Tagged: safety
Be Aware
This weekend, the weather was great for boating – clear, hot, and sunny. Naturally, a lot of boaters hit the water. Unfortunately, a lot of those boaters did not practice good boating habits. Some boaters completely ignored marina-based no wake zones resulting in constant choppy water and shifting docks. Other boaters decided to move in the opposite direction, setting their throttle to just above idle and then staying in the middle of channels, completely blocking the vessels stacked up behind it. And another group of boaters decided to reinvent the rules of the road by passing on the incorrect side [...]
Anchors Aweigh
Anchors Aweigh Boating is an adventurous hobby. Every new outing offers a different experience from relaxing to exciting and oftentimes the combination. This very quality makes it important that boaters keep an eye on the safety aspects of the hobby. This experience is not like badminton in the backyard. Boating safety boils down to the basics: float plan, charts, compass/GPS, life jackets, horn, anchor, and a few other things. All are important, and in many cases required by the U. S. Coast Guard, but let’s focus on the anchor here. When looking at anchors consider the type of anchor first. [...]
Fall Boating
Well, it’s that time of the year again. People are decorating with mums and pumpkins, and temperatures have dropped from cool to brisk. Fall boating is a double-edged sword, on the one hand, it’s very serene -when boating last Sunday, I saw only one other boat underway, but it’s also more dangerous – if you fall overboard while tying a line, that may be the end of your boating career. What to do? I suggest you play safety to the nines. Wear that auto-inflate life jacket and your newest non-skid boat shoes. Focus on being more aware to avoid being [...]
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 [...]
Storm Swells
Storm Swells Hurricane Lee is on the horizon and some challenging conditions are sure to accompany the storm. The forecast is for rain, wind, storm surge, and swells. All of these elements normally accompany large storms and most boaters actively prepare by checking bilge pump operation, attaching extra dock or mooring lines, and checking boat movement possibilities at the dock or mooring. Dangerous swells stand out as an issue many boaters might not encompass in their thinking. While, fun to look at and even ride over, large storm-related swells can prove dangerous by covering and then uncovering various objects from [...]
No Direction Known
This past weekend, a friend of mine unexpectedly lost his steering ability on his small powerboat, a disconcerting experience at least and a potentially disastrous one at worst. Some lessons he learned included: Perform a VHF radio check before exiting your home waterway to ensure you have access to responsive help if necessary – new equipment may have a different interface than replaced equipment, and emergencies are difficult times to get educated. Check your anchor and line to confirm both are within reach and ready to be put to use quickly-anchor lines not used frequently can get kinks and snarls, [...]
Storms and Skinny Water
Boating over the past few days has been a mixed bag with some decent sunshine, but also some measurable wind and a continuous thunderstorm threat. Prompted by an interest in returning to the dock quickly to avoid the storms, many inexperienced boaters will try to shorten their route by steering on the wrong side of channel buoys or following a straight path on the inside line between buoys. Either of these approaches can result in problems primarily because the channels are constantly shifting. And although the buoys indicate plenty of water, oftentimes there is not. You may only need 6” [...]
Down East Conditions
Yesterday, as I cleared the Blyman Bridge in Gloucester Harbor, I noticed a slight wisp of fog over Eastern Point. The weather was sunny and cool, and the fog seemed out of place, so I made a mental note to keep an eye on it and headed towards the Harbor mouth. Much to my surprise, within five minutes of the sighting, I was completely enveloped in a fog bank that reduced visibility from a couple miles to a couple hundred feet. Almost all visible landmarks disappeared, and only the nearby rocks and an occasional house silhouette were partially visible. Needless [...]