Rough Seas Question ***Video***

That's a pretty foul handling boat. A couple of times the boat was running on the side and the starb'd side of the hull. He was pretty much surfing at that point. It wasn't exactly yacht club but I assume everybody walked off so it'll do.

I'd say he was very lucky. I'd also say he had no business trying it if there was any alternative harbor. Yah, a drogue would have helped, even riding it out offshore may have been a better idea. He made it so Yay! but there's no guarantee he will next time he tries it.

Pretty hard to tell from the video and I won't pass judgement based on this alone. I know I've been through some equally difficult bar crossings. Crossing when there is breaking surf is always dicey, particularly when you don't have sufficient power to ride out and not get turned beam to. This is when all the crap in the tanks gets stirred up and a filter clogs at just the wrong time. If anything does go wrong, it's over.

Bar crossings can be fun, but they can also bite you. If you must enter, then do so at a slack (flood or ebb) for the best conditions. Do everything you can to keep your boat on the back of a small wave. If possible, ride one wave all the way in. In a boat such as this, you'll end up alternating between riding and surfing since you won't have the speed to keep up with the surf. So, keep the boat perpendicular to the waves and don't get turned beam to. If you do get turned, use all the power you have to get back straight or turned to take the next wave on the bow. Taking a set on the beam is a surefire way to meet your Coasties up close and personal. That nearly happened to this captain.

There used to be a good video available out of Australia about bar crossings where they wrecked a couple of boats during filming. Not sure if it's still available or not but it was a pretty good tutorial.

Speed and surfing are the killers in that situation, you need to let the following sea get under and past the hull, vessels with broad transoms do not do well in those situations, pitch poling is always a possibility and he was close a few times, slow down and let the sea state slide under, maintain steerage where possible at the lowest speed. If you know that rudder speed and design cannot cope with that condition, stay out.

It's really hard to tell how high the seas are. They looked to be 8-10s but the whole boats disappears when it's down in the trough so they're probably twice that. When that boat starts surfing down the face its being steered by the bow. The high bulwarks seem to make the boat top heavy

Hi there,

With respect to what everybody has posted, I would like to say what I think.

The skipper, despite getting so close of a beam roll, managed to trail a straight path into the inlet. This is what can be made from the video. You have to factor in that such a "Work Boat" is heavy, runs at a slower top speeds, might be a single screw, it is apparently top heavy, maybe was fully or near fully loaded with catch, yet even the mast disapears in between the waves!

Mixing "Pleasure Boating" where you have the luxury of controlling your schedule and spending more time out, with the operations of "Work Boats" is not right. Just remember that you say "Its nice weather today, let go fishin!" While the say "The weather is (bad) good for making a living, lets go and support our families!"
Also keep in mind that many Inlets (Sand bars) are like that everyday during the fishing seasons, and all the time, so your only bet would be either get in and make a living or stay out and miss the season! I bet no pleasure boater had to make that choice!

Another thing is, when you speak about weather from the comfort of your keyboard you make it sound VERY predictable to the T! Well, it is not! and I think all would agree that when making weather related decisions you take your "best guess" on how things MIGHT be, if you decide not to go and the weather runs well, then you are happy you did not take a chance, if you go out and it runs bad, then should you be called an idiot?

Again, pleasure boating with open schedule and investment based on saftey for having fun, is TOTALLY different than commercial operations where schedules are tight, lots of money is involved, like when you as a pleasure boater wait in the comfort of your seat for your boat to arrive through bad weather aboard another boat, under responsibility of another "idiot" skipper who is ready to be shaken around abit by rough weather to get the job done!

This is not a tour sail boat, where a captain stratched his luck with his decision to sail around what grew to be a superstorm, and then had "murphy" stand in his face, disable some of his essential tools.

Another example of how boating location do vary is, sport fishing on the east coast, the west cost and around Australia or New Zealand! Good fishing weather for those on the east coast is something those in Australia speak of as an urban mith!

Sorry for making this long, just felt like saying my mind with no offense to anyone intended.

Cheers,

Well said Mr. Alfred...

hi judy i am doing fine i would bet the capt has done this before it was probably no diffrent to him than the things we go through the diffrent narrows and passages through canada or alaska to fish the bering sea , we will be leaving the 27 th for dutch probably just run strait up as we normaly do , depending on weather it will take 7 to 9 days running 24 hours a day , if the weather gets sloppy mabay i can take a few pictures and post them have a great x-mas

travler

Very true ...

2 yrs old this footage but it's still a classic ..Captured by the onboard CCTV Ferry to Lerwick , Shetland

CCTV Footage from a ferry trip to the Shetland Islands - YouTube

Would this bar crossing be considered fairly routine by Iceland's standards? The North Atlantic can be pretty gnarly at times. Given that the commercial fishing fleet operates with schedule and financial constraints it may not be all that unusual.