It only looks good in movie when you see a boat capsizing in the middle of the sea in heavy weather and the daredevil protagonist fighting all odds to rescue the lives of everyone on board! Outside the 90mm screen, the scene is horrifying and the worst nightmare of boaters. It is a thumb rule to be weather wise if you are into sailing and boats. Before you take your boat out, you are to check the weather forecasts and even once on the water, keep a constant check on the weather with the help of the VHF radio. The last thing you need in the middle of the sea is to be in an unfriendly weather condition, raging and towering waves and shell shocked passengers. Boat capsizing in heavy weather is one of the top reasons for boating accidents.
Had there been a special skills criteria for boaters, having developed a ‘weather eye’ would feature on the list. The best way to avoid heavy weather is to get to shore immediately but that is not a feasible option if you are on an extended tour. Thus you should prepare yourself and the vessel and the crew for what is to come.
Weather conditions vary in severity and boat sizes vary in size, type, design etc. It is thus obvious that the laundry list of precautionary items would vary too. Below are some things to do in case of approaching heavy weather.
What to do as a good skipper:
• The best thing you can do is to consult the weather forecast before leaving port.
• The crew must be aware of what to do when extreme weather arrives. Meet the crew, explain the situation to them and reassure. Keeping low in boat, not moving around excessively and avoiding going out on deck unless absolutely necessary must be followed.
• It is important to determine the position of the storm, speed, wind direction and estimate time to your location.
• All ports and windows must be closed and all hatches secured.
• Sloshing of water in the bilge can affect stability and thus it is important to pump them dry.
• It is important for the skipper to know the boat in and out. The operations, handling, maneuvering is the key in such adverse conditions.
• All the lose gears above the decks and below must be secured.
• Certain emergency items that you might need like hand pumps, first aid kit, emergency bailers sound signaling device etc must be kept ready.
• Make everyone wear their PFDs if they are not wearing it yet. As a skipper it is your duty to see to it that this has aspect of safety precaution has been taken care off.
• Plot your position on your chart. Also make note of the time, the direction you are heading and speed.
• The life raft must be kept ready to be deployed and the emergency food and water are in the raft.
• Be ready, you might even have to abandon the ship; review the procedures.
• Turn on the navigation lights.
• Keep an eye on floating debris and other sharp objects.
• If you have a choice, better not to operate the boat from the flybridge.
• Before taking the boat out, a boat test is mandatory. The boat review will help to pinpoint any malfunctioning of the vessel that can be immediately attended to.
Maneuvering the boat in the adverse heavy weather conditions is one of the toughest tasks the boaters have had to deal with. Caution is the key word here.
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