Safety First: Navigating Your Boat In Severe Weather

For some people, boating is a recreational pastime. For others, it's their livelihood. Regardless of your reason to set out to sea, it's important to keep in mind some general safety tips, particularly when bad weather hits. Here are a few guidelines for handling your craft when a storm or fog sets in.

-Have your crew or guests stay low in the boat and refrain from moving around too much.
-Distribute personal flotation devices and emergency equipment, and make sure the life raft is equipped with food and water in case you need to abandon ship.
-Have jack lines and life lines ready to keep your passengers from falling overboard. Require anyone going on deck to wear a safety harness.
-If you have a marine GPS system, determining your position and course is an easier task. If you don't have one, plot your position on your chart, noting your time, heading, and speed. If possible, readjust your course to reach the nearest sheltered waters.
-Keep your radio handy for updates on the storm and to signal help if you need it.

-Close all hatches, ports, and windows, and continuously pump the bilges dry to prevent water from sloshing around and affecting stability.
-Keep an eye on the water. Look out for metal objects, floating debris, and especially other ships.
-Go slow. In limited visibility, you want to be able to stop quickly if any obstruction should appear.
-Turn on navigation lights.

-If in foggy weather, give fog signals at the required intervals. For a power-driven vessel making way, that's one prolonged blast every two minutes. For a power-driven vessel not making way (aka stopped), that's one prolonged blast followed one second later by another prolonged blast repeated every two minutes. Any other vessel, like a sail or fishing boat or a craft in an unusual situation, should issue one prolonged blast followed by two short blasts every two minutes.

-It's just as important to listen for other fog signals. Vary your interval so your signals are not sounded at the same time as another vessel's.
-Consider occasionally shifting your engines into idle or shutting them down for a few minutes if they are very loud and prohibit your ability to hear clearly.
-Listen for other sounds, such as breaking surf, to help you navigate. Post lookouts forward and aft if possible. Above all, be alert!

These are just some basic guidelines for navigating in inclement weather. Of course, make sure you receive all the proper training before you take a boat out, and don't forget that caution is paramount.