“Don’t check the weather, just go outside and deal with it. Be a man.”

Those words, followed by group laughter, have become a mantra for a host of internet memes depicting boaters in life-threatening seas.

They are poor words to live by if you intend to live a long life. In fact, prudent seamanship dictates that no boating angler heads to sea without first checking marine forecasts. Decisions, including the captain’s call to go or no-go, should be based on the expected winds and sea conditions.

Yet, without much warning, conditions can sometimes change mid-trip, defying the forecast. While light winds and calm seas might greet you in the morning, unexpectedly high afternoon winds or thunder storms can brew up big, treacherous seas in the latter part of the day. This leaves you and your crew facing a harrowing trip back to port. The smaller the boat, the higher the danger.

One lesson I learned early in my boating career is that changing the angle of the boat relative to large waves can smooth the ride for an improvement in comfort. More importantly, this can improve the safety factor. Here are some helmsman tips I have garnered over the year for running in rough sea conditions.

Quartering Head Seas

While a straight line between two points is the shortest route, it’s not always the safest, most comfortable or even fastest. For example, when faced with steep, closely spaced head seas, heading directly into them ranks as a hate mission that slows your progress to a crawl. You also risk the possibility of stuffing as the boat falls off the crest of a roller and into a hole at the base of the next angry one.

Instead, try steering off-sea in one direction for a few miles, and then steering the other way for a few miles. This is called “quartering the waves” to help smooth the ride, and the zig-zagging course is known as “tacking.”

Quartering and tacking require strong piloting skills — including good timing, judicious application of throttle and focus at the wheel — to keep the boat on course and deal with the occasional rogue wave. On the downside, you’ll take more spray quartering up-sea, but that’s the price you pay for a smoother, safer ride.

Running Before the Sea

Large following seas loom treacherous as the boat races down the face of a wave, sometimes losing steering and leaving you vulnerable to the roller astern. There’s also the risk stuffing into the backsides of waves rolling ahead. Quartering down-sea minimizes these risks, but try take a wider angle than when quartering up-sea. Also realize the faces of the waves can be very steep. On small boats, keep you crew off the lee side of the boat. Instead, ask them to move to the windward (aka wet) stern quarter. When it’s time to reverse your tack, do so in a lull between the waves, and then come about smartly.

Beam Sea Sense

Beam seas tend to be the least threatening, but they can prove a lot more wet on windy passages. But you can minimize the spray by alternatively quartering sharply up-sea for a while, then down-sea, tacking across the beam seas rather than running a straight course. On the other hand, you can just don foul-weather gear, run a straight course and endure the spray.

Or as the internet memes put it, “Deal with it. Be a man,” at least until you reach your destination.

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Three anglers headed offshore on Friday, April 28, to fish the Perdido Rig, a deepwater spar in 8,000 feet of water, almost 180 miles east of South Padre Island, Texas. The experienced crew left Island Moorings Marina in Port Aransas, Texas, at 10 a.m. But weather forecasts were not favorable, with many offshore boats staying home. When the 31-foot catamaran didn’t return that night as expected, family members reported the boaters missing.

“This case highlights the importance of diligently checking the weather forecast and filing an accurate float plan with family members, including intended arrival times,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Josuah Chears-Stevens, command duty officer, Sector Corpus Christi.

Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders received a notification at 10 p.m. of three overdue boaters. Watchstanders work the radios at Coast Guard stations and monitor calls for assistance. They also maintain communications with Coast Guard boats underway in the Gulf.

First, the Coast Guard contacted Perdido Rig personnel, who reported they saw the catamaran near the rig at 3 p.m. on Friday. That’s when watchstanders directed the launch of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi. During the search, the Ocean Sentry crew heard the boaters hail them on the radio, VHF-FM channel 16.

“The boaters then activated both the DSC distress alert function on their radio and their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB),” said a Coast Guard news statement.

Using location data from the alerts, the Coast Guard aircrew located the boaters’ position. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft found the vessel taking on water about 30 miles northeast of South Padre Island on Saturday. A 33-foot Special Purpose Craft–Law Enforcement (SPC-LE) boat, launched out of South Padre Island, also raced to the distressed boaters.

“The crew observed the three boaters bailing water out of the catamaran,” said the Coast Guard. “On-scene weather conditions were 10-foot seas with winds of 34 mph.”

The Coast Guard’s SPC-LE crew rendezvoused with the catamaran and escorted the men safely to Sea Ranch Marina on South Padre Island. No injuries or ailments were reported. 

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You wake up early, pack your gear and head to the marina, no doubt energized by visions of bent rods and big fish. Then, someone pulls the plug. Could be the captain, could be the charter client — either way, the last-minute indecision and cancellation is a bummer.

Weather is weather and it cares not for human plans, but deciding how and when to bail on a fishing trip can be handled through forethought, honest assessments and mutually fair conclusions. While modern weather forecasting provides the data, personal tolerances frame the likely outcomes.

Some captains may rely on the blanket policy: “Once we leave the dock, it’s a trip and payment is due, regardless of when you want to come in.” Harsh, but short of a legitimate emergency, that’s a fair expectation. However, many fishing captains are more proactive about making fair judgement calls and, at least, discussing the day’s weather outlook with scheduled clients.

Capt. Ryan Harrington, runs inshore, coastal and offshore trips out of St. Petersburg, Florida. When judging a day’s outlook, he bases his decision on three criteria: on-the-water conditions, angler comfort and business factors.

The Fishing Weather Report

Harrington pieces together a comprehensive meteorological outlook by combining details from multiple weather resources. His favorites, Weather Underground, Windy and Windfinder give him a clear picture of what to expect in terms of wind and waves, but he’s also cognizant of seasonal extremes.

“Winter can be tough because when you get winds out of the north, it can cause negative low tides,” Harrington says. “The wind direction can make some areas unfishable due to low water.”

Most folks can handle some rain when the fish are biting — especially during a summer trip — getting soaked just enhances the story. Memories are made in the details, so as long as everyone remains safe, all is well. But lightning is non-negotiable. If lightning is around, no fishing boats should be on the water. Florida summers typically brings the highest potential, and Harrington says the entire season keeps him on his toes.

“The summertime can be unpredictable with pop-up storms,” he says. “You can kind of get a pattern and be okay in the morning, but the afternoons can be dicey in the summertime.

“The problem with the summertime storms, whether you’re using an app or the boat radar, is that they’re not consistent fronts that you can see with much warning. A summertime storm can pop up right over you and dissipate just as quickly, so it’s very difficult to plan that out, even up to the minute.”

For obvious reasons, rough weather gets all the hate. But, as Harrington notes, a gorgeous day does not inherently lead to good fishing.

“Usually the day after a cold front comes through is the day most people want to be on the boat because there’s no cloud cover, clear blue skies — bluebird skies,” he says. “It’s a pretty day, but those fish will shut down a day after the cold front. It’s tough fishing conditions, not necessarily the weather on that day.” 

Will You Be Completely Miserable While Fishing?

Particularly for offshore trips, Harrington monitors weather patterns several days out, but he looks to the 24-hour forecast for decision making. Along with the right tackle, baits and waypoints, customers should be able to depend on a charter captain’s judgment.

“I don’t get too much pushback (if weather impedes a trip),” Harrington says. “People are hiring us to catch fish but also for our weather expertise.

“I make the ultimate call on safety, but I like to involve clients in the general decisions. I’m honest with clients. I might tell them ‘It’s gonna be a little rough, but I know that bite’s gonna be really good and it’s worth going.’”

Understandably, Harrington hears plenty of seasickness concerns. He does his best to allay preconceived fears and encourage offshore neophytes to relax and focus on the fishing. But if the old mal de mer crashes the party, it’s decision time.

“If one person in a group gets seasick, I let the group make a decision on whether to go in or keep fishing,” Harrington says. “I tell them ‘You know your group better than I do,’ so that keeps me out of the conversation.”

When the Weather Becomes to Rough to Fish

Harrington believes honest discourse will typically give both parties sufficient time to make the right call. That said, second thoughts are not the captain’s burden.

“Once we leave, it is a trip because the same amount of expenses are involved,” Harrington says.

Notwithstanding his preference for collective decision making, Harrington will cancel a trip when the National Weather Service issues a Small Craft Advisory. In short, sustained wind speeds or frequent gusts have reached 20-33 knots and/or seas or waves 4 feet and greater and/or waves or seas are potentially hazardous.

“That’s about the point it’s unfishable anyway, but our charter insurance does not cover us if we’re out during a small craft advisory,” Harrington says. “If a client came in from out of town, they might not care if it’s blowing 30. But I tell them it’s not even my call at that point, because if we’re out there in dangerous weather and something happens, no one’s covered.”

Extreme weather aside, when Harrington expects uncomfortable or unproductive conditions, he’ll contact his scheduled anglers and give them the option of refunding their deposit. He’ll offer his insight and let the client make the call. “As long as it’s safe, 99 percent of the people still want to go fishing, but I feel better about being honest with people,” he says.

The post When Is It Too Rough To Go Fishing? appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Professional angler Brittany (@britt_fishing) Oskey, reminds everyone to take the pledge and avoid alcohol while boating. Whether you’re driving the boat or reeling in the catch of the day, always Ride Dry and Drive Dry.

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In 2020, Americans bought a lot of boats including 82,000 personal watercraft, 13,000 wake boats and 143,000 freshwater fishing boats and pontoons. That means more boats and boaters on the water than ever before. And many of them are still learning the ropes. Make sure you’re prepared and take a boater education course. When you’re on the water, always wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket and get expert tips and advice on our Safety hub. We need safe boating, now more than ever.

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Professional angler Sara Melia reminds everyone to take the pledge and avoid alcohol while boating. Whether you’re driving the boat or riding behind the boat, always ride dry and drive dry or at least designate a sober skipper.

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Darcie Arahill, the host of Darcizzle Offshore, reminds everyone to take the pledge and avoid alcohol while boating. Whether you’re a serious fisherman who enjoys deep sea fishing or you’re more into hanging out at the sandbar, always make sure you designate a sober skipper to bring you and your friends home safely. Always Ride Dry, Drive Dry.

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Professional angler and charter boat captain JC Clear reminds everyone to take the pledge and avoid alcohol while boating. Next time you head out on the water, remember that you’re responsible for yourself and your crew. Don’t mix alcohol with boat driving. Always Ride Dry, Drive Dry.

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As anglers and boaters—and humans—we all suffer from some degree of denial syndrome. For instance, many of us, since we’re obviously experts, assume we’ll never experience a serious emergency on the water.

“That won’t happen to me,” we say.

“I won’t fall overboard.”

“My boat won’t capsize.”

“I won’t get injured.”

When these experiences happen to others, we quickly rationalize. We would never have put ourselves in that position. Right? Yet, we can’t control everything.

Yes, 99 times out of 100, we have an awesome day on the water. But we must acknowledge that slight chance that our best efforts might be overwhelmed by circumstance. This month, as we look forward to a spring and summer full of fun saltwater adventures and to National Safe Boating Week in May, let’s pledge to get serious about safety.

Attitude Adjustment

In 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard ran 15,000 national search-and-rescue cases (commercial and recreational) and saved 1,700 lives. According to the Coast Guard’s Recreational Boating Statistics, the number of boating accidents in 2018, saltwater and freshwater, numbered 4,145. While those numbers might seem a small percentage of all boaters and all trips, they’re not insignificant.

When you think about it, we have quite a few products that can help optimize our safety on the water, from personal flotation devices, whistles and strobes to VHF radios with digital selective calling, satphones and emergency beacons. For the purposes of this column, by its definition, I will focus on electronic devices—particularly those that can summon immediate help on the water.

“Safety is the thing you’ll put off till next year,” says Mikele D’Arcangelo, vice president of global marketing and product management for ACR Electronics. Some people think: “It’s just a bunch of money sitting in a ditch bag or on the console, unlike that rod I’ll use every time I go out.

Then suddenly, national attention is drawn to an offshore tragedy, and we’re left with “what if?”

Once you commit to being proactive, a first rule of thumb to remember is simple and universal: Be prepared, whether that means actually wearing your PFD, having digital selective calling properly set up, wearing a personal locator beacon or SEND device such as an inReach or SPOT, or placing your EPIRB in an accessible position.

Let’s Evaluate

Secondly, consider your vessel and your fishing habits: how far offshore you go, whether you fish at night, whether you fish alone, etc. That will help you choose from among tools such as EPIRBs, personal locator beacons, man-overboard systems, and satellite emergency notification devices.

You say, “Well, I have a cellphone and I don’t go that far offshore.” Or, “I have a satphone. I can call for help.” But cellphones drop calls, get wet, and they don’t channel directly to marine rescue agencies. Satphones can be more reliable, but again, they don’t immediately summon on-water help. Beacons, SENDs and DSC-enabled VHFs do. MOB systems immediately alert crew and in some cases, other nearby boaters.

As long as your boat is floating, has power, and you’re still mobile and on board, turn first to the VHF. If the boat loses power or, worse yet, sinks, a PLB or an EPIRB can transmit a distress signal through a satellite to COSPAS SARSAT, a global agency that can immediately direct help to your location.

An EPIRB floats right-side up and is designed to tether to your life jacket. A PLB floats but must be held upright to transmit, D’Arcangelo says. “I’d rather every boater have an EPIRB than a PLB,” he says.

EPIRBs cost more than PLBs—$400 to $550 compared with $290 to $350—and they’re registered to a vessel. PLBs are registered to a person, and should be worn by that person. EPIRBs should be mounted to the vessel where they can be easily accessed. Those that come with a release bracket float free if a vessel begins to submerge; they will automatically send a distress signal.

“I always advise boaters to activate their properly configured and registered DSC VHF any time they’re going to activate their EPIRB,” says Paul Barnard, USCG Recreational Boating Safety Specialist. “A boat three miles away might get the DSC alert and assist immediately where Coast Guard assistance could be an hour or more away, if the EPIRB alone is activated.”

An MOB device is worn by crewmembers. If someone falls overboard, the device sends a signal to a phone or tablet onboard. In some cases, the system can be set to activate the boat’s kill switch so the crewmember can swim back to the boat. An AIS MOB device sends an alert message to all local vessels equipped with AIS.

Multifunction Devices

A SEND unit—such as Garmin’s inReach or Globalstar’s SPOT models—costs $150 to $650 and emits an SOS message via satellite to GEOS, a private search and rescue agency, which is tapped into the Iridium satellite system. Many SEND models now offer two-way messaging so that the victim and rescuers stay in touch.

Those units also offer a wide variety of services including preset messaging, so you can alert a loved one when you have left the dock and when you have returned, for instance. However, SEND units require a monthly subscription fee ($11.95 to $64.65); beacons do not.

Garmin’s inReach Mini also connects to a Garmin plotter or a quatix watch. The company’s new 86sci handheld GPS comes with embedded nautical charts as well as inReach capabilities.

“From the time of the incident, after you’ve pressed and held SOS, the unit sends your location every minute for 10 minutes,” says Chip Noble, inReach product manager. “When they receive it, within minutes, search and rescue responds to that user. The inReach allows two-way delivery confirmation.”

Read Next: Fish Safely with Redundant Electronic Safety Gear

Depending upon the model, battery life ranges from 35 to 90 hours; the units are rechargeable and they alert users when battery life has dropped to 25 percent.

The bottom line: The marine-electronics industry has a device for your boat and your fishing habits. All you have to do is invest in your safety.

The post Safety Electronics You Need for Your Boat appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Nowhere does traction take on a more critical role than on the deck of a boat. Without traction, a wet deck becomes a slip and slide, leading to poor footing, spills, injuries and even man-­overboard situations.

Most of today’s new ­center-consoles, bay boats and flats skiffs sport soles using textures such as ­diamond-pattern or grit-style nonskid, though some boat buyers opt for traditional teak decks or upgrade to an EVA foam nonskid such as SeaDek.

Grip Test
Which type of nonskid offers the best traction? To find out, I built a device that replicates the heaving deck of a boat, but the test was first described in the notes of Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

It is a ramp with which da Vinci could gradually increase the angle of incline until an object began to slip downward. Based on the results of this experiment, da Vinci also defined the mathematical formula for calculating the coefficient of friction.

I used my ramp to determine the relative traction of various common nonskids—both wet and dry—using a new Sperry deck shoe weighted with 11.43 pounds of lead sinkers, for a total weight of 12.35 pounds. Employing an inclinometer, I recorded the angle at which the shoe began to slip. The steeper the angle at which the shoe slipped, the ­better the ­traction ­qualities of the deck material.

Diamond Nonskid
This pattern is one of the most common on new boats today, ranking high among fishermen because it cleans up well after being fouled with tracked-in dirt, slime and such. However, it is tricky to repair if chipped. Some of the more aggressive patterns can stab at bare feet. I used a 2-square-foot sample panel of diamond nonskid provided by Grady-White, which proved comfortable, even on tender tootsies.

It displayed good traction while dry, but it lost a little grip when wet. Most of the water ran off quickly, with the rest collecting in the tiny channels in the pattern, leaving the raised diamonds largely dry and ready to grab.

Grit-Style Nonskid
This gelcoat version of grip tape is found on many boats. Ours was a 2-square-foot sample panel from Grady-White. Chips and scratches can be tricky to fix, but repairs are easier than with diamond nonskid. Some grit patterns tend to retain dirt and can also be painful on bare feet, though Grady’s pattern felt quite ­comfortable without shoes.

When dry, this surface offered just as much traction as diamond nonskid but lost some grip when wet. While most of the water beaded up and ran off quickly as I increased the angle, the texture retained some water, and I believe this led to the reduced grip in my wet test of this surface.

SeaDek Nonskid
This increasingly popular custom-made decking uses machined, stain-resistant, nonabsorbent EVA foam to simulate teak with a bit of cushion. SeaDek needs little maintenance, and a square yard weighs about 12 ounces, much lighter than teak. It is available as a moderately priced option on many new boats, and can be ­custom‑fitted to older boats.

Dark teaklike colors can get hot, so SeaDek also offers lighter hues such as holly and gray. However, the caulking channels can collect dirt, fish scales and other gunk if not cleaned properly.

For a complete picture, I tested a 2-square-foot piece of new SeaDek two ways—with the grain and across it. The grain and simulated caulking channels are machine-cut. My first test going with the grain proved impressive. SeaDek maintained a strong grip whether dry or wet.

The foam decking material shed almost all of the water immediately as the incline increased, absorbing none of the moisture. Traction was only slightly degraded in the wet test.

Traction improved even ­further in my tests of SeaDek across the ­manufactured grain. The edges of caulking grooves, which ran crosswise to the ramp in this trial, may have also contributed to better traction. While the simulated planking shed water quickly, half-inch caulking grooves held pockets of water, which gradually emptied as the ramp angle increased. However, this did not ­seriously degrade traction.

Teak Decking
Many old-school mariners ­maintain that teak offers better traction than any modern nonskid. The key is to let it weather, washing it only with salt water. Teak oil ruins its nonskid ­properties. Untreated, it will turn gray, and some find this aesthetically ­unappealing. Available as a pricey option on a ­number of custom-built boats today, teak decking is heavy and susceptible to stains from oil, fish blood and squid ink.

As with SeaDek, I traction-tested the untreated teak plank both with and across the grain. In testing with the shoe placed parallel to the grain, teak lives up to its old-school reputation for grip. It offered better traction than both types of the fiberglass textures in my comparison. However, with a damp deck, you can’t count on the same grip. Still, even when wet, teak offers the same degree of traction as either fiberglass nonskid.

Read Next: EVA Foam Decks: New Nonskid for Fishing Boats

When tested across the grain, the teak plank offered impressive ­traction when dry. Surprisingly, it was the only surface that became more grippy when wet. I believe this is because moisture raises the grain of the wood, creating cross-ridges of nonskid, lending credence to the salty assertion that teak makes for one of the best nonskid ­surfaces. But there is one better.

Safety-Walk 700 Grip Tape
Grip tape is used on some aluminum boats as nonskid material, and so I decided to include it in this comparison. Safety-Walk 700 series 4-inch-wide tread from 3M, which is akin to coarse sandpaper, is tough on bare feet and a questionable choice from an ­aesthetics point of view. The black tape gets hot, but cooler white is available in a ­less-aggressive tread.

Safety-Walk 700 was created to ­provide the best traction possible—largely for industrial applications. Indeed, my tests indicate that this is the case. More popular among skateboarders than boaters, this material offered extremely good traction. Even wet, it had better grip than any other nonskid in the group. Available in a variety of widths and lengths, this peel-and-stick material is easy to apply. However, the tape begins to peel up at the corners after a year or two of use, requiring replacement.

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