Do's and don'ts for inlets

[Ana]

Is your ocean access through an inlet or pass?

What is the inlet shape and type?

Is it a natural pass that moves with storms/winds?

Is it next to a bridge?
If so... does the bridge have an open substructure with minimal water constriction or is it just a pair of solid walls that creates a washing-machine effect?

Do you share the waterway with cruise ships the size of small towns?

What do you look for crossing it?

What lessons have you learned on your local inlet/pass?

What do you do when some other boat cuts you off in the middle.... or starts getting so close to your stern, you can pretty much grab the anchor from its bow?


I know we can beat any subject to death in here, but haven't seen anything about navigating inlets.

 

[Nemrod]

I am not about to start second guessing the professional captain in the incident that may be instigating this thread. I am not terribly experienced but have run a few inlets. The ones I am most familiar with are Galveston, Destin East Pass and Panama City St Andrews and Pensacola but I have visited Gold Coast East Florida passes as well. There are some rules that apply everywhere and some specific to the pass. In general, I stay away from having to return on an outgoing tide. My boat is small, a 19 foot Boston Whaler Outrage. But, small center consoles can do things large boats cannot do such as turn on a dime and accelerate like a Saturn V. That said, as far as I am concerned, bigger is better when running a pass, I guess.

I look at the seas, the the traffic and watch the locals and then I may decide it is to much for me or my boat or both. The East Pass at Destin is not to be taken lightly but I have seen some huge standing waves in Pensacola. I try to time the wave sets, guage their forward speed and then pick the smnallest one that is of a set that runs through and then get on it's backside and put the hammer down and hope I can stay on it. The water is often aerated and it can be a challenge not to over run it and fall off the top or for that matter lose traction and fall off the back and then get pitch poled by the oncoming wake or more likely in my small center console, stern swamped and capsized.

My boat likes a big 4 blade Rev 4 prop for traction in aerated water, I trim out a little and tabs up coming in, going out, if the waves are not too bad (in which case hopefully I will not be going out) I may put some tab down to get the bow down enough to punch through rather than letting the wave push me way up and loose momentum. Once committed, pretty much need to go, do not turn around. Well, sometimes it is possible to turn, the maneuverability part. Sometimes it is even possible to run across the backside/trough or zig zag a bit to keep with the wave speed.

The Hillsborough inlet and Boynton, wow, is all I can say. Unless it is a really nice, stable day, I just hire me a pro captain, not worth the risk for my little boat.

Also, especially in small boats, make sure everything is very well secured, passengers in jackets and standing behind the console in case I punch a wave, they do not get washed out. Also, especially for small boats, make sure it is understood that a lifejacket can kill you if you come up under the boat and it is capsized trapping you under it and drowning.

I have swam through surf, I used to surf a little, that no small vessel could reasonably negotiate, I have often told my wife, I would rather not be in the boat if it goes over. I would rather take my chances swimming (assuming warm water), let the insurance company get me a new boat, better yet, if it is not a blue sky, no seas, day, stay inside.

Back some (many) years ago, my friends and I in a BW 15 footer, we were filled with water when we fell off the back of a wave coming into Destin East Pass. A wave came over and swamped the little boat from the stern, fortunately, we were young, dumb and stupid and lucky in that we just hung to the sides and it did not flip, we somehow washed up on the sandbar inside the East Jetty, close to were people now dive. Bailed her out and continued on. If that boat had rolled over on us, might not have ended that way, but for whatever reason, it didn't. That is for another discussion and probably divine intervention.

N

 

[manni-yunk]

I have run a lot of inlets - and some of the tougher ones on the East Coast.

Generally speaking - and this is NOT all inclusive - I see a few pretty common mistakes.


1) Maintain some speed. When you get caught in the washing machine effect, as it was called in the OP, if you dont have water moving over the rudder at you minimum boat speed - you can get turned easily.

2) With a incoming tide - as you approach the inlet -DO NOT HAVE YOUR BOAT tabbed with the bow down. Even in a relatively calm sea state - the incoming waters converging at the inlet can be enough to plow your bow under and roll the boat forward as the wave works under the boat. Generally speaking - never tab the bow down in a following sea for this same reason.

3) Stop and watch the inlet if you are unfamiliar with it. Im never ashamed to call the coast guard or Sea Tow and ask for advice on how/where/when to run the inlet. One time in the outer banks we asked to follow a local as he approached because the inlet was marked so poorly and we heard rumours of a lot of people running aground.

4) Know how your boat handles - know how to anticipate your boats reaction to changing seas as they change quickly in an inlet.

5) Dont run half way through the wash.....then decide you dont want to run the inlet and turn around....you dont want to get sideways in certain sea states and once you pass a certain point - you are safer moving the rest of the way through VS risking turning the boat around (having to get "beam to" for the turn).


6) Know the boat you are running and its limitations. Ive seen guys that are used to running 40-50ft sportfishers get themselves into trouble trying to run the same inlet conditions in a 19-21 ft CC.


I could probably write dozens of mistakes that Ive seen, or made.....but these were the first ones that jumped into my mind.