<h2>Knowing a few simple rules can literally save your life</h2>
<em><strong>By Ron Brooks</strong></em>

You’re thirty-five miles offshore in a small fishing boat and there is only one path back to the dock. The problem is – a big, offshore thunderstorm has built between you and the dock. What do you do? The decisions you make at this point could literally save your life.
<h3>Basic Facts</h3>
Let’s look at some very basic knowledge regarding offshore fishing or boating – things that every boater should know.
<ul>
	<li>The visible horizon distance on the water is about eighteen miles at sea level. For every foot you can get above the water, you extend the visible horizon distance. While you may not be able to see the shore or buildings on land from where you are, lookouts on a passing ship’s bridge will be able to see those landmarks. The higher you get, the more you can see.</li>
	<li>The same line of sight rule applies for VHF radio waves. Short of an atmospheric anomaly called skipping, VHF radio waves are only as good as a straight line of sight. Skipping happens as radio waves bounce off the atmosphere and back to earth, some- times several times. Where the waves return to earth, a radio receiver can pick them up, and sometimes that is several hundred miles away. As with the visible horizon, the radio wave, straight-line distance can be increased by getting up off the water.</li>
	<li>A boat antenna needs to be located at the highest point on the boat. That will extend the effective distance. Couple that with a shore antenna that is on a tower, and the radio horizon is extended a number of miles. • Even with a good antenna, the power driving the radio wave has to be sufficient to reach a distant antenna. Anyone going offshore without at least a twenty-five watt VHF is taking a big chance. Some boats head offshore with a five-watt hand held radio, and then wonder why they can’t raise anyone on a radio check. Some boats take a hand held twenty-five watt radio with a small antenna, thinking they are covered. While those radios are better than no radio, they are insufficient safety devices with which to head offshore beyond the visible horizon.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Troubling Situation</h3>
Here we are, twenty miles offshore, and the offshore thunderstorm clouds are building. As you judge the wind and watch the clouds, you can see that the whole system is heading right at you. In the distance, lightning bolts are lighting up the interior of the thunderhead, and thunder rumbles lowly. One thousand one... one thousand two... one thousand three... You count the seconds between the lightning flash and the thunder rumble. Every five seconds of sound delay is roughly one mile in distance. And still you fish.

What Happens in an Offshore Thunderstorm Thunderheads that build over land along the shore are miniature, self contained, low- pressure systems. As they move toward you the atmospheric pressure drops, and that drop in pressure does a couple of things.
<ul>
	<li>First, it causes the wind to pick up. As the pressure drops, wind begins to circulate around the system, heading down to the low pressure. In the northern hemisphere, that means a counterclockwise rotation, and the closer the storm gets, the higher the winds become.</li>
	<li>Second, it causes the fish to really turn on. If the air pressure drops, the relative water pressure drops as well. Fish can sense the pressure drop with their lateral lines. Knowing that the seas will soon be churning and dirty, many species, particularly shallow water and bottom fish, will “feed up” before the storm.</li>
	<li>It generally takes a combination of decisions surrounding the existing circumstances that lead to trouble. But fish going into a feeding frenzy, coupled with a decision to wait just “a little longer” are two that can really put a boat in jeopardy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Five Basic Rules to Follow</h3>
Let’s assume we make all the right decisions regarding the pending storm. What actions do we take? Here are some basic rules to live by if you fish offshore. They can give you peace of mind, but more importantly they can save your life.
<ol>
	<li>Never head offshore without at least a twenty-five watt VHF radio wired to a good vertical antenna. As you leave the dock, call for a radio check. The Coast Guard is not the right group to call at this point. They monitor channel 16, the hailing channel, but they are far too busy to be checking everyone’s radio. Call the dock master at the marina, or one of the several emergency boat towing agencies. They will gladly respond to a request for a radio check.</li>
	<li>Never leave the dock to head offshore without a full tank of fuel. You should have enough fuel to fish all day and return to the dock with no less than a half tank of gas remaining. That may sound high, but the reason will be clear as you read below.</li>
	<li>For a fishing vessel, the deepest water you can safely and conceivably anchor in is about 150 feet. Even at that depth, you need a lot of anchor line. Plan to have an anchor line that is at least seven times the depth at which you may have to anchor – more is better. This depth to line length is called “rode,” and it is an important factor in keeping your boat anchored in a heavy sea. Given the amount of line required in a heavy sea, anchoring offshore in a storm should absolutely be your last choice.</li>
	<li>Keep several sealed gallon jugs of fresh water safely stowed on board. The additional space and weight are negligible compared to the need for that water in a boat adrift at sea for several days. 5. The first four rules are not Coast Guard requirements; they are common sense. In addition to those first four, make sure your vessel meets all the Coast Guard safety requirements regarding PFD’s and signaling devices. You may need them.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Your Choice of Action</h3>
With the rules in tow, we can now make intelligent choices regarding the storm now heading our way.
<ul>
	<li>Make a call on the radio to verify what you see. Find out which way the storm is headed. Ask about the winds. Tune to the predesignated weather channel for your area. If you are beyond the line of sight distance, ask any boat you can hail to relay your request. Find out what the storm is doing. Sometimes they build over the coast and sit until they cool off the air around them. Sometimes they move offshore.</li>
	<li>If the storm is heading offshore, our first choice is to run, not away from it, but perpen- dicular to it. Heading for the dock is not possible; that puts us right in the teeth of the storm. Head ninety degrees in either direction and run out of the storm’s path. You now see the reason to have sufficient fuel! If the storm is large, you may need to run ten miles or more. If you make this choice early, it will likely be the only choice you need to make.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Riding Out the Storm</h3>
In the event you can’t outrun the storm and get out of its path, it’s time to batten down, don life jackets, and prepare for a ride. Seas can increase with amazing speed, and the danger factor multiplies equally fast.
<ul>
	<li>Keep the boat in gear and headed into the seas at an angle of five to ten degrees to the wind. Heading directly into big, steep waves will tend to bury the bow into the face of the next wave. A slight angle allows the boat to roll slightly, keeping the bow out of the water on the next wave. Too much angle will cause the boat to “breech” and possibly roll over.</li>
	<li>Use only enough engine power to safely mount and ride over the oncoming waves. At this point the engine is the only tool that can help you accomplish boat positioning, and positioning is the only pertinent issue. Once again, your earlier fuel decisions play a major role.</li>
	<li>Rain and water over the bow can fill a boat faster than most people envision. A good bilge pump is a necessity; make sure it works and that you use it as you ride out the storm. • Anchoring becomes a choice only when your engine power is either dead or insufficient to keep your boat positioned. Without power, the boat will turn sideways to the wind in a breech. The very next thing that will happen is an overturned vessel with people in the water.</li>
	<li>Be prepared to get an anchor over quickly, but only as a last choice. The need for a long anchor line should be obvious. The anchor will, as it goes down, act as a drag and possibly pull the bow of the boat back into the wind. As it reaches bottom, feed out as much rode as possible and tie the line off on a bow cleat. Now, sit tight, keep the bilge pumps running and ride out the storm.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Plan Ahead to Avoid Disaster</h3>
Riding out a storm in a small vessel is a harrowing experience. The amazing thing is that with few exceptions, there is no need to go through that experience. Proper planning and preparation will take care of the circumstances before they become an issue.
<ul>
	<li>Check the weather reports. We call the forecasters “weather guessers” at times, but overall, they are pretty accurate, particularly regarding afternoon thunderstorms. Plan your trip’s conclusion to avoid the storms.</li>
	<li>If storms build while you are offshore, make a decision early to either head in or run out of the storm’s way. Staying to catch that last fish will needlessly get you in big trouble. The fish will be there another day – make sure you are there with them!</li>
	<li>Most of all, use common sense. That common sense tells us to be prepared even before we head out – and that means following the five rules we have already listed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
Should we fear the water? No – but we need to have a whole lot of respect for the power that a storm can generate on that water. And, we need to be prepared to address that power.