Tagged: safety
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 [...]
Close Shave
Sunday was one of the best boating days of this season and it seemed to drive every local boater to the water. Naturally, the seamanship abilities ranged the gamut from expert to tenderfoot and the mix of overcrowded waterways with beginner level skills made for some tense moments as I experienced heading out the harbor. I was about ½ way to the harbor entrance when I noticed a small outboard runabout on a direct collision course with no one at the helm. The captain, the only person aboard, was rummaging around in one of the forward compartments, completely oblivious to [...]
Low Visibility
Earlier today I enjoyed lunch with an old boating buddy of mine. Naturally, we covered a lot of boating topics, from repowering to fireworks display viewing experiences. I was fortunate in that, on July 3rd, the bad weather cleared during the late afternoon, and stayed that way, for the evening display., resulting in good night-time visibility. On the other hand, he was unfortunate in that the weather, specifically fog, became progressively thicker during the July 4th display creating poor visibility to return home in. Being an experienced boatman, he used his limited electronics and charts to pick up the main [...]
Vessel Safety Check (VSC)
The United States Power Squadrons and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary are partners in delivering Vessel Safety Checks to recreational boaters. The VSC is similar to the one done by the U.S. Coast Guard, but only you receive the results and it’s voluntary. The check can be a really good way to ensure you have the right safety equipment in working order. I suggest you contact your local USPS office today to schedule your free safety inspection.
Seasonal Awareness
Last night I attended a local boat club meeting that featured a panel of fishermen sharing tips on landing more fish on outings. The meeting covered a lot of ground, from proven lures to various fishing line sizes, however, one thing that might have been included was safety. Currently the air temperature over Boston Harbor is 48 degrees and the water temperature is 49 degrees. With temperatures that low, any fisherman that unexpectedly enters the water is going to deal with hypothermia in short order. This time of year requires not only lures and rods, but EPIRBs - both [...]
Different Directions
Yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of the intersection between your boat’s course and wind direction, especially in the fall season. My friend and I headed out for a quick afternoon ride and it was relatively smooth sailing as we steered a course for nearby Bakers Island. There was a stiff breeze kicking up a short chop, but the 21’ walk-around handled it easily. The issue arose when we changed our heading to a course leading to Beverly, almost directly into the wind, and the spray began to fly. His boat has a full Isinglass enclosure, but to [...]
Be Aware
Boating is a great sport. It’s exciting to go tubing, fishing or cruising. There’s plenty of action to go around. Sometimes, with all the action, it can be easy to lose focus on the most important things – the distance between the kids and the pier, the boat and the rocks, and the boat and the buoys. Recently I was following a 30’ express cruiser with two couples on board out of the harbor. Quite suddenly, something captured the attention of everyone onboard and they all looked off into the distance on the port side. To have everyone focused in [...]