Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
While weather and sea conditions have been pretty decent over the last few weeks, the first half of this season was a different story. Day after day of rough, sloppy conditions prompted more than just a few anglers to conclude that if they kept waiting for nice, calm weather to arrive they’d never get offshore this year. So despite the often-crummy conditions, many of us sucked it up, pointed our boats to the east, and headed out onto whatever kind of ocean Mother Nature whipped up for us that day.
But boaters who run offshore in rough weather have a lot more to be concerned about than simply whether or not they’ll be able to keep their breakfast down. Big waves can create big problems for boaters who neglect to properly prepare their vessels and crew for the beating they’ll get once they clear the inlet. The following is a list of a few things boaters can do to keep their crew and their vessel intact when offshore conditions are anything but perfect:
Slow down
The best and probably the most obvious thing a skipper should do if they have to run in sloppy conditions is to slow down to a speed so that they are not launching off waves or pounding the boat to death. As obvious as that might seem, it’s amazing how many operators choose instead to give their boat a beating rather than swallow their pride a bit by pulling back on the throttles and losing a few knots of speed. Every boat has its breaking point, whether it;s cracked welds in T-tops, broken rod racks in the cabin, loose engine mounts or just screws working their way out of hatch cover hinges. When you slam a boat around too much bad things are going to happen. Slowing down might mean getting out and back a little later than expected, but it’s just the way it has to be when it gets rough.
Stow things properly
Choppy conditions means that the boat is going to be doing a lot of bouncing, pitching, and rolling and anything that is not properly stowed away is likely going to slide or roll around until it wedges itself in a final resting spot. In the process, items might break, become soaking wet or damage parts of the boat. Even on a calm day, a boat can cross the wake of another vessel and send items like cameras, groceries, equipment and tackle flying onto a hard deck. Anything brought aboard should be immediately stowed in locations that prevent such items from shifting out of place no matter how much the boat jostles around. Passengers must also have safe places to sit or stand with the necessary handholds so they don’t get thrown about the boat.
Below decks
Maybe even more important than carry-on items is the security of everything below deck that cannot be seen when the boat is operating. A loose anchor slamming around in a bow locker on a rough day could punch a hole in a hull at the worst possible time and place. A battery that’s not properly tied down could fall over and short-out the electrical system or start a fire. A bilge pump that’s not secure could quit working, or a wiring harness that’s allowed to flop around could become unplugged. Since a captain can only keep track of what’s going on above decks, when conditions get bad he can only hope and pray that everything stays intact in areas where he cannot see.
Run out into the wind
It’s always an easier and smoother ride when you’re traveling with the direction of the wind and waves than against it, and since the number one priority of every captain should be an eventual safe return to port of the vessel and all passengers, it only makes sense that whenever possible, skippers should run to destinations that allow them to head out into the waves and return home with them. For a comfortable and safe ride home, if the wind is coming from the south, you fish south of the inlet and if it’s blowing from the north, you head out in that direction. Every year, boaters get in big trouble because they make the mistake of heading too far out with a following wind and sea and then turn around to come home and find that their boat cannot handle running into the oncoming waves.
What if?
A breakdown can occur at any time. If it happens on a decent day, waiting a few hours for a tow might just be an inconvenience. But if someone is left floundering during rough conditions or when severe weather is approaching, it could become a real safety issue for the vessel and crew. When the seas are rough, or even if bad weather is just forecasted for later in the day, boaters should always take into consideration “what if” something were to happen and they end up being stuck out there before venturing away from the dock.
No one knows when they might suddenly find themselves running home in rough to severe conditions, so every captain must be prepared 100% of the time for the chance that “this is the day” their vessel is put to the ultimate test of seaworthiness, and no matter how well the fish are biting or what tournament is going on, the best way to avoid the hazards of rough weather and sea conditions is to stay at the dock.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
