February 12, 1997. Just after midnight, the two people aboard the 31-foot sailboat Gale Runner attempted to cross the bar at Quillayute River, Washington, in 50-mph winds and high seas. Gale Runner rolled over and was dismasted. The Coast Guard sent 44 foot Motor Lifeboat 44363 out immediately, only to become a casualty herself. In the storm, high seas, and darkness, 44363 hit a rock near James Island. Three of the four crew members died. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted the crew of Gale Runner just before she washed ashore south of the inlet.
July 14, 2003. The 32-foot charter boat Taki-Tooo attempted to cross the rough bar at Tillamook River, Oregon, to take 17 passengers fishing. Although three other boats had made the crossing under very rough conditions, Taki-Tooo rolled in the heavy seas, and 11 people, including the experienced captain, died. Only one of the passengers was wearing a PFD.
June 19, 2005. The 25-foot outboard powered Steiger Craft charter fishing boat Last Call, with a captain and four passengers aboard, capsized in Quick's Hole, Massachusetts, while under tow. One of the passengers drowned.
January 29, 2005. A 22-foot center console outboard with four people aboard tried to go to sea at Fort Pierce, Florida, in very rough conditions. No other boats had gone out that day, while there were strong NE winds, a fast ebb current, and swells breaking across the bar. Jason Arnold, a photographer, saw the boat capsize, and spread the alarm. The Palm Beach County Inflatable Rescue boat crew, The Sheriff's Department boat, and a TowBoatUS boat went out quickly in highly dangerous conditions, and were able to rescue the men from the water.
Of the millions of safe, or at least successful, bar crossings each year, a few become tragic. What steps are you taking to avoid becoming one of these grim accounts? After all, it is the boat operator's responsibility to judge the sea and bar conditions, and to determine whether or not the crossing will be safe.
Although there is a tendency to think that every product should be 100% safe, people take risks in recreation regularly, sometimes rather high risks. The risks become very high when operating in poor or marginal inlet conditions. Here is a series of questions to ask yourself to help determine the relative risk of going through an inlet.
How often have I taken my boat through this inlet? How often in these conditions? Low numbers indicate higher risk. Are there other boats going in and out? If so, you can watch to see how they fare. If it is Saturday morning at a popular inlet, and boats aren't going out, there is a good reason why they are not. How long has it been since I ran a boat through the inlet? Many inlets can change rapidly. I once bumped bottom in the channel inside our local inlet 10 days after there had been four feet of water under the keel at the same spot, at the same stage of the tide.
The inlet: What are the wind and sea conditions? A gentle swell offshore builds to a dangerous surf in shallow water. Are there any breakers in the inlet? How extensive are the breakers? Occasional whitecaps are OK, but an inlet showing breakers clear across the channel is dangerous. The most dangerous breakers are "curling" breakers, like the ones you see surfboards sliding down. They are deadly to a boat. Under certain conditions, breakers "spill" rather than curl over. The water foams up at the top, and slides along for a while with the wave. These are less dangerous to boats than curling breakers.
If you are entering an inlet, it is difficult to see the breakers, since the backs of waves look smooth. Hang around outside for a while, and watch to see if there are patches of foam after waves go in. That foam shows that the wave has broken.
If you are entering an inlet, it is difficult to see the breakers, since the backs of waves look smooth. Hang around outside for a while, and watch to see if there are patches of foam after waves go in. That foam shows that the wave has broken.
How deep is the water in the inlet? The deeper, the better. Low tide reduces the depth in shallow inlets significantly. What is the current? The flood is favorable, the ebb is dangerous. Remember that the currents are seldom synchronized with the tides. Often ebb current continues an hour or so after low tide, and flood continues an hour or so after high tide. This lag varies from one inlet to another, and from day to day. Check the Tidal Current Tables, rather than just the Tide Tables, so that you won't be confused. An ebb current, low tide, and onshore wind and seas combine to make the risk high.
How certain will I be of my position with respect to the channel? Do I have more than one way to determine your position? Do I know the courses to steer on the various legs of the channel? Is it day or night? Night increases the risk dramatically, making it difficult to see the sea conditions and the buoys. So does rain or low visibility.
The boat: Is my boat a seaworthy one? A flat bottom boat is poorly suited to rough seas in inlets. A deep-V boat does reasonably well, all other things being equal. Some moderate-V boats tend to yaw badly coming into an inlet. An open boat like a center console model is far less safe than a decked over boat of the same size. A large cockpit is worse than a flush deck, for obvious reasons.
What is the freeboard? A large boat with high freeboard has an advantage over a small one, but still can get into trouble. An outboard powered boat with a cutout stern can swamp in conditions that would not overwhelm a boat with a bracket mounted outboard.
How big are the rudders? Small rudders give low drag and high speed, but are very poor in an inlet. You want a large rudder or rudders, right behind the wheels. Boats so equipped are safer entering inlets, since it is easier to return to a safe course after a wave passes.
Communications: What do I rely on for communications? VHF-FM radio is excellent under most conditions. Be sure that you know the popular local working channel. But green water, swamping, and rolling over, the worst scenarios, usually put a VHF-FM radio out of action. A submersible hand-held VHF-FM radio is ideal for these casualties. Just shake the water off and call MAYDAY on 16. Cell phones don’t hold up in a dunking.
Do I have a reliable way of determining the inlet conditions? If you have friends who taken boats through the same inlet very recently, they can tell you about the sea conditions. Sometimes charter boat skippers are amenable sharing to this type of information, but generally you have to know them beforehand. If you are a member of a towing service, you can usually call their local tow boat operator on Channel 16, and shift to channel 9, to get some good up to date information. Be sure to let someone know that you are about to enter a rough inlet, and after you get through. Here, the cell phone works. In the extreme event that your boat swamps or capsizes, and no one knows about it, the danger is very high.
You may have an EPIRB, but it is a last ditch alarm. Unless you have a GPS/EPIRB, it may take a long time for anyone to know you are in distress. Remember, they won't know what your specific problem is just from the EPIRB signal. The false alarm rate for 406 mHz EPIRBS is on the order of 90%. The Coast Guard usually checks out the registration and other details by phone before responding.
Summary: Just how important is it to go though the inlet at the present time, anyway? If you are going out, is it likely to be so uncomfortable outside that you will want to come back in? Can you expect the sea conditions to improve, or to get worse, with changes in wind and tidal current? Is there a deeper and safer inlet nearby?
You can get a general idea of the danger involved by asking yourself questions similar to those in this article. You want to go in or out of an inlet, which involves risks, ranging from small to very great. Can you determine where on the your relative risk scale you might be? Have you decided on any no-go rules, such as the fact that the large charter boats or are not going out? If you have done these things, you can make an educated judgement about the wisdom of going through the inlet, and about any special precautions you might need to take.
SIDEBAR:
Worst Case Scenario: Rolling or Swamping
If the risk of running an inlet is high, there is always a chance that the people in your boat could wind up in the water. Even though the boat may get through, it is only too easy for someone to fall overboard in a rough inlet. In 1986, the Merry Jane, a 65’ charter fishing boat entering Bodega Bay, California; broached and lost 19 people overboard. Nine of them died.
If you find that you need a PFD after getting in the water, it is too late to get it and put it on. RULE: If it is rough enough to be concerned about inlet conditions, it is rough enough to have everyone on deck put on PFDs.
What type PFDs do you have aboard? If they are not Off-Shore Life Jackets (Type I PFDs), they are not designed for rough water. What sort of sea conditions do you encounter in an inlet that is kicking up? Rough, right?
Near-Shore Buoyant Vests (Type II PFDs) are inexpensive and popular, but have limitations in rough water. They often fail to turn the wearer face-up; this is a severe restriction. They are good for calm, inland water, or where there is a good chance of fast rescue.Flotation Aids (Type III PFDs) are comfortable and popular, and thus more likely to be worn that the other types. Yet they have the same limitations as Near-Shore Buoyant Vests. Inflatable and Hybrid PFDs are rated within the above Types. They are becoming popular, but vary greatly in their performance and ease of use. If it is night, does each PFD have a distress light? It is extremely difficult to find someone who does not have a light in the water at night. Throwable Devices (Type IV PFDs) are required aboard any boat over 16 feet in length, in addition to PFDs for everyone aboard. They are very useful, but often people in the water can’t reach them, or can’t hold on.
Worst-Worst: Overboard in Cold Water
What is the water temperature? Below 60° F., cold water is deadly. A person without a survival suit can succumb in seconds in cold water. The initial problem is “cold shock,” which research has shown to be more deadly and more frequent than hypothermia, which sets in later. If you survive the cold shock, swimming ability is severely impaired well before hypothermia sets in. In order to avoid cold shock, a survival suit is needed. If the water temperature is above 70° F., you have a far better chance of surviving. Above 77° F., cold is not much of a problem. If the water is, say, 55° F, and you only have Type II or Type III PFDs aboard, you would be in extreme danger should the boat swamp or roll.
