# Anchoring 21' Boat in 14' Seas



## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

This is what happens when you don't check the weather and anchor a 21' boat in 14' seas:

http://video.ap.org/?g=0302dv_fla_missing_boaters


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## CCC (Sep 3, 2008)

yea I couldn't figure out why they didn't pull the anchor up and try to get out of there when they had the chance, but then again, I am SURE we don't have all the facts, as my mom used to say "But by the grace of god that could have been you or I". Hope they find them, they are running out of time with hypothermia.


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## Wharf Rat (Sep 27, 2007)

It's possible they anchored after losing the engine or some other reason after becoming distressed. Why don't you all wait for the whole story before passing judgment and teaching lessons to all the rest of us.


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## reelnutz (Feb 16, 2008)

Sounds like a lack of seamanship to me ! The captin should of known better that to anchor a boat in rough seas.

hope they all are going to be ok !


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## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

> *Death From Above (3/2/2009)*This is what happens when you don't check the weather and anchor a 21' boat in 14' seas:
> 
> 
> 
> http://video.ap.org/?g=0302dv_fla_missing_boaters




Hey,I got an idea. Why don't ya CALL the families of the missing and give them YOUR opinion of how and why this happened! Sure they'd really appreciate it! JACKASS!


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## Voodoo Lounge (Sep 28, 2007)

I've got one comment on this issue. I'm sick and F'ing tired of hearing about two NFL players who didnt make it back.How about four fishermen who didnt make it back, I could give a rats ass what they did for a living, there are four of us out ther who for whatever reason , bad decision's or not, are out there hoping to be rescued!


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## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

Thats right Tony! Could have been anyone of us.


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## LITECATCH (Oct 2, 2007)

it is a shame they did not pay attention to the weather report. they should not have been out there with the weather forcast what it was. such a shame. the gulf can be very evil. our prayers go out to the families.


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## tideline_two (Oct 8, 2007)

if you get caught i'd rather be hanging on the hook that attempting to drive around.


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## Strictly Bizness (Oct 2, 2007)

what was the projected weather forcast for that area?


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## Midnight Rider (Sep 30, 2007)

> *Strictly Bizness (3/2/2009)*what was the projected weather forcast for that area?


Shitty


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

> *Voodoo Lounge (3/2/2009)*I've got one comment on this issue. I'm sick and F'ing tired of hearing about two NFL players who didnt make it back.How about four fishermen who didnt make it back, I could give a rats ass what they did for a living, there are four of us out ther who for whatever reason , bad decision's or not, are out there hoping to be rescued!




True dat, Tony.... well said.


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## Outside9 (Apr 30, 2008)

It is tragic either way, NFL players or whoever. That is someone son, brother, husband etc.

My boat is bigger than a 21 butisn't 4 big ball players a lot for a 21' boat in any seas?

If stupidity was a death sentence on the water the Gulf would have a lot of people missing every weekend.


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## hebegb (Oct 6, 2007)

> *Death From Above (3/2/2009)*This is what happens when you don't check the weather and anchor a 21' boat in 14' seas:
> 
> 
> 
> http://video.ap.org/?g=0302dv_fla_missing_boaters




hey dumbass (no Mike aka confused werks not you)



learn the story before posting retarded comments like this :looser


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

> *hebegb (3/2/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *Death From Above (3/2/2009)*This is what happens when you don't check the weather and anchor a 21' boat in 14' seas:
> ...


Don't read into my post. I personally don't give a shit about the story/circumstances. Little boats on the gulf in winter is playing with death and it's looking like three of these guys lost. They should nothave been out there to start with.


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## Voodoo Lounge (Sep 28, 2007)

> *Death From Above (3/2/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *hebegb (3/2/2009)*
> ...


I'm sure you've never made a bad decision right, pretty harsh there my friend!!


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

> *tideline_two (3/2/2009)*if you get caught I'd rather be hanging on the hook that attempting to drive around.


Tideline I can tell you don't have much seamanship experience. In 15 foot seas without power you DON'T want to anchor a 21 ft boat. What you do is put the anchor over and let it drag off the bottom to keep the boat into the seas as much as possible. The results of an anchor hanging in those seas can be seen in the results of those 4 unfortunate men. The Coast Guard did what they would have done for anyone missing at sea. The big difference is with the media coverage for the football players. The Coast Guard doesn't play favorites..


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

Well DFA fishes on my boat and I guarantee we have had this conversation many times.

You NEVER throw the hook and try to ride it out when it gets rough. You NEVER go offshore with in a center console with a massive front approaching.

He may be rude, but DFA post is right on. These 3 guys are probably dead because they made MULTIPLE poor decisions.

Can someone explain this to me. An NFL salary starts outat about$500,000, what the f$#@ was he doing with a 21' boat if he likes to fish that far offshore? At first they thought he was at one of his usual spots 50 MILES offshore! That sounds like someone who routinely makes poor decisions on the water. We should ALL learn from those mistakes.


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## willy c. (Jan 7, 2008)

Fishing down there is completely different from up here. You must run alot further to get to the fish. Lets not jump to conclusions until the final story is reported/heard. Very sad situation, my prayers are with the the mens family.


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## BuckWild (Oct 2, 2007)

> *willy c. (3/3/2009)*Fishing down there is completely different from up here. You must run alot further to get to the fish. Lets not jump to conclusions until the final story is reported/heard. Very sad situation, my prayers are with the the mens family.


Ditto, 50 miles there is about 50' of water


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## fishitall (Oct 22, 2007)

What's with all you guys who have to jump all over people who speculate on the possibilities of what might have or did happen? Is the only thing "you" want to here is, "how tragic", "prayers sent"? Some of you guys like to play God and determine what people express. It's probably a good thing for people to speculate and think about the possibilities. Nobody has said that the guys deserved what they got or anything to that similarity. Get over yourselves and your poor attitudes.


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

> *BuckWild (3/3/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *willy c. (3/3/2009)*Fishing down there is completely different from up here. You must run alot further to get to the fish. Lets not jump to conclusions until the final story is reported/heard. Very sad situation, my prayers are with the the mens family.
> ...


Does that matter at all? 50 miles is 50 miles, you still can't reach land with a VHF and there aren't that many other boats out there to talk with in the dead of winter with a massive front approaching. 

I see people on here telling other people how safe it is going into the gulf in small boats, just pick your days. The problem is that you have no idea whether or not that person knows how to watch the weather and read NOAA reports. It was flat when these guys left port, but ifthey hadread the NOAA weather report, they were calling for it to blow up. I've seen my share of flats boats, pontoons boats, and heaven forbid kayaks out there, and they are all risking their lives. They should take this as a shocking safety reminder, and hopefully we won't lose someone else to bad decisions on the water.


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## Pathfinder (Oct 9, 2007)

Threads like this is the reason the more I get on here and read, the more I know why I don't reply to threads I'm interested in.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

> *Pathfinder (3/3/2009)*Threads like this is the reason the more I get on here and read, the more I know why I don't reply to threads I'm interested in.


20 posts in 16 months you don't have much to say anyway. What's wrong with this thread?:banghead


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

The most important thing is what we can take away from this. I for one, will be revamping my safety plan.

1. File a float plan and do not deviate! A monkey boat isn't a large charter boat that should be "winging it" from spot to spot. The #'s you are fishing that day should be listed on the float plan!

2. An EPIRB with dual frequencies is a must!

3. Make sure yourVHF is functioning properly and you stay within communication distance with shore, or at least other boats.

4. Everyone onboard needs an OFFSHORE PFD, and personal locator beacons and handheld VHF's aren't a bad idea either.

5. A life raft needs to be mandatory equipment.

6. Always carry a drift anchor on your boat, don't drop the hook in heavy seas and try to ride it out.

7. Have safety lineattached toALL cleats.

8. Always monitor the NOAA weather reports. Just because it is slick doesn't mean it isn't going to blow up. Know and live by the predictions!

9. Formulate a safety plan before leaving the dock. Make sure everyone knows what their job is in an emergency situation.


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## DKFREE (Sep 1, 2008)

That is a great safety plan. I will definitly be following that.


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

First of all the news media said that the seas were 8ft. and not the 15ft. that was first said. I can understand if their boat lost power, trying to anchor so that the boat would not be tossing aimlessly with the wind and waves. What I don't understand is trying to go fishing in a 21ft. boat with 30 mph winds. I would just stay home and wait for a better day.


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

After seeing the latest release from the coast guard, the survivor has stated they went into the water without life jackets and swam under the boat to retrieve them.

This suggests to me that they didn't drop the hook and try to ride it out once it got rough, like DFA suggested. Which is something you do not want to do. If it was too rough to make it in and they tried to ride it out on the hook, common sense dictates they would have already had the jackets on (although it's not a guarantee). It seems more likely that they were anchored over a wreck fishing when the incident happened, and it happened very fast. According to the guys on thehulltruth.com the boats location is consistent with someone fishing the Mexican Pride, a popular fishing wreck.

Of course this all speculation.

And it is my understanding the seas did reach 14' at one point, but it was after the incident while they were searching. That's why the 47' Coast Gaurd boat had to return to port, I doubt 8 footer would have run them off.


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## 69Viking (Oct 30, 2008)

<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">It's anyone's guess right now what exactly happened. My guess is they were anchored fishing in 3-4 foot seas at the start of the day and then the seas started to build. You have to remember the weather hit's us about 12-24 hours before it hits the Tampa area. As the seas started to build I'm guessing an abnormally large wave stirred up by the front from a distance hit them when they weren't expecting a wave of that size. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">I've learned to always expect the unexpected. I was fishing one year in March on a friend's 24' cruiser. A front had passed in the morning and the prediction was for seas to build from 1-2 to 2-4, nothing his 24' cruiser couldn't handle. Long story short is I ended up in the 67 degree water in the blink of an eye. We were readying our fishing gear when out of nowhere in 2-4 foot seas a 6-8 foot wave hit the front of the boat while I was trying to put a trolling pole in one of the T-Top's rod holders near the back of the boat. When the wave hit I went backwards over the short back wall of the boat and did a summersault into the water wearing my jacket and slip on shoes! Yeah, try and swim with slip on shoes, not happening. As I'm watching my cell phone sink to the ocean floor Itake off my shoes and fling them onto theboat that is moving away from me, oh wait, I'm moving away from the boat in the current, the boat was anchored! I manage to swim back to the boat in therough seas but damn that scared thes$#t out of me! It'ssafe to say afterfishing in the Gulf for almost 17 years I learned a few lessons that day. Take your cellphone off youwhen you board the boat, take yourslip on shoes off, andhang on with at least one hand if you?re putting a rod in the T-Top rod holder in even semi rough seas! No matter whatwhen out at sea always EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED and be SAFE!<o></o>


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## SuperSpook (Oct 1, 2007)

> *reelthrill (3/3/2009)*First of all the news media said that the seas were 8ft. and not the 15ft. that was first said. I can understand if their boat lost power, trying to anchor so that the boat would not be tossing aimlessly with the wind and waves. What I don't understand is trying to go fishing in a 21ft. boat with 30 mph winds. I would just stay home and wait for a better day.


Thats what happened,the north wind that day did no pick up heavy here in pcola until after dark...so being the front is coming in from the north it would be at least a few hours until it hit down there,they didnt have the 15 ft seas until late that night or ar after midnight...well after the time they were in the water.And dont get me wrong it was a choppy southerly 3-5 down there that day from reports I read on other forums.

On a side note the winds werent 30mph at the time they went fishing,there worst mistake was fishing a small boat offshore with a small weather window until all hell breaks loose.Possibly the anchor *self* deployed after the boat capsized,havent read the latest so Im just guessing.I guess if your a single engine _*"I have an Unsinkable boat"*_ kinda guy then you may want to invest in some handles to screw on the bottom of your boat hull.


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## SuperSpook (Oct 1, 2007)

Dont get me wrong either Ive done plenty of dumb things out there over the years,I just got lucky.


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

> *SuperSpook (3/3/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *reelthrill (3/3/2009)*Possibly the anchor *self* deployed after the boat capsized,havent read the latest so Im just guessing.
> ...


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

> *P-cola_Native (3/3/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *SuperSpook (3/3/2009)*
> ...


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

I don't fish way out in the gulf anymore if there is a small weather window. It's just too risky.


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## SuperSpook (Oct 1, 2007)

Its hard to say really what happened until we know more,I just know you had 4 guys fishing in near 80 degree weather sunning/fishing all day and were plunged into 68 degree water which Im sure was a shock in itself.Then the air temp changed very sudden like we had here,add heavy seas and your are in a very serious situation.They may have not even had a knife to cut a rope much less have the midset to think that out.Best think to do is be prepared for anything and if something does happen do not panic.It going to take everything you got to fight the hypothermia and even that has its limitations as to when you succumb to it.

Best thing they could have done is rotate who sat by the engine above the water which is like 30 times better than being in the water,but then they may have not even had the stength to pull themselves up.Invest in some real life jackets,not the standard pfd to get you buy a marine patrol stop.Learn about hypothermia and survival,file float plans and know your *<U>marine</U>* weather 48 hours out,so you know what conditions your facing once in the water.Dont be fooled by warmer air temps thinking its no big deal if you were to sink,cause unless that water temp is 98.5 degrees your facing hypothermia at some point(and yeah you may die of dehydration first but..).

Was just a few years ago we lost a couple here, around this same time of year...not a good time to be in the water.


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## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

i would like to thank DFA for posting this topic.. i know he can be kinda brash when it comes to posting sometimes but he normally knows what he is talkin about. 

as for this topic.... i had a friend that read this post with me, he is fairly new to fishing and has a new boat. he never knew that you shouldnt anchor up in rough seas. he also didnt know to drag the anchor to keep your nose into the waves.. so this post could theoretically save his life one day!! thanks DFA and to anyone else that has made good points on boating safety, in light of these peoples tragedy.. hopefully they find em.


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## CCC (Sep 3, 2008)

They will call off the search at sun down today. Sad situation, it really is. I think that has to be the hardest part of a search like that is there is still a SLIM possibility that they are alive and on top of the water somewhere, but when that search is called off it is all over. I prayed they would find them today. :angel


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## Lucky Dawg (Oct 6, 2007)

I don't know what the actual forecast was, but they had checked it, because the decided to fhish Sat instead of Sun becuase of the impending weather.


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## GONU (Oct 3, 2007)

> *ScullsMcNasty (3/3/2009)*i would like to thank DFA for posting this topic.. i know he can be kinda brash when it comes to posting sometimes but he normally knows what he is talkin about.
> 
> as for this topic.... i had a friend that read this post with me, he is fairly new to fishing and has a new boat. he never knew that you shouldnt anchor up in rough seas. he also didnt know to drag the anchor to keep your nose into the waves.. so this post could theoretically save his life one day!! thanks DFA and to anyone else that has made good points on boating safety, in light of these peoples tragedy.. hopefully they find em.


It's a terrible thing that happened, I pray they find.:angel:angel Also I pray we all learn something form thier mistakes, so this doesn't happen to one of us or our Family and friends.


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## FISHBOXFULL (May 9, 2008)

Any of us could get tboned in our vehicle and killed the next time we get behind the wheel. we take risks every day that could end our lives. Anybody that fishes offshore knows there is a possibility you might not make it back. This is a wake up call to everyone to make sure you have a game plan if something goes wrong. 

to cut the anchor line or not???? cut the line and it would be easier to hold onto the boat! dont cut it and you should be easier to find( if you gave someone your planned trip). Someone mentioned earlier that you should have dock lines tied to each of the cleats. very good point. I just dontunderstand how they couldnt get to the dock lines and tie themselves to eachother and the boat. If it was only 50 ft deep and the anchored over a wreck to fish, there should have been a couple hundred feet left over in the anchor locker. It seems they could have swam under the boat and opened the locker. 

An EPIRB should have been the highlight of this story. with their occupation they could have had the best one on the market. Prayers sent for all family members


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## Greenjeans (Jul 6, 2008)

Sad story indeed. My heart goes out to the families and the ones lost at sea. As a former SAR swimmer I can only imagine the difficult time these men faced together on the water. An EPIRB is definately on my list and I was telling the wife tonight that I am going to be better about leaving a detailed float plan with her before I head out offshore. Prayer out to these families.:usaflag:usaflag


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## Halfmoon (Oct 3, 2007)

Will Bleakley is from my home town. He's alittle younger than me but we went to the same school. He played ball for Crystal River High. I did not recognize the name until I read the articles and watched some of the news reports. Prayers go out to his parents.:angel





Just don't understand why they went out that far. He has fished most of his life in CR.


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## curtpcol (Sep 29, 2007)

Been caught out there myself in some pretty bad stuff .In fact we all have if you go out much in the gulf .

Don't know what happened till we all get the facts from the survivor. What a lucky fellow. !!!!!


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

I just watched the news update, they showed a video from a helocopter of a life jacket floating in rough water. 

Looked like a $3.99 Wal-Mart jacket for a small lake. :nonono

Sea-r-cy


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

> *Halfmoon (3/4/2009)*Will Bleakley is from my home town. He's alittle younger than me but we went to the same school. He played ball for Crystal River High. I did not recognize the name until I read the articles and watched some of the news reports. Prayers go out to his parents.:angel
> 
> 
> Just don't understand why they went out that far. He has fished most of his life in CR.


From what I read in the paper this morning Bleakley was the hero of the event.Nick reportedlysaid he isthe one that that swam under the boat and got three life jackets and a cushion.Hegave up the jackets and took the cushion.

I really don't know what to say, other than he is one hell of a good man. :angel:angel


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## RUSTY (Oct 2, 2007)

I am sure when all the facts come out that most of us will learn a lesson or two. It is easy to get lax in Safety. Hopefully the result of this tragedy will save someone in the future.


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## ReelDuel (Oct 4, 2007)

I guess I am just stupid. Try this scenerio. Engine problems and can't get it to run. Why is it a bad thing to put the anchor out?? This draging the anchor seems like a bad idea. What if while draging the anchor you get hung on something and a 10' swell hits you before you get it unhung?? The boat would Swamp and maybe capsize!! Right?? I think if you have enough anchor rode (scope) anchoring would be the right thing to do. If you have 7x depth for scope anchoring is the right thing to do. So in 50' of water they should have 350' of rode. I do not think most folks carry enough anchor rode for the depth they fish, I am one of those people. However I do carry 600' on my boat plus 100' of dock lines.

So is anchoring right or wrong?? That is the question!!


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Yes you have to anchor the boat to stay bow into the wind and waves but like you said you have to have enough rope to be safe and effective.


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## Stressless (Oct 2, 2007)

Reel Dual - I've had to deploy in waves too big to anchor - I use a 7' sea anchor it rides up with the swells and if deployed off the bow anchor will slow the craft quite well - at least not drag the bow under. 



A few years ago a boat was anchored on the Russian Freighter and swamped/sunk two dead but they weren't News worthy "NFL" players so it didn't get national news. If I remember right they had the anchor cleated off the stern.



EPIRB that will deploy if submerged, Flares - life raft when the water temp is killing cold.



This is from a post one of the PFF members put up about 1'-3' -ya right... lucky everything went right and they all got back in.





> *Stressless (2/25/2009)*Water Temps: Pensacola, FL 57.0 °F 24 Feb 09
> 
> 
> 
> ...




:angel

Stressless


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

> *ReelDuel (3/4/2009)*I guess I am just stupid. Try this scenerio. Engine problems and can't get it to run. Why is it a bad thing to put the anchor out?? This draging the anchor seems like a bad idea. What if while draging the anchor you get hung on something and a 10' swell hits you before you get it unhung?? The boat would Swamp and maybe capsize!! Right?? I think if you have enough anchor rode (scope) anchoring would be the right thing to do. If you have 7x depth for scope anchoring is the right thing to do. So in 50' of water they should have 350' of rode. I do not think most folks carry enough anchor rode for the depth they fish, I am one of those people. However I do carry 600' on my boat plus 100' of dock lines.
> 
> So is anchoring right or wrong?? That is the question!!


From what I've read a drift anchor is your best oprion, NOT anchoring. Even with a bunch of rope your gonna have problems in those conditions. From what I've read and been told the waves can actually swing you around stern first into the waves in a small boat with waves that big. I could be wrong, but that's what I was told.

So what does everyone think?

Is a good drift anchor better than hooking into the bottom? What if you have 500' of line, Would it still be better to use adrift anchor? Or drag your danforth right off the bottom with no scope?

I for one am going to purchase a good drift anchor before my next offshore trip.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

My thoughts on anchoring are, If the seas are 15' like they were in this case it's better to put your anchor out and enough line to NOT allow it to hang into the bottom. This way the bow of the boat will somewhat be heading into the seas and when a 15' swell goes buy the boat will be pushed back some with the wave rather than havinga hung anchorsnylon that will stretch to 2/3rds its length before breaking stretch out and sling you back into another giant swell and put the bow under and into the swell and most likely roll you over. Yes you can put enough line out if anchored but who carries over 2000' of Nylon on a 21 foot boat? I wouldn't trust that 7 to 1 ratio in those seas.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

I carry 850' plus dock lines.


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

> *lobsterman (3/4/2009)*Yes you have to anchor the boat to stay bow into the wind and waves but like you said you have to have enough rope to be safe and effective.


A friend of mine that used to fish the SKA regulary would always anchor in severe weather. He had a long chain and let out 1000 ft. of rope. Like your said: You must have enough rope.


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## atlantacapt (Oct 2, 2007)

Goes back to the ditchbag question - everyone needs to have one and have your epirb in there or somewhere where it will float free. 

Especially in the winter, I don't leave the dock without a liferaft, at least a few offshore life jackets along with the regular jackets, personal epirb, sea anchor, ditchbag, jugs of water, flares, etc. You just never know.

Better to be prepared than the alternative...


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## Clay Peacher (Oct 2, 2007)

What a horrible way-to-go. Very sad story.

As for anchoring, if I cannot avoid the bad weather, I anchor, usinga pile of rope. When you are not anchored, your nose tends to get pushed, turning your boat sideways. Sideways + rough seas is a bad scenario. To each his own - JMHO.


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## P-cola_Native (Feb 5, 2008)

Thislink tells a some what different story of events.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article980720.ece

Apparently the two NFL players took their jackets off and voluntarily left the boat after about 4 hours of being in the water. Just gave up...

That puts hypothermia into a whole new perspective. Since it's usually so hot when we fish, I've never even considered it an issue down here.


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## Wally's World (Oct 1, 2008)

> *reelthrill (3/3/2009)*First of all the news media said that the seas were 8ft. and not the 15ft. that was first said. I can understand if their boat lost power, trying to anchor so that the boat would not be tossing aimlessly with the wind and waves. What I don't understand is trying to go fishing in a 21ft. boat with 30 mph winds. I would just stay home and wait for a better day.


First things first...... The news is not always right. The below images are froma NOAA buoy not to far, within 20 miles,from where there where. The data on the images DO NOT LIE!!!!! 



















While i may not be a every day contributor on this page i will give input where i feel it is needed. I come from that area and have launched from where they went out of MANY times... The weather report, including local news, said it was going to blow up at about 12-1pm and it did. they went on the hook and flipped at about 5pm +/-. That tells me that they had motor problems.

My thoughts and prayers got out to the 3 missing FISHERMAN's family. :angel


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## RUSTY (Oct 2, 2007)

I had never thought of it but it seems it would be a good idea to have some type of sea anchor to deploy for a situation like this. I also like the idea someone posted about having lines tied to all cleats so if the boat did capsize there are lines to hold on to.


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## gmblnfool (Jun 10, 2008)

I got caught in a storm awhile back. Basically the storm was on shore and we thought we were keeping an eye on it and the storm seemed to be staying to the north of us. We were too stupid to stop catching fish (the bite was incredible). We decided to leave to late andgot caught where we could not make any head way. We were in a small boat and hadMULTIPLE mechanical failures (different equipment breakingand not enough equipment). After a while we lost steering and at that point I threw out the anchor and all the anchor line we had. The anchor did not hang and we were moving pretty fast from the current and wind pushing us. We were bailing like crazy and turn around to see the motor submerged with the water level over the transom. This was pretty interesting the bow stayed up breaking the waves while the transom was underwater. Looking back I think the anchor dragging was beneficial the boat was somewhat stable without rolling over until we got off the boat. With that said the boat was smaller and the seas were not even close to what these guys experienced. We were also notin the waterforan extended period of time sothat helped. Just thought you might like to see what it was like without power and dragging anchor.


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

> *gmblnfool (3/4/2009)*I got caught in a storm awhile back. Basically the storm was on shore and we thought we were keeping an eye on it and the storm seemed to be staying to the north of us. We were too stupid to stop catching fish (the bite was incredible). We decided to leave to late andgot caught where we could not make any head way. We were in a small boat and hadMULTIPLE mechanical failures (different equipment breakingand not enough equipment). After a while we lost steering and at that point I threw out the anchor and all the anchor line we had. The anchor did not hang and we were moving pretty fast from the current and wind pushing us. We were bailing like crazy and turn around to see the motor submerged with the water level over the transom. This was pretty interesting the bow stayed up breaking the waves while the transom was underwater. Looking back I think the anchor dragging was beneficial the boat was somewhat stable without rolling over until we got off the boat. With that said the boat was smaller and the seas were not even close to what these guys experienced. We were also notin the waterforan extended period of time sothat helped. Just thought you might like to see what it was like without power and dragging anchor.


Good story. How were you rescued? Were ya'll able to make a distress call or was another boat nearby?


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## gmblnfool (Jun 10, 2008)

We were picked up by another boat. When this was going on it was kind of a weird feeling. I never worried about us I was more worried about his boat. We had our jackets on. We were in a high traffic area and I just figured we would be in the water for a couple of hours before being picked up. It actually was not that long. It was summer time and on a Saturday.I am glad that I was with this fishing buddy instead of some of my other friends due to my partner never panicked. When the situations changed (different things breaking etc) we both kinda changed our train of thought and just delt with task at hand. We were going to tie up to a pipe/rig leg (I forgot what it was) but I do remember when he told me to tie up I started to and then told him it probably was not the best thing. I thought with the wave height we would keep the bow down and not ride high enough. (I wasn't going to be able to tie high enoughand this particular rope I had I didn't think was long enough) This was right before the steering cable broke. The boat that picked us up called the coaties and they came and wrighted? the boat and pulled us in. The coastie that picked us up had picked us up the last time me and this guy fished on hisboat (the shaft had broken on thattrip). I was banned from fishing with this guy on HIS boat. I fished with him several times on other boats but two times out on his boat and two times towed in by the coast guard.On a good note my partner talked his wife into getting a bigger boat (safety factor of course never mind the idiots on the boat at fault)


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