Scouts
Historically, the Boy Scouts motto has been “be prepared”.
Based on my experience today, I think it’s an excellent one for fall boaters, too.
This afternoon, the swells were in the 6-7 foot range and there was a confused chop laying on top of the massive waves. Many times throughout the afternoon, I could feel and observe the boat being rapidly thrust forward on top of a massive wave with a significant reduction of control on my part.
Here are some mental notes I made. One, stand while piloting to give yourself the best chance of avoiding entanglement with lobster pot lines and buoys that disappear from the surface with the passing of each large swell. Two, look for white water to indicate breaking waves – rocks oftentimes show up much better in heavy seas. Three, focus on the waves moving towards you which typically move in patterns so that you can anticipate when the steepest ones will arise, and figure out your best angle of attack. Four, give the rocks and shoreline a wider buffer zone than normal as the large swells will quickly carry a compromised vessel towards any rocks. Five, make sure your key pieces of safety equipment – anchor, radio, etc. are operational and easily accessible so you can be ready to help yourself and avail yourself of the help of others. Six, wear your best life-jackets and think about how you might retrieve someone if they do fall overboard as MOB rescue difficulties increase dramatically in big surf conditions.
Fall boating is different from summer boating and you need to stay aware of the differences in order to enjoy this changed environment completely and safely.
