Wikipedia

Once you get out some distance, you know you're in this little boat and the only way you're getting back is by your own strength. See a whale breach and you're like fuck, the ocean is big, the waves are big, there's a big old tail of a monster just hanging out over there.

You're nothing to the ocean, the weather and the animals that live here. The current shifts, the wind changes or you get a cramp in your shoulder and all of a sudden you know you aren't making it back by sundown because you cut it too close. The kayak will be fine in open water, it can take waves easy, it's getting jammed up on a rock or a log you didn't see against a current that can be hairy.

You could head out to a new spot on a whim only to realize the riptide shifts hard with the tide and for some reason you're going sideways fast. Or something hard bounces against the bottom of your boat and you have no idea what because the water is 80ft deep there. It's probably a submerged log, but the water's dark and you're alone so your mind goes places.