Re: Small Craft Warning
I been out hundreds of times in my 21 foot runabout with the small craft warning flag out. Even a couple of times in my open 14 foot.
Out here it is more of a forcast than actual conditions. Listen 16 and follow to 22A when coast guard give there notice to mariners.
At 8 AM and and about 4 times durning the day they will give the forcast. It will many times be " Small craft advisory has been issued for afternoon wind 30 to 45 knots." It can be dead calm in the morning and never get over 15 Knots all day. Sometimes it is small craft advisory for harzardest seas.
We will plan our day based on the forcast, How far we go and which way we go. Where I fish wind almost always out of 320 degrees in summer. In the winter month it a different story. When storm come thru winds and seas can make major changes at any time. This is why they teach weather course in all the Boating and Seamanship classes. You need to know the water between where you are and a safe port. You need to be able to read the clouds and not wait too long to head in.
We have been out in Ocean with Gale warnings and fished the whole day and never seen any strong winds.
If you think about it when you see a Huricane warning flags up it not when the Huricane is pounding the shore it is days before.
I always listen to the forcast but I usually make my decision to launch based on the wave rider buoys 12 miles offshore. It will give you wave height and distance apart, wind speed, wave steepness, and much more. We been out in 9 foot seas every 6 seconds and it was safe and dry but no fun at all. So today we do not launch if seas are over 8 feet or less than 8 seconds apart if we are going out to the open ocean.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46013
