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Mavic Mini Lost at Sea

Chaosrock

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Joined
Mar 10, 2020
Messages
14
Reactions
33
Location
Sonoma County ,CA
I made a rookie mistake. There are probably hundreds of posts like this. I’m a drone novice and I attempted to fly under a rock arch on the coast of California. It was about 25 high and 10 feet wide. I would have made it but I lost signal on the far side of the rock and the drone met the rock wall. It fell down and laid overturned on the floor of the arch. I don’t think I’ll be able to retrieve it. The rock cluster is probably 300 meters off the beach. The water is cold, turbulent, and deep. I’m on vacation in Sea Ranch.

If anyone makes it to the rock cluster on Pebble beach in Sea Ranch, the drone is yours. If you send it back to me, I’ll pay well for it. I have the drone insurance, so a replacement wouldn’t be expensive for me. I only need to have possession of the damaged drone to get the replacement. I have accepted my fate of not retrieving it though.

Rookies: don’t try difficult maneuvers if you are new to the practice.
 
There is a kayak rental place 5 miles up the road.
Adventure Rents
Mill Bend Rd, Gualala, CA 95445
(707) 884-4386

Maybe worth renting a kayak, strapping it to your roof and driving down to the beach. Kayak rentals are usually pretty cheap.
 
There is a kayak rental place 5 miles up the road.
Adventure Rents
Mill Bend Rd, Gualala, CA 95445
(707) 884-4386

Maybe worth renting a kayak, strapping it to your roof and driving down to the beach. Kayak rentals are usually pretty cheap.

Thank you for the information! I might have to do that. I’m here for another few days.
 
Thank you for the information! I might have to do that. I’m here for another few days.
If you do, stay safe. You said the water is deep and tubulent. Don't do it alone, have an observer who can call the coast guard if necessary, and wear a life jacket. Maybe look into doing it at low tide if the timing lines up.
 
Ya, safety first above all. But if you do retrieve it, we all want to know. Best of luck.
 
I decided not to attempt to retrieve the drone. The place where it came to rest is under the tide table so the drone could be anywhere by now. If I knew I could retrieve it, I'd probably try but it's too dangerous and I'd very likely come up with nothing.
 
Yep. Drone is replaceable. You, not so much! Good decision.
 
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I made a rookie mistake. There are probably hundreds of posts like this. I’m a drone novice and I attempted to fly under a rock arch on the coast of California. It was about 25 high and 10 feet wide. I would have made it but I lost signal on the far side of the rock and the drone met the rock wall. It fell down and laid overturned on the floor of the arch. I don’t think I’ll be able to retrieve it. The rock cluster is probably 300 meters off the beach. The water is cold, turbulent, and deep. I’m on vacation in Sea Ranch.

If anyone makes it to the rock cluster on Pebble beach in Sea Ranch, the drone is yours. If you send it back to me, I’ll pay well for it. I have the drone insurance, so a replacement wouldn’t be expensive for me. I only need to have possession of the damaged drone to get the replacement. I have accepted my fate of not retrieving it though.

Rookies: don’t try difficult maneuvers if you are new to the practice.

Wow, sorry you lost your Mini. Sounds like it would have been some good footage. Maybe someone with a bigger drone can use a hook or something and retrieve it for you. I saw a video where a guys mini landed on a old non accessible bridge. He used is MA pro with some type of hook on it and and after several tries, he was able to hook his mini and and bring it back. I'll look for that video and post it.
 
Put a flyer in the zone... perhaps at some point it will be noticed by someone that's actually going to return your drone.
 
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This can be attempted in automatic flight like a Litchi mission. In this case the only risk is to lose GPS. But flying it manually is way too risky IMHO.
 
Sea Ranch has a blanket prohibition against drone flight on any of their properties. Which is why I've stopped staying there. I love to fly on vacation, and have photographed the properties I've stayed in several times and gotten a free return stay.
Sorry for your loss and I hope you fly more carefully in the future.
DJI refresh does not pay for lost drones to be replaced.
 
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