How do you know the limits of your boat

[blaze]

Seems a stupid question I suppose.
But
How do others work out the limits of their boats or maybe a better question is what are your personel limits.

For myself
I dont suppose I have ever found the limit of my own abilities as a skipper or the vessels I have been incharge of as they have always come back to the port of departure or the port I have nominated as an alernate. Have I been concerned on occassion, damm right. So the limited for me must be at the point failure occurs.

Have you taken your vessel beyond your normal comfort zone to test your skill as a skipper and your boats ability if not how do you inprove your skills.

Interested in others point of view
cheers
blaze

[Spaniard_King]

Blaze,

I recon if you get your rig home in one peice you are a goiod skipper and if you don't you are somewhat of a lesser Skipper ::)

I don't think anyone can say they know the limit of their boat as you would have to make it fail to say you new the limit :-/

Evryone must have an idea of what they will put there boat through and what they would take on. For me I don't like to venture out in 20+ knots of wind and 1.5m+ swell.

Also a runnout tide with over 1.5m of swell is a no no on our local Bar (Tweed)

Cheers

Garry

[dnej]

Blaze, this is an interesting question. I know myself, I am a fair weather sailer, only because I have never ventured out in a stiff breeze, so to speak. I have told myself, I need to get some practice, when I know the breeze is up.
I have a great spot to do this, where I can venture out from a protected bay, and go around the point to " practice" in some heavier stuff. I dont recon I should wait untill, I do get caught one day, and learn the hard way
David

[MulletMan]

That's a good topic Blaze!

I don't believe that a responsible Boatie should ever have to know his limits because the idea is never to reach that situation in the first place - theoretically!

A well equipped boat in terms of safety gear, communications, matched vessel and motor, sound working knowledge of the weather and tides and a sensible amount of pre-trip preparation will nine times out of ten ensure that the white-knuckle situation never happens.

When I used to flog jets about the skys in another life and back in the early days of that industry, we were taught to "take her to limit son". Exciting as that was, the modern concept is to prevent the dangerous situations from ever occurring so whilst the thrill of a fully stalled 4-engined Boeing in a terrifying spiral towards the hard stuff was pretty exhilerating, now it just the APPROACH to the stall that is taught!!

Same in boats and maybe cars to some extent.

Having said that, I guess it is inevitable that one day you will be put to the test on the water and the best way to prepare for it is to join VMR or AVCG as they are always "going out when others are coming home" and that means you tend to do many jobs in the worst of weathers, seas and winds!

When you are mucking about at night in a 30-40 knot wind looking for some guy in the middle of the Bay, you embark on a steep learning curve when it comes to handling a boat.

Old John Palermo taught me a lot on Bar crossings and we thundered over all the shallows in a Haines 680 I used to own. With bowels rumbling, John made me get in amongst the rough stuff and take the "sets" head on.

I still don't think I am God's gift to boating and there are lots of members and readers here who would run rings about me in vessel handling, but as I said, prevention is better than cure!

[banshee]

Experience,the only problem with experience is you get it about a minute after you realy need it.I've had an early morning "face wash" that pushed the bow of one of my previous boats in,total misjudgment and inexperience on my part but at the same time probably the best thing that happened to me.

[mirage]

Like The Pink Panther Says:- A superior skipper is one who never has to call upon his superior skills to save his ship. I'm in the flying game too!

[MulletMan]

Hey Mirage, what sort of model aircraft do you fly??? ;) ;) ;) ;)

[mirage]

Hi Pink Panther,
767. Used to fly 4 haulers in another life and pointy things in a much much earlier life!
Scotty.

[kilo11]

quote clint eastwood dirty harry (70s) a man has too know his limitations.....sorry coldnt resist

[seatime]

One way of determining limits for your boat or yourself would be to look at similar rigs and understand how they reached their limits. In other words, learn from other's mistakes, you don't need to make the mistakes yourself, not if someone else has already made them. It's probably easier to appreciate a boat's limits this way, but personal limits have a lot to do with confidence, experience and training, IMO.
regards

[fishingrod]

Have you taken your vessel beyond your normal comfort zone to test your skill as a skipper and your boats ability if not how do you inprove your skills.

blaze

I used to spend a fair bit of time as a VMR skipper (im still a member but to a lesser extent now) I was happy to take our 2 rescue boats out in the rough stuff to challenge myself. I would never do it if it endangered any of my crew or passangers. Its good to know the limits off yourself and the charactistics of each boat as situations do arise occasionally where you need to respond. If on a rescue id make sure my crew was happy with the conditions and that no one had second thoughts about going out.

Testing your limits doesnt have to mean rough weather. Night navigation and bushfire smoke/fog are also challenges that test your skill. Can you get from point A - B in confidence in any level of visability ?

Knowing how to NIGHT navigate shoals and oyster leases in local creeks without channel markers is another competencey.

Personally, in my own private boat (was a 5m Cruise Craft) i was happy to push the boundries in the rough provided i was the only one on board. My personal limits were when waves wash over the bow or break over the stern quarter while underway meant that it was too rough #;D

cheers
Rod

[charleville]

My limitation is that because of my really solid legs (known as "tree trunks" to some #;D ) I swim like a well polished sinker. #So I know that if I do something stupid that sees me ending up in the drink then I will drown.

Hence, whilst I am more than happy to go out into Moreton bay in my 4.75m runabout in the middle of the night on my own with no concerns a coupl eof times each week, I do set my own rules which I follow without fail;-

1. #I never go out into a forecast of greater than 15 knots

2. #All of my safety gear is spot on and indeed more than legally required and at departure I usually check to remind myself as to where it all is and that it is not encumbered by other stuff if I have to get it out quickly. #I leave notes as to where I am going and/or log on to the Coastguard/VMR.

3. #I wear a safety jacket when I am travelling in the boat at night irrespective of how good the conditions might be. #Sometimes I attach the dead man's strap from the ignition to my clothing but that can be a bit of a nuisance so I don't do that as often as I should.

4. #When there is lightning coming close, I come home as quickly as I can.

Other than that, no real limitations. #I don't go 'outside' because in my runabout it is such a long way to go and I get plenty of pleasure in Moreton Bay.

I 'overtrain' a little because although I am mature in years, I #have only had a boat for 4 years so I am always learning. #By overtrrain, I mean for example that I have done the Bill Corten bar crossing course even though I don't cross bars and I have done the MROCP certificate even though all that I have on my boat is a 27MHz marine radio.

By nature, I am a bit arrogant which has the advantage of giving me a lot of confidence to do things that people have been telling me all my life that I cannot do #BUT when it comes to my boating, I take all of the precautions. #

[seatime]

Sounds like a very prudent approach to your boating escapades charleville.
regards

[seabug]

When the sea wins :o :o

[Phoenix]

It's a lot more to do with the limits of the skipper than the limits of the boat. Most Australian made boats will survive in conditions unimaginable to most - the fact is that the vast majority of boat operators do not have the experience or skills to go even half that distance.

[James_V17L]

My limitations are miles below the limitations of my ol girl..I am a little chicken sh*t due to my utmost respect for the ocean..Years ago I took a gung hoe friend of my mine fishing,we planned to head out the south passage..the weather was alot worse than the forecast when we got to the bar..I was ready to turn back but he insisted on going(you know the old "Ive been through here when its been worst than this" attitude..)
Well dumb a$$ me went ahead..we made it out & made it home..I have never shat myself so much & swore to myself never ever to be in that situation again..but on the point of Blazes question...on that day the ol 17L was awesome,who knows a boats limitations..I know my limits tho!!! :o :o

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Moons ago when I was a teenager I had some big bikes. The old story was that 'you don't know how far you can go until you 'step' off'. Well I did 'step off' one day and it hurt me and it hurt the bike terribly. I guess I had learnt though just how far I could push it, or myself, whichever one of us was least capable.

With the boating, I have never deliverately pushed either it or myself to the point of 'stepping off'. I have come bloody close a few times, and scared myself to death. Nowdays, I am more cautious and not as keen to determine my limits. I am comfortable with just being safe and playing safely. I think it is experience alone that teaches that. Years and years of being on the water, boating, near misses etc etc.

Knowing your boat is the key to safe boating, I believe. A very competent skipper in a 5 mtr tinnie might be completely lost in a 5 mtr glass, until he has obtained a feel for her.

Interesting topic Blaze

Cheers
Dave

[Mr__Bean]

Along the same line as some others before me, I found mine one day when I made an error, I crossed a bar without first sighting the sea on the other side.

It was down at Lakes Entrance which also has a notorious bar on the runout tide.

I had a 5.65 half cabin with a 200hp merc, it was a Fraser hull out of WA and was a good solid glass hull, we approached the bar on a runout tide, the waves were standing tall but holding their break. The boat handled these OK when trimmed up and the 200 gave good lift up a tall wave.

We met the first waves OK and crossed over slowly and safely, but oh my god............... the sea on the other side had to be seen to be believed. We had been tricked into thinking it would be smooth like the day before as there was once again no wind in the harbour, but once we cleared the bar (and the cliffs) the wind was howling.

Confused waves came at us on all sides, as we hit the wave crests we looked for better water, only to see 2 pro-fishing trawlers also sitting it out before crossing the bar on the way in.

It doesn't sound much here, but having a couple of grown men shout at you to turn and go back is bloody hard when you know you can't turn her yet, you gotta wait for the right lull. Thankfully the lull came and I was able to turn her around and make the run back in. Mates were understandably glad to be back in, grown men with tears in there eyes isn't something to be proud of when you are in charge.

Anyway, we got home and when we got back to our caravan park a guy came up to speak to us after seeing us from the lookout on the cliff, we explained what happened, and to our surprise he reckoned we did real well. Apparently just before us 2 other trawlers tried to get in out of the conditions but broached on the way in and crossed the bar side on.

So, having said all that, I got back one day after being at the edge, and I never want to go there again.

- Darren

[fishn-ads]

As long as my limits exceed that of my equipment I don't have that worry. But I am always pushing the limits of my equipment maybe I will mature sooner or later.

In saying that when theres a crew involed I become my old man.

Ads

[Tony_N]

I own one boat and share another #(mate owns his boat and shares mine). #His is 20 ft Nova Star/built like a tank with a 140 2st. Evinrude - finely tuned ripper of a motor. #Very safe boat - we will go out in 15-20 kts and 2 metre seas/swell (depending on the bar - which can be quite safe in a big southerly swell) and though we get bounced about a bit - sometimes bruised a bit, it feels very safe. Again, still wary of the bar, so that's the other limiting factor. #I've been out to the reef off Lucinda in a 4.3 tinny with 15+knots and 1.5+ swell #- which flattened out when we got to the reef. Also felt pretty safe

My boat is a 4.1 poly which I only use on the river. #Last week for the first time I opened up the 40 HP 4-stroke Suzi to see how fast the boat would go. Now that was scary. #Not sure how fast it went, but I could see myself tumbling that boat at that speed fairly easily. #The electric trim-tilt helped. I now see why they rate the tiller steer 4.1 at max 40 hP while they will rate the other configurations at 50.#I should say - it will get along very safely and quite quickly - its just that I feel that flat strap is beyond my capabilities, especially if there is any chop about.

[onerabbit]

After reading this thread more than once,
I reallty think its more to do with the skipper than the boat, if you know your boat & what she can do, thats great, my boat has never scared me.
On the other hand, I have scared the hell out of myself. Fortunately , the boat has pulled me through.
After 3-400, (over 5 yrs) trips out on Ballina bar, I think I am over being a greenie, but still not really experienced, as some are.
Like banshee said, if you cop a greenie in the face you learn not to be there again.
The ocean to most of us is the most available frontier to "test our metal", dont forget what it is we do, she is a dangerous place.

just my bit ,

Muzz

[familyman]

What is it that you fly boys say?There are old skippers and bold skippers but there are no old ,bold skippers ;D
Seriously I'm only just begiinig to realise that my boats limits far exceed my own ,even by myself.I mean ,really who enjoy getting tossed around in the boat for hours on end.I;d just as soon wait it out for some better weather or go elsewhere.
The sea does not forgive stupid mistakes.Just look in the paper after every big sea for proof,someone pays for their own misjudgment with their life :(
cheers jon








ps buy a seadoo then you wont care if you get wet ;D ;D ;D

[Az]

good topic and a nice read fellas, might bump it up to see if anyone else has something to add ;)

[reef_king]

hi guys,
i have co-owned 2 boats with my brother, the first being a 5.35m allycraft centre console. Being new to offshore boating(doing for 3 years now) when we first bought the allycraft we would head out the bay toward tempest/hutchies etc... without even checking the weather. We soon realised that 15+knts of wind wasn't comfortable(wet and pounding) but the boat handled it well. As we were keen we would still head out in 20-25knts but call it off over that. Many times we have been stuck coming across the bay with 30knts and 3m vertical walls, but as long as we drove the boat right we always got home.

After owning the boat for 1 year and clocking up 450hours we booked a week long hoilday up at lady musgrave. Upon towing the boat up we found 40-50knts generated by a deep low west of NZ. After 3 days at 1770 and a 25-35knt forecast we thought that we would head out to the island anyway.(after towing it all that way/and organising time off). My brother and i headed out and found solid 30knts SE waves to 4-5m at the headland.Once we were about 10 miles out the conditions worsened and we were looking up at 7-8m waves.We had the 1500gph bilge pump on the whole time and were coping alot of 3-5foot foam over the front.About walfway out we realised we were taking to much water onboard and for the rest of the trip i empted a 20l bucket over the side, i emptied that bucket 700-800times. After nearly 6 hours we reached the island completly buggered looking like drowned rats.

It is amazing that the boat handled the conditions but we were shiting ourselves and could have easily died. We should never of headed out in that and when it got worse we definitly should have turned around.I would never do anything that dumb again and i belive that was THE LIMITS that the boat could handle before going down, i guess it was the fact that we had done a fair bit of rough weather trips and knew how our boat handled that gave us the ability to get there safely as a lesser skipper would have ment death.

These day i own a 7m coastal cat. Upon getting the boat i did a few trips in 20-25knts to get a feel for the boat. After owning it for 3 months and 150hrs we did a rough weather test when one of those cyclones was off the coast at the begining of the year. We headout of scarbough in 40knts and after mucking around in the bay we ventured outside. We found that it was breaking from bribie to moreton and the only way out was through the shipping channel(though there were still the occasional waves breaking in the channel). The boat handled the conditions beatifully and i wouldn's want to be beam on to 8m seas in anything else. This boat was able to hold cruise at 18-20knts and we even flattened it when travelling with the waves. It was pretty rough and was amazing how much better this boat was over the allycraft in similar conditions. However the boat is controlled by the skipper and though the boat did well, one wrong move could have resulted in broaching and loss of life.

It is amazing what the boats can handle, and it all comes down to the skill of the skipper. I would rather be in my allycraft in those conditions with a skilled skipper, rather than the cat with an inexperinced skipper.

This is my theory.
Go out in good weather to get a feel for your boat.
After spending time on the water you'll get to understand how your boat works.
Go out in weather you would usally call off in.
Do this a couple of times.
When the its really rough put your boat in the creek and travell out to the bay . After mucking around head out to more open water, and play with more dangerous water(bars etc..). After doing this and you feel safe to do so......head offshore.

This way YOU control what is happening and get a feel for your boat within close distance to port, and your not stuck 30mile offshore at night shitting yourself wandering what to do.

cheers reef_king

[DALEPRICE]

gday reef king,
4-5 metre waves in a 5.35 m centre console is a big
call let alone 7 - 8 m

beam on to 8m seas ???
do you mean metres or feet.

just curious, and some good information their.

cheers dale

[bidkev]

I'd only had the Whittley a couple of weeks and was itching to do a night trip with the little feller. We launched at Cabbage Tree just on last light and low water with 10/15 blowing and forecast.

No sooner were we out into the bay when it blew like buggery and started breaking over the bow and port side. I looked over my shoulder and the visibilty was practically nil and no markers to be seen for the return, only white water. I made the call that rather than risk turning her and not finding my way back in at low, I'd head for the shelter of mud. I didn't trust the gps to get me bang on that narrow channel and to risk grounding in those seas would have spelt disaster. Anyone who's seen 'em break at the mouth of Cabbage Tree in such shallow water will know what I mean.

I thought I would have to tack to reach mud so that the bow would take the waves cleanly and when I tried that the rig seemed to be having to climb very high and stuff started sliding out of the cabin into the deck area. All I could see was a wall of water and then black as she dropped over the other side. I turned her back and pointed her to mud on the gps deciding to take 'em partially side on and to travel at just enough speed to make headway.

The trip seemed to take a lifetime and could only be done via the gps as the rain was that thick and vis practically nil. We were soaked depsite the clears, as the waves and rain were driving that hard they were pushing through the zips. The boat was new to me and I really didn't know what she could take. Until buying it I didn't even know what trim tabs were but I'm sure they saved our lives that night. The wipers were useles as they couldn't keep up and my only vision was the gps.

I have never been as scared in my life and I've seen active service in a couple of theatres. I was frightened for the little feller more than anything else, but he seemed oblivious and thought it was a great adventure. I had to keep saying things like, "what a great rig" and "she can handle anything" just to keep him at ease. When we got tucked into the lee of Mud there were 7 trawlers laid up so that gives an indication of how bad it was.

I still don't know if I skippered correctly under those circumstances or if there was anything else I could have done to be more safe.....it's just a blur. The boat handled it, but I will never accept that I had anything to do with it. I was running on empty and simply hoping for the best and I really do believe that luck played a major part. I must've been in shock the whole way through 'cause there is little that I recall other than it seeming to last forever.....never again! I'm now a fair weather fisherman.

kev

[seatime]

gday reef king,
4-5 metre waves in a 5.35 m centre console is a big
call let alone 7 - 8 m

beam on to 8m seas ???
do you mean metres or feet.

just curious, and some good information their.

cheers dale


tempted to ask a few questions also, but i don't think the story would be half as good if the sizes were reduced. ;D
regards
Steve

[reef_king]

dale, steve

I'm talking in meters, and they looked huge from the boat and accurately measured by checking wave rider bouys after doing these trips over the enternet. 7-8m is maximum waves with average waves at 4-5m. If you have ever been out in 40+knt winds after a big blow, you'll know what an 8m wave looks like.

ty,

[seatime]

reef_king, fair enough. I have seen 8m waves and bigger, though I wasn't in a 7m cat, they are huge.
cheers :)

[marlinqld]

Hi fishingrod.... what squadron you with?

I am a member of VMR Raby bay........... drew the short straw for duty on Monday's holiday.

[reef_king]

hi guys,

it seems that people on this site are questioning my story......so i'll give a little more info.
On the second day of being at Lady Musgrave we were fishing in the lee of the island when 3 guys onboard a 68ft trawler "JEROBA" waved us over to there boat. They wanted smokes in exchange for prawns as they had run out. The invited us on there vessel and where happy to see other people as they had been out for 6 weeks.

They had been anchored in the lee of the island for a week and a half as it was to rough to trawl. They told us that the previous night they had tried to go out for a trawl as the wind had dropped to 30-40knts. They were in 200-300meters and 5mins after putting the nets in the port side 1.5inch steel cable snapped, this drew all the weight of the nets to the stardboard side spinning the boat beam onto the sea where an 8m wave crashed over the side pinning one of the deckies against the snap freaser breaking a couple of ribs, the boat listed hugely before righting and the starboard side cable snapped. The skipper said he was in the 3 story wheelhouse at the time and the wave was at eye-level, he thought they were going down at first but belives that the weight of the net swinging of the starboard side prevented the boat from rolling. These guys lost tens of thousands of dollars worth for that trip and couldn't belive that we had gotten out there that day, in that small of a boat, they thought we were mad......... i have nothing to gain by lying, and if in doubt contact Damion the skipper of the JEROBA

[sphven]

ill second tht one phoenix but i will ad tht no fish is worth dieing for

[DALEPRICE]

god luck to you reef king,
great advise for anybody with bugga all
boating experience to go out in a 40 knott
blow and see what happens............

[finding_time]

I agree with what a few people have said, most boats will out last the skippers ,and if you slow down and do the basics correctally you'll get home. I also think you'll find finding the limits of you boat a scary experance,for example early last year i had been going across the Pincussion Bar ALOT and had become a little bit complacent with it ( BIG MISTAKE) on this particuler day the tide had been running out for 3 hours and there was a 1.25 meter swell comming from both the ese and ne :o What i should have done is turned around put the boat back on the trailer and driven to Mooloolabah, but what i did was sit a wait for a shot. :( :'(

Well the result was i mucked it up and in hind sight i was always going to fail because the set were to hard to pick. The waves just stood up and sucked and sucked with the run out tide till they broke over the boat. The first wave in fact broke onto the outboard they were tubbing that much ,the next hit the consol and the next the deck infront of the consol. The boat was full of water and i mean full to the gunnels but due to three or four things i made it through.

1.when i saw i was going to wear it i kept the boat straight into the waves i didn't try to run away.
2. The boat is a self drainer, actually a flat decker and has a 3" high transom and not quite 2 foot sides so the water flowed out very quickly and the scuppers took care of the rest.
3. the motor kept going which kept me straight ( little bit of good management and alot of luck)

Anyway if that didn't stop the little girl i would hate to be in a situation that does stop her.

Ian

Ps. for those that dont know the boat was a southwind UB520 longboat. And i've had her up at fraser when the winds been 30 knots from the south and pushing into a 2-3 knot southerly running current ( very rough) and as long as you take it easy it's fine.

[insideout]

panic is the ultimate killer when it comes to most things... i too have been out in big seas and dark nights seem to be the onset of this condition... tests the mettle of any skippa- boat owner , slow and steady in most conditions seem to win overall, and a background in surfing also applies well in a boat facing big seas ,if anything to read the surf and to predict the vessels movement....people seem to think there is something wrong with going 6 knotts in a heavy sea flying blind......

[fishingrod]

#Ps. for those that dont know the boat was a southwind UB520 longboat. And i've had her up at fraser when the winds been 30 knots from the south and pushing into a 2-3 knot southerly running current ( very rough) and as long as you take it easy it's fine.

Ill second the ability of the Southwind UB's. We ran a UB670 as a inshore VMR boat and it coped reasonably well with knee deep water inside ...... as it did on this day:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/fishingbasket/RescueArticle.jpg

Ill also back up Reef_Kings earlier comment re the ability of Cats in large seas. Try this thread:
http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/yabb2/YaBB.cgi?num=1140792711/13#13

Knowing how to "handle" a boat is worthless if you suffer mechanical failure in heavy weather. Then i beleive its called "seamanship" when you are trying to cope with what you have and have to improvise with sea anchors, buckets #;D etc

[fishingrod]

Hi fishingrod.... what squadron you with?
I am #a member of VMR Raby bay........... drew the short straw for duty on Monday's holiday.

Im actually in Sydney mate ..... We dont normally call ourselves VMR down here but its the same thing just a different smell.

All you blo*dy QLDers talk about VMR so i just follow suit to fit in :)

[fishn-ads]

Reef_King

I'd cop your yarn if you where in New Zealand big seas down in that Southern ocean (remember a certain yacht race a couple of years ago boys) got a Kiwi mate that reckons 3-4 metre is not an abnormal blow up in and hour down there. Look at the boats they build, there made to take waves.

Only ever heard of an 8 metre swell this far north being in the middle of a cyclone (80+ Knots in a 5m tinny?).

Just to much water thats too deep I think. Front on a 8 m wave would be 12 m high.

Guest where just blessed in QLD. Make that I know we're blessed in Qld.

Did a quick search found this
http://www.windworker.com.au/qldcyclones.htm

This time "MAROONS"

Ads

[reef_king]

[color=#339900]QUOTE FROM FISHN-ADS

Reef_King

I'd cop your yarn if you where in New Zealand big seas down in that Southern ocean (remember a certain yacht race a couple of years ago boys) got a Kiwi mate that reckons 3-4 metre is not an abnormal blow up in and hour down there. Look at the boats they build, there made to take waves.

Only ever heard of an 8 metre swell this far north being in the middle of a cyclone (80+ Knots in a 5m tinny?).

Just to much water thats too deep I think. Front on a 8 m wave would be 12 m high.

Guest where just blessed in QLD. Make that I know we're blessed in Qld.


Ads,

I could have died on that trip to 1770 and "YOU" (who i might ad wasn't there) say that there is no way the waves could have been that big.

Multiple time this year alone.there has been waves recorded over 8m out off Brisbane. From memory a wave was recorded at 15+m out of Point Lookout, and this didn't happen during a "cyclone" but a deep low pressure system of the coast generating 60knot winds.

As for 4m waves off the coast of NZ being a common occurrence, they are off this coast too, and i'm sure fellow Ausfish member FOOKCHUCKER will agree as ive taken him fishing in 4+m waves, and i wasn't one bit worried about these waves as it's possible to drift fish in conditions like this in the cat.

Im sure there are ausfish members who have been out in similar
weather and can back me up.

ty,

[Blackened]

G'day
From personal experiance in regards to reef_king (ty). This bloke is genuine and fair dinkum. I've had the pleasure of meeting him and going for a run in his cat, one of wich i'm greatly interested in. He doesn't need to or would lie for whatever reasons so just give him a break. I do also recall 12-15m waves off the gold coast and north stradbroke earlier this year. If you dont buy the story then so be it, that's your call. Just dont go branding people if you dont know them
Dave

[RAGINGBULL]

My view

I surfed and did beach launches with fishing paddle skiis for 15 years
These teach you the very basic fundementals of negotiating the surf zone
The Skipper has the ability to make a split decision which can save a boat or loose a boat mostly based on experience.
The selection of boat is also critical.

I had an anchor some how come out on the caloundra bar and took 2 waves one over the 3/4 side and one over the back wheww !!! before i realised what was going on.
I used the rope and boat as a pendulum.
When we finally found a knife in ammongst the floating eskies
We cut it loose in the middle of the bar there was only one option and that was to use the weight of the boat too punch our way out.
If i had tried to run back to the beach i would possibly never have had the power to outrun the waves.
We fished the day for a good result.
2 sheathed knives are now strapped close at hand.

Never try turn in front of a wave even if it looks bigger than ben Hur and scares the Cr*p out of you, I have seen people do it and suffer the consequences.
You are much safer hitting it head on and busting through.
There are a plenty of options to take in a situation but the correct one is difficult to pin in a seconds judgement.

one more thing always ensure the peron you take out is fully informed of where and how everything is operated

Good old haines 146

Cheers Mark

[finding_time]

Ty

Dont worry abut it mate its not worth getting upset about!

The area you are talking about for the benifit of those that don't know gets very rough it has no protection from the open ocean #and is quite shallow ( around the 50m mark) i have know trouble believing your story at all.

Fishn-ads

I dive alot of wrecks and one in particular is situated of Kingscliff in 59meters of water we have dived this wreck alot over the years it is a 14m trawler and i have know idea what the weight of this vessel would be but it would weight abit. The bow of this wreck always pointed south the first two years that we dived it but about 2 weeks after very rough seas we dived it again and guess what the bow was pointing NE and the vessel had moved about 30m from its original resting place . What sort of sea do you think would be responsible for that?

#During the last few years of Moreton Island we have had winds in the sixty knot range and the wave rider bouys have shown swells well in excess of 12m so i dont think 8m is at all huge.

Ian

Just remember that if you jump on a forum and say that you dont believe someones story you are infact calling that person a lair and to do this in a public forum is defamitory. ;)

[redspeckle]

I am limted by how much fuel is on broad on the boat ;D
But seriously I am limted by weather conditions /swell direction and crossing the south passage bar don't like go out to far from it so if weather condtion start to go bad I got to go back far to cross it again
I do argee with the a lot of comments it up to the skipper skills that he has aqnd experince
Mitch C'MON THE COWBOYSin 2006