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If You Are Going Offshore

Almost PerfectAlmost Perfect Posts: 592 Officer
edited August 2019 in Big Bend General Fishing & The Outdoors #1
Be prepared. Most of you have people that want you to get home safe.

PLB's and EPIRB's are so reasonable these days that there is no excuse not to have one. 

Same with VHF radios with DSC networked to chart plotter. 

Have a well stocked first aid kit with bleed control like Israeli bandages or the like. You are potentially hours away from help.

Invest in type 1 life jackets.

Might be extreme for some but with my spot my non-fishing relatives and people I trust not to steal my fishing holes can follow me. Especially nice when we are doing trips across the stream or the Bahamas. It pings my location approx. every 5 minutes. 

I'll get off my soap box now but it is tough to watch a week long search get called off and now kids are being told that their dads aren't coming home.

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Contender 27 Cuddy
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Replies

  • Soda PopinskiSoda Popinski GrovelandPosts: 14,211 AG
    #2
    It is very sad yes.   And there is definitely no excuse not to have the proper safety equipment.   I always tell the Mrs what reef we are going to and when we should be checking in, and at what point she knows there is an issue.   Have those plans in place.  It won't ever happen to you..until it happens to you. 
    Yesterday's memories are not today's reality
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  • TwinfinsTwinfins Posts: 9 Greenhorn
    #3
    Almost Perfect. Which SPOT do you have and are you happy with it?
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  • mburke001 aka TripleBmburke001 aka TripleB Posts: 1,556 Captain
    #4
    Most importantly, as many here do, check the weather (I also have Sirius weather system on the boat) and maintain the boat before going out. Doesn’t matter offshore or inshore, should always have certain safety equipment (redundancy is good). 
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  • THINKICANTHINKICAN Homosassa, FLPosts: 583 Officer
    #5
    Absolutely agree with the safety equipment.  Can't believe my first trip to Bimini in a 21' Stamas we used a portable radio to get the "null" on the Bimini beacon.  It worked, but with all the new safety equipment these days I'd never even consider trying that again.  Of course, that was back in the 60's.  It only takes one "error" and you can be statistic.
    SO WHEN IS THIS "OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER" SUPPOSED TO KICK IN?
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  • SloughSlough S.w. Ga./ St. JamesPosts: 5,458 Admiral
    #6
    Don't skimp on safety equipment. Just the basics (what CG requires) is not enough. 
    I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you
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  • biglarbiglar Posts: 183 Deckhand
    #7
    Twinfins said:
    Almost Perfect. Which SPOT do you have and are you happy with it?
    Not your guy, but I'm curious as to performance of Spots on the ocean.  Should be OK, I'd think.  I used a Spot I and a Spot II (I think) extensively in the mountains and finally gave up on them.  Performance was so erratic and undependable they were worthless.  I still have my Spot II and will soon be in FL.  Might be handy, finally, after all.
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  • ANUMBER1ANUMBER1 Posts: 12,034 AG
    #8
    Slough said:
    Don't skimp on safety equipment. Just the basics (what CG requires) is not enough. 



















    actually the CG basics for commercial boats is really good..
    Maybe you should emulate that...
    I am glad to only be a bird hunter with bird dogs...being a shooter or dog handler or whatever other niche exists to separate appears to generate far too much about which to worry.
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  • lakemanlakeman Posts: 801 Officer
    #9
    I agree with everyone, but many diehard, wannabe  boaters with lower incomes do not or cannot or will not spend the money to equip their boat properly.  As most of us know, it is not if, but when a breakdown happens and this can happen on old or new boats.
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  • mburke001 aka TripleBmburke001 aka TripleB Posts: 1,556 Captain
    #10
    biglar said:
    Twinfins said:
    Almost Perfect. Which SPOT do you have and are you happy with it?
    Not your guy, but I'm curious as to performance of Spots on the ocean.  Should be OK, I'd think.  I used a Spot I and a Spot II (I think) extensively in the mountains and finally gave up on them.  Performance was so erratic and undependable they were worthless.  I still have my Spot II and will soon be in FL.  Might be handy, finally, after all.
    Get the minimum, a PLB, and use the Spot as a secondary. I have the Inreach Satellite Texting Communicator as a secondary. 

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  • capt louiecapt louie citrus countyPosts: 10,420 Moderator
    #11
    My PLB will be delivered any day now. Fished 40 years with out anything here. 

    Don't need to push my luck.
    "You'll get your weather"
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  • Almost PerfectAlmost Perfect Posts: 592 Officer
    #12
    Spot works pretty good. Would I trust my life to it? No. 
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Contender 27 Cuddy
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  • Top ContenderTop Contender Posts: 615 Officer
    edited August 2019 #13
    Inreach for offshore communication and tracking.
    Put your vessel numbers and name on your life jackets and life raft if you have one. 
    If you travel more than 30 miles offshore you should have two forms of communication as well as an EPIRB. Hand held as well as parachute flares, also dye packs.
    Have a Jim buoy life ring rigged with rope.
    Strobes attached to each life vest. 
    Have a plan, make sure your crew know where everything is. You may not be conscious, everyone needs to know how to deal with an emergency. 
    No body looses a vessel to a slow developing problem, if you’re gonna go down it’s cause things happen fast and/or panic sets in.
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  • OFFSHORECHICKENOFFSHORECHICKEN Posts: 54 Deckhand
    #14
    a plb,  good vhf,  a float plan of area you are fishing and route to and from, and stay with the boat if you can,  capsized or overturned,  stay with it,  anchor it if you can, they always find the boat,  kinda weird they didnt with the fire fighters,  it must of sunk,  
    :grin
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  • OFFSHORECHICKENOFFSHORECHICKEN Posts: 54 Deckhand
    #15
    why isnt there a float plan app that sends your info to a cloud server,  when you are overdue emergency responders search the cloud for your id,  pull off your float plan and start from there,  i tried to invent this 10 yrs ago but dont have the connections
    :grin
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  • AC ManAC Man Posts: 6,694 Admiral
    #16
    When I got older, and wasn't a idiot any more, my number one safety device in my mind was a life raft. 

    When I went offshore early on I carried a rolled up rubber float. At least kept me out of the water

    When I got my 36 Contender with friends and family running 100 miles offshore it was a must to have a life raft.. The older I got the more safety gear I had. Yes I had a EPIRB, but if you sink well offshore you are dead from hypothermia well before the Epitrb sends the rescue.
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  • THINKICANTHINKICAN Homosassa, FLPosts: 583 Officer
    #17
    Sounds to me as if those who know say all you can get is never too much.  Safety equipment!
    SO WHEN IS THIS "OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER" SUPPOSED TO KICK IN?
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  • M4RealM4Real Posts: 131 Deckhand
    #18
    I always wear a waterproof pouch on my hip that has a ACR PLB, three flares, a whistle, small flashlight, bubblegum, and two emergency packs of water in it. If I go in the drink, I at least have a chance.
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  • Salty Dawg44Salty Dawg44 Homosassa, FLPosts: 1,251 Officer
    #19
    Back when I was running fishing charters to the Gulfstream in South Carolina, I had an 8 man self inflating life raft that I permanently mounted in its canister on the bow of my boat. Peace of mind is well worth the expense.



    MY WORST FEAR......THAT WHEN I DIE MY WIFE WILL SELL ALL MY BOATS & FISHING GEAR FOR WHAT I TOLD HER I PAID FOR IT.......

    I may not always agree with what you say,
    but I will always respect your right to be wrong!
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