Lurking Hazards
Well, Labor Day has come and gone. It’s been a good summer for boating, lots of warm, sunny weather and moderate sea conditions. Many boaters shift gears after the holiday, trading oars for pigskins. However, some choose to enjoy the crisp air and clear water late into the season. Environmental conditions shift in the fall, and two important ones are swell size and sunlight conditions.
It’s not unusual to encounter 6-8 foot steep swells after Labor Day and that’s important because many lobstermen do not provide enough scope to their pot lines which causes the buoys to submerge under the tops of the large waves. Couple this situation with a sun angle which severely limits late afternoon visibility, and the formerly benign buoys become lurking hazards, posed to wrap around your lower unit or propeller shaft at any time. And, the threat takes on greater significance when you consider how little support is available to help you out of a jam, compared to the heart of the summer season.
Boating in September is certainly different than boating in July, but there are some unique rewards to the fall season. Environmental changes require that you adapt your approach to them to ensure safe and fun experiences, ones which you’ll treasure throughout the long, cold, off-season looming on the horizon.
