San Clemente Island’s East end, about 10 miles out
No surprise – running a small boat offshore can be hazardous. But three things – advanced electronics, reliable outboard motors, and marine towing services – have made the risks more acceptable. Add in a heavy dose of caution, common sense, and time on the water, and you’re about as well prepared as you can hope to be…
In this series of articles, we cover a bunch of topics that people venturing offshore in small boats need to think about.
Safety Defined
For purposes of discussion, we will define safety as:
“The ability to embark on a trip and return to port with the vessel afloat and crew unhurt”
This includes both boating and fishing issues.
Please note that this is NOT a discussion of general or basic marine safety. There are a number of sources for this kind of information, including the US Power Squadron, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, and reams of printed and on-line material.
In these articles we assume that you’re already familiar with basic rules of the road, coastal seamanship, and how to operate your skiff, so we’ll be focused on issues specific to fishing offshore from small open boats.
In this series:
- Getting out & back (fuel management, repairs at sea, and more) (In this post)
- Staying Afloat (“Excess Water Management”)
- Man Overboard! (Things to think about BEFORE and AFTER someone goes over the side)
- Fishing safety issues (Personal safety, boat handling issues)
- Is there a doctor in the house? (First-aid and other personal safety issues)
- Being seen (How to improve your chances of being seen offshore)
- Being heard (How to improve your chances of being heard offshore)
- Being Found (How to improve your odds of being found offshore)
- Prepping and practice (Getting ready for trouble, float plans, etc.)