New Forum for Safety
 

As I sit here at 3 AM dealing with the insomnia of adjusting to coming home from China Sunday and thinking about getting out of there 24 hours before the quake hit and just being "lucky" unlike the thousands of people who are living with or died as a result of such a massive disaster I find myself thinking about safety in everything I do especially fishing and boating. I've decided that if I run the boat this year (which I probably will in spite of the gas) that I will increase my foucus on boating safety. I always considered myself a safe boater for everyone on board, (always wore a PFD when alone, personally walked newcomers through all safety equipment prior to departure, etc) but I could be safer. For instance, I will buy an ePerb this year regardless of the cost.

There have been so many informative posts on safety on this site. (Unfortunately so many of them following an accident such as the lobsterman lost of the Isles of Shoals this weekend.) I wonder if it might be an idea to have a forum dedicated to safety so that boaters and surf casters alike can go to a single forum for all that great info.

Just the thoughts of one fisherman in the wee hours.

Tight AND SAFE lines to all!

Fish On,

Great idea. Glad to hear you made it home safely, too. Things can happen so quickly on the water, by the time a situation develops it might be too late. As humans, we tand to have this feeling that it always happens to the other guy and not us.

A number of years ago, I think it was 1996. I worked for a skipper on occassion from Chatham. He is a ledgendary charter skipper in Chatham and has been for a number of years. He was fishing a rip in the fog as he had done ten thousand times before when a yahoo in a large Hatteras came roaring through the fog at full cruise and literally ran him over. Killed one member of the charter and a second lost him leg as a result. To me, that is absolutely terrifying. I know for the Captain it was the darkest day of his life. It is on all of us to take the time to be prepared and to be safe on the water, not just for our lives but for the others around us.

Great decision getting an epirb. I bought one a few years ago when I wanted to go offshore for tuna. I wouldn't go without one. I got around the cost issue by asking myself, "If my boat sank out from underneath me 40 miles offshore in the fog, how much would I pay to have an epirb with me then?"

I think that is a great idea.
I'm an overly cautious guy already but I was thinking the same thing. Guestson board, most of the time, don't realize what goes into boating and the huge responsibility it is to make sure everyone is having fun and most importantly SAFE.

Even though I've been around my dad's boats my whole life, I've only owned my own boat for a few years. I think many new owners don't take into account this responsibility either. Just simply because they are not aware. Kind of like a 3 year old with a hot stove.

That's a great idea Fish On, glad your home safe.

YES

I've been thinking how to approach this but you are right, there should be more focus on safety.

What do we need? Anyone have any good articles or want to come up with ideas?

Glad you made it out in time. That was a truly violent quake and the loss of life will be staggering

great idea i agree
 

this section can be about on shore and off shore fishing safety...

because of the water factor....

i'll never forget the time that i was just trout fishing in a river
feeling so good...lots of trout around...good company...and suddenly i got knocked over...and i'm only standing in less than knee high water to begin width... but i'll tell yah... it happened so fast that the strong current had me pinned down and i was trapped by it
trying to gurgle for air... and if not for a good friend standing there to give me a hand up......... i probably would have drowned. :hs:

one of those situations where the danger .....wasn't obvious at all.

i think it would be a great place to point out the dangerous stuff.
as well as the safety issues.

i was under the impression that safety was for #@$!s :hihi:

Wow, Hooper. That is a real nightmare.

John, I don’t have any great articles to start us off with, but we could start with some general safety measures that we should all take and we can also share great resources such as Chapman Piloting which to me is the holy grail of safe boating. Every that owns a boat should read this book.

With so many shore fishermen and women on the site I agree the forum should apply to both.

By the way, fish4striper told me about a mass ePirb buy by Shane from reel-time. Does anyone have his name on s-b.com? I’d like to pm him that I am also interested.

Thanks!

Keith, Clear your pm's

radar reflector
radar reflector
radar reflector

anything short of a hatteras with a giant superstructure won't show up on radar.

i've done a myriad of trips coming into and out of chesapeake bay and every charter boat/wahoo/idiot/whathaveyou without a radar reflector in a boat under 35 feet either showed up as a tiny blip (that could be confused with a channel marker) OR DID NOT SHOW UP AT ALL esp the guys in 18-25 foot CC's. you don't show up. your TTop is not a radar reflector. it does not show up.

also not all reflectors are created equally.

I would gladly write up the tale of the night John R and myself were at a South County location and I lost my footing in waste deep water only a few feet from shore. Undercurrent and a slow swell did not seem that bad but I could not get my feet back under me. I was under a few times and struggling hard until John realized I was in a bit of trouble and stuck the but of his rod in my chest (homoerotic comments may begin) so that I could grab on and get some stability to stand up. What seemed like a very safe locatin wasn;t so safe. I was rattled for sure. Good thing was the cigarettes were under my skinz top so they stayed dry.

EPIRB
 

Fish On:

Clean out your proivite Message Box. I tried to send you a note about the

Brand New EPIRB in a box that I need to sell.


http://home.maine.rr.com/newengland/...ing%20Post.htm

So, what do you recommend then?

I recommend doing some reading. :D
http://www.theradarreflectorsite.org/

I don't think it's going to do much good. Regardless of awareness - which is at an all-time high - people are going to continue to engage in risky behavior. We live in a society that embraces risk to such a degree where people who are risk aversive are viewed as effeminate rather than sensible.

pm's cleared

How about everything needed for a Coast Guard sticker seal of approval, such as first aid kit, falres that are up tp date, etc...

That should be a good start.

Coast Guard is our front line
 

they have all the power now of any branch of the military

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/bill.jpg

They always have.
And are the least funded.

This is my check list for every time I go out, even for a short ride.

1 Both batteries have full charge (also the backup one too)
2 Radio is working and a radio check before heading out
3 A PFD for everyone onboard and where they are stored
4 All electronics are working GPS, etc..
5 A workin compass for back up
6 A battery operated handheld radio for backup
7 First Aid kit & a blanket
8 Up to date flares and flare gun
9 A throw floation device
10 A working bilge pump (with a working backup)
11 Spare spark plugs and tool kit
12 Last but not least NO alcohol onboard.