posted 09-17-2010 01:45 PM ET (US)        

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YCWvkFxTuk

and then ......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VoZ0AXd85Y&feature=related

The guy was ticketed for what I'm not sure .... the inlet was not closed to traafic, there was no storm/small craft flags flying or weather warnings. He man ... just having some controlled fun.

posted 09-17-2010 06:45 PM ET (US)            

It's gotta be a blast to get out in knarley stuff and must be a rush when big wave catches the boat and you surf in. I know I go out on Lake Mich in chop looking for big yacht wakes and ride them for awhile with the Outrage 17. Fun aint' straight and smooth - I'd like to have a few beers with that dude. I just wish we had longer period between waves around here like California.

I've been trying to setup races but no takers on this site now I'm thinkin' Whaler Rodeo - why not?

posted 09-19-2010 10:04 AM ET (US)            

If you were playing in the inlet you can see if someone wants to come in the inlet. Where I play the inlet is big so their is tons of room in Jones Inlet.

posted 09-19-2010 03:28 PM ET (US)         

We down-sized from a 21' center console a few years ago and bought our 150 Sport. What was once an almost casual transit of the inlets in the 21' became a terror-stricken roller-coaster ride over 4 to 6 foot breakers in the Whaler until we practiced - a lot.

It can (and probably will) be pointed out that I shouldn't take such a small boat through the inlet in these conditions, but that's where the ocean is and that's how you get there.

posted 09-19-2010 05:16 PM ET (US)            

The guy in the Whaler was doing nothing that is not done daily at the USCG Surfboat School: I guess what's good for the Coasties ought to be good for other Mariners. There's nothing wrong in gaining experience and confidence in ones boat and skills in conditions that are safe enough to be "safe" and yet challenging enough to be "challenging". All I see in the video, being a local, is just another of the (many) days when the inlet has a decent ground swell entering it, and a guy in a Whaler actually using the boat. The most dangerous thing was the buffoon-cop, who might well have fallen in while he was gesticulating to someone who was violating no regs, laws, ordinances, or anything else. As far a "wake free" zones, your wake needs to be larger than the underlaying natural wave condition to be considered a "wake"... the right entry speed for any inlet is at the speed of the waves.

Dave

posted 09-19-2010 10:45 PM ET (US)            

So he was either doing it for kicks or practice or both -- and if he flipped or whatever he knew the risks, his ass and no one on board in peril. Not sure about the dog but they swim pretty well and usually survive. I knew too many white water dogs (as in canines) who were perfectly able to swim swift water and rapids out west including this one lab that my buddy's friend owned on the Wilson R. That river would blow out winter flows, no one would run it in a hard boat and that dog would fetch sticks all day long in the worst conditions. The dog would bring him a stick, dude would chuck it out in the current, dog would launch out into the maelstrom, and we'd watch him go around the river bend, out of site. 20 minutes later he'd be trotting up the road, soaking wet, stick in his mouth ready to go again.

I don't know anything about hurricanes but I do know when the winds howl and those huge fronts come in here in West Mich (like last week - lake Mich had 16 footers) or Oregon Coast, surfers, kite boarders, surf kayakers and who knows who else are in heaven. I do not, however, see any boats out in those conditions here even the Coasties at Grand Haven - or at least not yet.

posted 09-20-2010 10:47 PM ET (US)            

Ships in harbor are safe, but that is not what ships are for.

You either "get that", or you don't.

The inlet that day was nothing special: The so-called "Hurricaine" was a great big zilch here, and all we had was one drop of rain on the window, winds of 15=20 knots (yawn), and a basic ground swell no larger than any of the other dozen offshore disturbances we see each year.

I wrote the following on risk a while back. It's become a bit of a classic among those who "Get It".

Enjoy.

http://nobubblediving.com/philos.htm

Best,

Dave

posted 09-21-2010 09:59 AM ET (US)            

I'm guessing once the cop committed to walking out there, it didn't matter - the ticket was written. When he himself almost got swept into the water, the ticket-coffin was nailed shut.

posted 09-21-2010 10:31 AM ET (US)            

Living life, guys, versus plodding back and forth from home to work listening to that terminal clock tic-tockin' your life away as eternity approaches. Great little piece of video, bluewaterpirate. Thanks.

Tony

posted 09-21-2010 10:50 AM ET (US)            

I agree .... If you notice at the end of the first video he heads out of the inlet to the NE. My wife and I transit inlets worse than that one a regular basis to fish.

posted 09-21-2010 11:10 PM ET (US)            

quote:

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This Sunday (November 19, 2000) Randy Crum was kind enough to take me out in his 1975 Classic Outrage 19.

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posted 09-22-2010 12:27 PM ET (US)            

As far as obstructing traffic....he didn't.

When we were 16, my friend and I used to go out in conditions considerably worse than what was in the video in my friends Montauk. The harbormaster just waved to us as we left the harbor. The only other vessel out there would usually be the Coast Guard in their 44 practicing in heavy weather. They would just wave to us as well.

I'm sure our mothers would have killed us if they new we were out in those conditions but we just made sure we came home safe every day.

Read this story...the skipper knew his boat was safe in the Perfect Storm....aparently nobody else thought so.

posted 09-23-2010 01:15 AM ET (US)         

Just me? Maybe?

posted 09-23-2010 05:12 AM ET (US)            

why run the inlet? There is more to it than simply running offshore. Stacking waves developed in shallow water and swell running against current are more often found while running bars outside inlets. The guys I know only run the extreme stuff by mistake, and if they get away with it don't usually make the same mistake again...until the memory fades or they have to go in to pull someone elses fat out of the fire.

It used to be that young males tended to push the envelope of most anything they operated, and having done so myself I know that there are skills developed that are not gained in any other way (mostly repair skills). There is a time and a place for everything and most of my skills were developed purposely where there was no audience.

Times have changed some with the development of the video camera and more importantly with the advent of u-tube. Shows like "jack ass" have fueled the flames of idiots doing stupid things for their moment of fame.

I doubt that the guy in the whaler was doing anything for an audience. My guess is there's nowhere he can go to keep from having an audience. Having a full grown dog along was probably a bad idea. He should have used a puppy for more chick appeal.

Having been "along for the ride" in a similarly sized boat as that 48' sportfisherman I can tell you that's a bad feeling. Too bad that it ended that way. No doubt the skipper had lots of experience and I'm sure his fall prevented him from making the correct inputs to the helm.
It looked like a pretty seaworthy vessel to right itself from such a violent maneuver.

posted 09-23-2010 07:38 PM ET (US)            

I know several hundred guys who cross bars every time they want to fish. Most fish by themselves. Usually the older guys have already had their jets cooled and realize that it's not worth getting beat up, breaking equipment, and scaring themselves. Unfortunately it's the younger guys with young families, pushing a little harder to try and bring home a few more bucks, that don't come home. The point of this ramble is to consciously reexamine the risk/benefit equation of a go/no go decision especially for crossing bars.

One more thought about equipment then I'll shut up.
Over the years the worst rides I have had through inlets and across bars have for the most part been aboard underpowered heavy boats in following seas.

I am a firm believer in having the most horsepower and acceleration that I can reasonably have for any boat I will be using for running through inlets or bars.

posted 09-24-2010 12:15 PM ET (US)         

quote:

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Maybe the guy just didn't [care] what anybody thought and was just out having fun in his Whaler during weather and water conditions in the area where he boated? But an audience when you're doing something cool is, well, cool in and of itself - the bigger the better; boats, waves, crowds, cajones..... ta-tas(?)
Just me? Maybe?

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posted 09-24-2010 12:16 PM ET (US)         

quote:

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One more thought: why is this guy's activity thought by some to be qualitatively different from white water kayaking/rafting, class 5/6 rock climbing, big wave surfing, solo ocean passage-making, or, most dangerous of all, falling in love? All have their inherent risks, but ah! the rewards...for some at least ;-)
Tony

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Right on brother.

posted 09-24-2010 04:55 PM ET (US)            

maybe time for a count:

posted 09-24-2010 05:54 PM ET (US)            

What if the engine had stalled? Indeed, always a problem on the water. What I've I'd been sucked down by a whirlpool? I stayed away from phenomena that I could see the bottom of. What if I'd been stuck by an ejected log? Well, there's risk in all sorts of recreational activities. The point is to manage those risks to your own level of comfort.