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View Full Version : Lessons Learned, and what would you have done differently as a Skipper?



mustang5
26-02-2013, 10:48 AM
Gday,

In my vow to always be a better skipper, I thought I would start this thread in the hope that some of you will share some hairy moments, and how you overcame them.

Plus, I just wanna see some photos.

I will start out in saying I was caught with the big boat syndrome one weekend. "Sure, 29fter, nothing can stop that". Was a bit silly and thoughtless.

Here Goes.

The Mission: Head out to some close grounds for some bottom bashing.

The Route: Gladstone Harbor out to Rundle Island

The Boat: 29ft Proline

Weather: Seabreeeze Forecast it 15knts and 1.7m swells, BOM forecast Weather Warning and Small craft advisory. Seas to 3m

What Happened:

Well knowing the weather was sh!thouse it was voted that we limp out the north entrance of Gladstone and head up to Rundle Island which is about an hours trek. As the conditions werent so bad once out the front, the first half an hour was pretty good. Usually in this situation I would head up the narrows as its all sheltered, however the tides werent in favour of this.

Surprisingly there were other boats out there, but they turned around behind us and went back in (Much smarter than me).

All of a sudden, with the spitting rain came the wind, and the waves just stood up and things really got tense. Of course things had to blow up whilst we were almost exactly in the middle of the two closest areas of shelter.

The first decision was, whats the better option?? North or South to Shelter?? Now in 3-4m seas, ITS NOT EASY gauging distances on plotters... What would take 10 seconds in calm conditions probably took me 2 minutes.

After finding the distances were Identical, the next thought was.. Go through the North Channel Bar and into a 4m head sea?? Or Head for the Cape of Curtis in a following sea??

The decision, which still to this day Im not sure was the right one for my setup, was to head with the swell/waves. What I could not grasp was the speed in which the swell was travelling.. 400hp at 4000RPM couldnt keep up, and the steepness of the swell had us broaching dangerously throughout the ordeal.

As soon as we made a bit of headway, we had a good safe balance and were managing quite well. Then things started to get even more hairy, as we got closer to the cape. With the shallowing terrain, the swell changed character and the waves were verging on vertical. At this point I had deckie 1 grap the Epirb, I had deckie 2 radio the VMR stating we are in a bit of a pickle, and then get the flares ready.

We had about 5-10kms to shelter, when we suddenly took a BIG greeny over the back.. This led to thoughts and fears of the engines cutting out, and had the deck drains at full capacity, whilst we waded in about 10cm of water for a good few minutes. The short period of the swells meant we physically had to sit so close to the crest of the wave in front, that we were facing vertical. We did this for a good 2 hours and at least 3/4 throttle the whole time.

For anyone wondering what severe weather does to fuel consumption, well i used about 400L for about 100km trip. Usually on a calm day that would have been around the 140L mark.

From here we finally reached shelter, and assessed the damage..
- VHF aerial GONE???
- Bilge pump overheated/burned out??
- Hardtop bolts sheared in 2 places
- Deckies bruised, battered and demorilised
- Cargo in tatters in the cabin
- Fridge came out of hinge
- Eskies, drinks food and Ice all over the back deck.
- Tackle Boxes Cracked open
- 2 snapped rods from eskies sliding into them in side pockets

Lessons Learned:
- Dont trust anything other than BOM. (It is easy to puruade yourself into thinking the weather will be good if one weather forecast says so lol)
- When caught in a situation, get the boat to idle in a safe setup, and thoroughly assess and determine the best approach to safety. (We rushed it)
- A boat is never big enough.
- With the boat setup the way it was, it would have been better for me to plow through them rather than go with the waves.
- It is never silly to turn around.

Here is a pic, this was when we were comfortable and Deckie 1 took this. He still had colour in his face at this point. This was in the first half hour heading up. After this, all we could do was hold on.

89359

Your turn 8-)8-)

fandtm666
26-02-2013, 11:05 AM
lesson learned and great to see you all made it back to tell the tale.

my little episode was not related to bad conditions but the complete opposite.

Captain Seaweed
26-02-2013, 12:27 PM
I once went out to Peel in a 5.75 Quintrex Reefraider in 35knot Westerlies in winter. I didn't think the wind had enough run up to bother me. Well holy Shite was it bad...left the morning around 6 with a calm 5-10knots of Westerly to my back from Manly. Fished the Eastern side of Peel and could hear the wind whistling past the tips of the trees on the island. As I decided to come home I rounded the island and was greeted by whitewash and howling winds. The swell was about 1.2m. I had a mercury 90 which cuts out 2 cylinders at low revs to conserve fuel and it was the scariest ride of my life. The boat was at a 45' angle trying to drive into it as the engine was on that threshold of 2 cylinders vs 4.
I pulled into Wellington Point ramp wet and battered and caught a cab to Manly to pick up my trailer. A big learning curve for me and also the capabilities of my boat. I thought the Shimano sticker up the side would have got me through the ruff stuff.....silly me.
Anyway I was 18 when that happened and since then moved from different boats to different boats but always respect the water and the elements, I may even err on the side of caution a bit but its a lonely world out there when your along caught by the elements.
Since then I have always ensured I am over prepared for anything, good first aid kit, good UHF set up and good gear on the boat, I guess I prepare for the worst but expect the best. Gone are the exciting days of trying to get places half arsed, too exciting for me nowadays!!!

Cheers
Marty

LittleSkipper
26-02-2013, 12:38 PM
Never take risks is my philosophy no matter what the conditions may be.

Mother nature will turn on you in the blink of an eye & chew you up & spit you out!

whiteman
26-02-2013, 01:40 PM
Don't allow alcohol on board.

GBC
26-02-2013, 02:44 PM
When it gets really bad in a planing boat, going somewhere becomes less of an issue than keeping her head to and riding each wave out. By this time vis is pretty much nothing and the wind knocks you off about 45 degrees as you crest each wave. Your only job is to get the bow back around before the next wave hits. Nothing else matters.
Sea state photos are notoriously difficult to capture. We came back from heron in December during the low in 4-5m seas and 30 plus knots - the photos I took look like a nice day for boating.
With the above in mind, I might have tried tabbing the big girl in hard and slow planing (10-12 kts?) at 30-40 degrees into to the swell to wear the waves on the shoulder. The boat will knock the tops off the waves with the shoulder and they'll explode over you, but you'll get less hull movement. You'll get wet, but wet's o.k...
Running directly into or directly with a big wind blown sea is not going to be one of my first options if I can avoid it. Tacking to get home, choosing a new home port, or riding it out in situ are all options depending on the day, the boat and how much rum is left.

johncar
26-02-2013, 03:00 PM
It was a bit of a hard call there Mustang5. Punching into it would have been much slower going but possibly safer so long as you had enough fuel for those conditions.
Going with it as you did proved to be hairy and depending on the boats reserve power, balance plus how you attack it you probably learned a lot from the experience and whether to go that way in future.
I have been out in a decent following sea too where other larger boats out in a fishing comp all decided to head in due to deteriorating conditions, their boats including all their superstructure were being swallowed up in the toughs in front of me, when I got glimpses of them some struggling to stay straight at times. One of the worst days it was and not overly experienced in those conditions I was only in a 5.8 metre half cab Cruisecraft but I reckon I stayed on the back of one wave for many kms not game to stick my head up and venture down the front of one, and wasn't game to look back either, but amazingly there were no issues at all other than driving to survive, and got home unscathed but a little wiser. That little boat just tracked nicely and always seemed in control.

What did I learn?
Well there is a lot more to sea conditions to wind forecast alone. keep a good eye on the horizon and sky for changes.
Some little boats can fare as well or better than some bigger boats, mind you I would call them all small craft when conditions get bad.
Times like that you are glad to have double the fuel you need for the normal day out.
Times like that some reserve engine power to hold your position on the back of a 20 kt wave is awful handy.

Stay calm, don't panic and be patient using the sea conditions to help as much as possible.
Don't ever feel pressured by mates, organised events or anything else to go if conditions look sus, better to go another day.
There is no shame in turning back if you do decide to take a chance and go.


I have heard it said many times that the skipper will often give up before the boat does and it is amazing what they will get you through if you just keep your head. But better not to be there at all if it can be helped of course.
We risk a lot for those little fishies or is it just the challenge?

Plenty of hairy rides too in my VMR days but that's another story and wasn't quite as optional. Possibly why I no longer do it.

JEWIENEWIE
26-02-2013, 03:01 PM
I have learnt to go with MY gut feeling and dont give in to peer pressure to go out. I didnt was was lucky to get away with, stupid stupid stupid........
JN

mull dog
26-02-2013, 03:53 PM
Spent a night once out at Fitsroy in 50knt winds. Lost 2 anchors and spent the night in the lee side of the lagoon slowly motoring up to the fringing reef and then drifting back until it was too rough and then motor back to the reef. This went on all night. We weren't able to make the dash back to 1770 until about lunch time when the winds eased to 30 knt. Took 4.5hrs with many green ones over the nose. To make it worse I went into pancake creek instead of 1770 and when we finally made it back we ran out if fuel driving the boat on the trailer. Someone was certainly looking out for us that trip and I don't think I have been that scared for that long my whole life. But I am glad I kept my head when it turned to shit after losing the anchors. The lessons learnt 1. Get rid of the centre cab! I will never own a boat that acts like a scoop ever again. 2. There are anchoring bouys in the Fitsroy lagoon! I thought they were marking the shallow bombies until the bloke at the servo told us later.

Moffy
26-02-2013, 07:29 PM
Back in the uni days - I used to head out the reef from home (Mossman/Daintree) every chance I got during the Christmas holidays. Back then the weather was a lot more predictable than it seems to be now - a forecast of 10-15 knots SE/NE at that time of year generally always meant a land breeze in the morning below 10knots, which would drop out mid morning before switching to a NEly that would gradually increase during the day and then drop out in the evening and rinse and repeat the next day. The onyl variable would be how early the NEly would kick in and how strong it would - but even at its worst it just meant a wet trip home and nothing the tinny (and I) couldn't deal with coming with it with sensible driving.

Had a 4.4m quintrex with a 30 Evinrude that never missed a beat.

Stayed out one day a bit longer than usual chasing our bag of trout - the NEly got up a bit more than usual but it was never normally a drama heading home with it - just got a bit wet - so we fished on. coming home it was still good conditions out on the reef - but we couldn't get the last couple of trout and finally called it quits - got quite a bath coming home and the NEly well and truly picked up in close to the ramp - which happened to be a NE facing ocean ramp... (Rocky Point for those that know it)

About a mile out the tiller mounted kill switch shorted out - and that was it - the motor was dead as a maggot. I always ran with an auxillary and so came home with that no dramas. However at the ramp there was a short NE swell crashing straight onto the ramp.

ended up taking quite a few waves over the back of the tinny getting it onto the trailer - bent the back roller it had so much water in it - the fuel tank was floating, as was the battery box (with 27 meg etc inside) - 27 meg was still on and the salt water on the live circuit instantly corroded the whole thing (had never seen anything like it).

Still don't know how the winch wire held the boat was that heavy (had to back the boat down further into the waves to get it on - but apart from the minor damage all ended up OK. If the kill switch hadn't have failed i would have driven the boat to a sheltered ramp nearby and my brother could have brought the trailer around (waves weren't too much of a drama - it was just wet) - it was just the unforeseen issues with the kill switch that made the incident a bit ugly - but also a lesson not to push it for a couple extra fish..

Another time from the same ramp i was 5 minutes from arriving at the reef in a glass out - forecast was good for the day - a big ugly line of clouds coming in from the SE looked ominous - even in the pre-dawn light and i made the call to come home. arrived back at the ramp with everything still a glass out and went home. Rang up the low isles weather observations an hour later and they had had a huge SEly change come through with gusts to 37knots and a sustained 25-30 kn since - don't want to think what it would have been like in the tinny in that - another lesson learned - but through a good decision!!

Tickleish
27-02-2013, 10:32 AM
Spent a night once out at Fitsroy in 50knt winds. Lost 2 anchors and spent the night in the lee side of the lagoon slowly motoring up to the fringing reef and then drifting back until it was too rough and then motor back to the reef. This went on all night. We weren't able to make the dash back to 1770 until about lunch time when the winds eased to 30 knt. Took 4.5hrs with many green ones over the nose. To make it worse I went into pancake creek instead of 1770 and when we finally made it back we ran out if fuel driving the boat on the trailer. Someone was certainly looking out for us that trip and I don't think I have been that scared for that long my whole life. But I am glad I kept my head when it turned to shit after losing the anchors. The lessons learnt 1. Get rid of the centre cab! I will never own a boat that acts like a scoop ever again. 2. There are anchoring bouys in the Fitsroy lagoon! I thought they were marking the shallow bombies until the bloke at the servo told us later.



How come you didn't go to Round Hill Creek - no compass, plotter.

How did the anchor rope cut, on the side of the boat or did it just snap.

thanks for the story.

mustang5
27-02-2013, 10:57 AM
How come you didn't go to Round Hill Creek - no compass, plotter.

How did the anchor rope cut, on the side of the boat or did it just snap.

thanks for the story.


Ive had an anchor rope snap at Moreton Island in my first boat I owned. It was a good learning curve having to dig up a tonne of sand to get the boat floating again.

Lesson Learned.. Have the best anchor rope available, and always check the condition! Also, TAKE A SPARE ANCHOR!!!! I now have rope that will allow an anchor to bend before snapping (Its happened).

Heres a pic!!!

89378

mull dog
27-02-2013, 01:18 PM
I had 2 anchors out and the first one came off at the d shackle. The boat then swung around a bit and must have wrapped around the reef a bit. Took about four hours but then the rope finally cut through. With regards to going into Pancake it was as simple as reading the GPS wrong. My stupid fault but for some reason the track out of round hill wasn't saved to have it to follow back in.

Nicko_Cairns
27-02-2013, 09:35 PM
I did almost the exact same thing many many years ago when living in Brisbane, a mate was the skipper of a fairly big bertram, 6m I think from my fading memory and we were anchored facing toward the city, the first thing we knew about the unforecasted storm (well not forecasted the night before when my mate checked) was a heap of boats heading past us towards the city, which we should have taken more notice of. Then the thunder crack woke us up and it took 2.15 back to the ramp, had a couple waves break over the bow, clear the windscreen and hit us in the face, it was very very ordinary and the most scared I've been in a boat, from calm to green stuff in no time. Boat was a new secondhand for him, so we weren't sure of how everything would hold up, luckily bilges did really well and was really glad he had two. We got back to his place, opened a carton and shook our heads for the rest of the night. Seabreeze is a guide but I only rely on BOM (as the best guide).


I once went out to Peel in a 5.75 Quintrex Reefraider in 35knot Westerlies in winter. I didn't think the wind had enough run up to bother me. Well holy Shite was it bad...left the morning around 6 with a calm 5-10knots of Westerly to my back from Manly. Fished the Eastern side of Peel and could hear the wind whistling past the tips of the trees on the island. As I decided to come home I rounded the island and was greeted by whitewash and howling winds. The swell was about 1.2m. I had a mercury 90 which cuts out 2 cylinders at low revs to conserve fuel and it was the scariest ride of my life. The boat was at a 45' angle trying to drive into it as the engine was on that threshold of 2 cylinders vs 4.
I pulled into Wellington Point ramp wet and battered and caught a cab to Manly to pick up my trailer. A big learning curve for me and also the capabilities of my boat. I thought the Shimano sticker up the side would have got me through the ruff stuff.....silly me.
Anyway I was 18 when that happened and since then moved from different boats to different boats but always respect the water and the elements, I may even err on the side of caution a bit but its a lonely world out there when your along caught by the elements.
Since then I have always ensured I am over prepared for anything, good first aid kit, good UHF set up and good gear on the boat, I guess I prepare for the worst but expect the best. Gone are the exciting days of trying to get places half arsed, too exciting for me nowadays!!!

Cheers
Marty

Scott79
27-02-2013, 10:52 PM
An interesting read mustang, glad it worked out ok. Pics never do sea conditions justice.
Was that trip before or after your call for EOI for deckies on the M& G page?;)

mustang5
28-02-2013, 07:50 AM
An interesting read mustang, glad it worked out ok. Pics never do sea conditions justice.
Was that trip before or after your call for EOI for deckies on the M& G page?;)

Hehe that trip was over a year ago now mate. A lot more precaution is taken these days!