Go/No Go Conditions in a 23'

[castnetcracker]

Hey Guys,

So after a week in the keys and a couple offshore trips out of Canaveral I have a good idea of what is "safe" in my 23 but curious what wind/swell is the line for go/no go on an offshore trip to the gulf stream? Obviously everyone has a different idea for what is comfortable.

[Capt Chuck]

Remember this
The gulf stream can be very rough when the wind bucks its northern flow.
A cautious mariner must always be aware of changing sea conditions that can destroy your perfect day. The return voyage is just important as the run out to the fishing spots.
N, NW or NE winds will chop the stream and turn that 2'- 4' seas into nasty conditions....
Use your beaner

[Old'sCool]

The stream is about 50 miles one way for me. I like flat.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by Old'sCool

The stream is about 50 miles one way for me. I like flat.

Me too....


The boat can handle more than I can.

[thehermit]

Originally Posted by flyingfrizzle

Me too....


The boat can handle more than I can.

Totally agree with this. The boat can handle more than you would want to be out in! Like Chuck said....plan.

[uncleboo]

ummm...15 for us, (out of Hatteras) . If we get a good day, we gone! Will be at Nags Head from the 13th through the 20th.

[cdavisdb]

The boat can definitely handle more than you want to, assuming the driver knows what he is doing. In the stream, driver knowledge can get real important , real fast, and it depends a lot on the direction of travel relative to where the weather is coming from. The stream can develop big, heavily breaking waves, quick. Running parallel is not a big deal as long as you stay away from the breakers. Going into them or especially, away from them is a different story. If it gets nasty unexpectedly, coming home parallel to the sea is a good idea even if that gets you to shore a long way from where you started from.

I'd say, for most boaters, stay out of the stream if the wind direction is anywhere from the north at more than 10 knots, or 15-20 knots if from the south. If there is the possibility of big squalls with a lot of wind, stay home or at least not far into the stream. Predicted sea state doesn't mean much when a big squall comes along.

[Fr. Frank]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Predicted sea state doesn't mean much when a big squall comes along.

Boy is there a lot of truth in THAT statement.

I will generally avoid offshore in a 23' if the seas are greater than 3'-5' or forecast to become so. For my 20' Seafari, I arbitrarily set my limit to 2-4'. My 18' handles seas even better than my 20', but I set my limit on that to 2-4' as well.

That being said, I WILL go out in 3-5' in coastal waters, less than 9 miles, but that assumes the seas are forecast to subside and are already beginning to do so.

But even the weather forecast is wrong frequently....

I went out in a 25' Robalo in '86 in late April to go after King Mackerel, along with two friends. Boat had twin 200 Mercs, and was a brand new boat and motors, and I was a licensed 100 ton captain, but only 26 years old.

We left Palm Beach Gardens and out Jupiter Inlet at about 11 a.m. when seas were 3-5, with very occasional 7', and choppy. Wind was out of the NNE at 12-15 knots, forecast to continue changing to SE dropping to 8-10 kts by 4 p.m., with seas subsiding to 2-4' by around 6 pm and 1-3' by midnight. Great fishing weather.... or so we thought.

But the wind stopped it's forecast directional change, becoming ENE at 15-18 knots by around 4 p.m., with seas increasing to 6-9', with occasional 12' rollers. Scary big stuff. At one point, while still drifting, we were rolled to about 60 degrees, and I was sure we were going to capsize. But the wave passed beneath us and didn't break.

So we headed south at about 7 knots for Lake Worth Inlet, some 20 miles away, knowing that Jupiter Inlet is impassable in those conditions. By the time we got to Lake Worth Inlet at the Port of Palm Beach at around 7 pm, it was nearly dark, seas were easily 7-10', and consistently breaking over 20' high in the mouth of the inlet on a strong ebb tide.

I turned quartering into the waves to take the time to talk it over with my buddies, with me arguing for riding the wind and seas out just NE of the Inlet for a couple of hours, as the weather radio was still calling for the wind and seas to subside, and we had over 100 gallons of fuel. Both my buddies wanted to try to run the inlet.

As we waited for about 30 minutes, not one but TWO small freighters (under 200') turned into the wind and dropped their anchors a couple miles offshore rather than run the inlet in those conditions. We watched a big Ocean sport-fisher run in, and when she settled in between the waves following a big wave in, even the upper station and crow's nest were below the tops of the waves and disappeared from sight, leaving only the tips of the outriggers visible.

I called the Coast Guard at Peanut Island and told them we were going to attempt the inlet, and then I slid in on the backside of what seemed to be a 25' wave, keeping the bow halfway up the back of the wave. Fortunately, I plenty of power to adjust my speed frequently.

No problems. Smooth as silk, we slid into the inlet as the wave petered out underneath us and went straight to the dock at Sailfish Marina, where I, a non-drinker, threw down 2 shots of Bacardi Gold.

I never, never go out in questionable weather anymore, just because the NWS THINKS the weather is going to improve.

[Bigshrimpin]

If you have 20 minutes. Please read and watch

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...t=29768&page=2

If you don't have 20 minutes, please forward ahead to 5:20 and watch the rest later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KZe...ature=youtu.be

[cdavisdb]

Now that is more than a little bit bumpy.