--- but why not take the yak to explore this island filled with Victorian-era architecture.  There is something alluring about a city that has survived the worst natural disaster in U.S. History.

Some of the most gorgeous species of birds roost in Galveston County, but Brazoria County is home to more species of birds than any other county in the country.  You haven’t lived until you have been on the water less than 20 yards from a Roseate Spoonbill (Spoonie)- the feeling is indescribable.

Roseate Spoonbill
           (www.ownbyphotography.com)

Our Gulf beaches are often considered some of the best shelling beaches in North America- boasting more than 400 species of shells.

If you need more of an adrenaline rush, all three counties house multiple freshwater and brackish bayous that are great for alligator spotting although we try not to get too close on account of the desire to keep all of our limbs.  Most of the Coasties down here like to leave the gators to the experts in Louisiana, but you’ll often find us spending a day in the saltwater in search of the South Texas Slam - you’ve got to earn your angling accolades by snagging a redfish, a flounder, and a speckled trout all in the same day.

Conservation

Coastie Culture is a big advocate of conservation efforts.  While fishing, we practice catch and release a majority of the time.  There is nothing wrong with taking an excellent meal home for your family from time-to-time; however- we are on the water a few times a week, and it’d just be flat-out irresponsible and wasteful for us to keep every fish we caught.  For future anglers and marine biologists, we want to leave some of those big boys out there to fight another day.  It’s just our way of showing gratitude to the fish for providing us with a good day on the water.  

A standing rule at Coastie Culture is to ALWAYS leave the coast looking better than when you got there.  Thanks to the Russ at Coastal Country Cleanup for leaving free mesh-bags at surrounding bait and tackle shops, so we are all able to keep one with us on the yak to hold our trash.  We also like to try to fill our bags with whatever else we see discarded on our coastline since we love where we live and want others to love it too.  

Coastal Country Cleanup

Seaweed- sometimes there’s seaweed collected on the coastline down here in Galveston.  It doesn’t always smell too pretty, but we are grateful for the fact that it is helping to cut down on the erosion of our beaches - which is extremely important considering that the Gulf of Mexico has the nation’s highest erosion rates ( up to 6 feet a year ).

Yak right over that seaweed.

Experience

The more a person experiences on the coast, the more likely they are to grow to love it just as much as we do.  Coastie Culture is about having fun and creating memories with friends and family.   We want you to experience the health benefits of being outside.  We want you to experience the self-confidence that comes from challenging yourself physically.  We want you to experience the thrills of exploration.  We want you to experience the feeling of appreciation and admiration for the environment.  We want to feed your coastal curiosity and inspire all sorts of future anglers, yakkers, nature enthusiasts, and scientists.  There is no better way to do that than to provide a fantastic and safe experience out on the water.

Safety

Self-Improvement, Exploration, Conservation, and Experience weigh next to nothing when scaled against Safety.  At Coastie Culture we are well-aware that our bays, marshes, and bayous can pose some hazards for even the most experienced kayakers.  That’s why we have partnered up with the American Canoe Association. The ACA is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to expanding proper paddlesport education.  Coastie Culture is owned by an ACA Certified Kayak Instructor (Tony) who can instruct you on proper paddling techniques or safety and rescue procedures.  We also offer Intro to Kayaking courses.  

Our ACA Certified Kayak Instructor, Tony 

*Remember to "Cast the Coast" safely.

We are planning to launch our ACA courses and various Coastie Culture kayaking experiences this summer, as soon as we can finalize all of the legalities (ie: insurance, staff training, and other logistical red-tape). Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Blogger to stay updated.

Until then, we’d like to thank our families, friends, and everyone in this industry who has supported and encouraged our dream for Coastie Culture---- go check them out:

Hook Spit Performance Rods

Hook 1 Kayak Fishing Gear

Momma Shark and the Hook-Up

Rowdy Maui

Orange Dog Outfitters

Wilderness Kayak Systems

Pier Pressure Girls

AllGood Auto

Terri's T-Shirt Quilts

"Say hello to my little boat" KAYAK

My passion and desire to learn more about the Coastie life, mastering catch and release of our salt water creatures led me to wanting a Kayak. Mobile , requires no gas , can float on less than a foot of water ! The hunt , the ride , the scenery of the birds diving for bait as the sun rises and you are watching the day awake before your eyes. I'll miss the pier , a lot , but it's time to  move around. I'll be back!

 Ok so what did I know about Kayaks . Nada, other than it's a small plastic boat ! Then TKF , (Texas Kayak Fisherman) came out of nowhere--like someone said "here's a book of information with anglers you can talk to!"  Thanks TKF and all its members for all the great info and my intro to virtual kayaking.

Next stop , FTU, (Fishing Tackle Unlimited ) where I met Devin Hood in the Kayak department, and he was more than knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Devin had no clue that I would be in to talk to him several times with endless questions, but he was captain cool about it and he was the main  reason I bought my kayak there. Thanks Devin, I hope we hit the water someday. After a couple of months of reading reviews, I finally  pulled the trigger. Say hello to my Wilderness RIDE 135 2013 model. I'm extremely happy with my choice and love my coastie cruiser! Purchased in Mid December.  My beautiful wife Crystal got me a lot off goodies for my kayak, and I was about ready to hit the h20.

But, I still needed a PFD and with a little research, I ordered a stulquist form ACK online Austin store. Here is how that went .... I'm in Houston , there was no shipping fee, the PFD showed up the next day before noon via fed x. I was like wow what great service . So thanks ACK!

Finally, hit the water first week of this month thanks to John Vining. Thanks for my first trip and I'll see you again soon. You are a pro in my blog! Also, I picked up some norton quick twist. See ya soon.

Since then I've been out a few times and haven't figured out this cold winter kayak fishing yet. Although I have met a bunch of new anglers, created a Kayak team, made some friends , and fish or no fish I've enjoyed every second on the water . Sunrises , birds giving clues to the sign of fish , the anticipation of what's to come at any moment . Fish on! Oh wait , that was a branch . Till next time