Running inlets or river mouths

S

South of Heaven

New member
I was in a scary spot today. I was in the Cape Cod Canal heading east (the area in question can be likened to an inlet or river mouth for example). Narrow opening and lots of water rushing out. The winds , current and Hunter Moon tides were all working against me.

It was bad. I would estimate the seas at 4 to 6 feet or more and closely spaced. There was no space to "recover". I had water come over the bow for a few waves and I lost the horizon too. I made it through, it was probably about an 1/8th of a mile then it was essentially flat after that! Crazy. I was definitely scared and was mentally preparing for the worst. I had my hydrostatic auto pfd on. I don't think my previous 19 foot boat would have made it through those conditions....

What would you guys do in that situation? Turn around? I was actually gonna turn around but was scared that a 6 footer would hit me on the side and roll me. This was a definite learning experience and eye opener for me. Im buying a ditch bag, small life raft and EPIRB (among other safety items too).The life raft wouldnt have done sh*t for me but a easily reachable ditch bag with the essentials could be very important. I do have a portable, waterproof VHF radio so I dont need that.

The craziest thing is that this was all within a couple hundred yards of land. Jeez
 
Waves like that are common where you have constrictions and tide movement. It gets concentrated and strong with large standing waves that sneak up on you, with flat water on either side. This usually indicates some features on the bottom affecting the surface in the area or just a point where two flows are meeting.

We go through large waves in our boats and I can say from experience that your 19 would have been just fine . It floats livelier and bobs better without taking water over the bow (like a cork with stability). Glad you came out OK and having your PFD on is always a good idea.

Greg
 
The other issue I had was not knowing how much power I shouldve applied. I wanted to keep the bow into the waves but then if you give too much throttle you're in more trouble. And then if you don't give enough you'll end up sideways. That was the scariest part today , I ended up sideways a few times and thought the boat was gonna be rolled over.
 
South of Heaven":2crazshy said:
The other issue I had was not knowing how much power I shouldve applied. I wanted to keep the bow into the waves but then if you give too much throttle you're in more trouble. And then if you don't give enough you'll end up sideways. That was the scariest part today , I ended up sideways a few times and thought the boat was gonna be rolled over.
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Jason,

The best cure is sea time with an experienced skipper, who will help you:

1. Learn how to tell which tide stages are most hazardous, and therefore to be avoided: typically, when the strongest ebb current occurs, most river/bay inlets. This is usually midway between high and low tide, when the tide (water level) is falling.

2. Learn how to make use of the deepest channel through the river/bay opening, typically the (dredged) shipping channel when one is present. When no established channel, marked by navaids, exists, you are at the mercy of local knowledge ... and advice/schooling from skippers who regularly transit that opening are your best source.

3. [On return to port, traveling with the waves] learn how to regulate your speed to ride the "back" of a wave into port. This requires hands on experience, best acquired when a knowledgeable skipper has the helm, yours or his.

4. Learn hiw to decide when to go, and when not to go ... which will come with time.

Everybody has scares like the one you had. Skippers who learn from them will thrive. There is no better schooling than experience.
 
We have plb attached to our life vest along with waterproof vhf. We camped at Hunting Island S.C. Was on a pier watching an inlet that entered the ocean,looked like what you described . Where wind and waves met at entrance they were wicked,said im glad not to have to go thru there. Different days had different conditions,would hate to go out calm and then have to re enter in bad stuff. Seemed like you needed to know the channel there and when to go. I would have also been afraid to have turned boat in those conditions ,seems you made right choice keeping bow into them. I hope to avoid any situation like that,by talking with locals and getting as much info as possible before venturing out.
 
The best time to run any inlet is high slack water. That is when the tide is highest, and the current little or non existent. One always needs to survey an inlet before running it--and make a decision if this is an appropriate time. Also onshore wind and waves against a strong ebb tide, can be extremely dangerous.

Even with experience, there can be "scary times"... Keep the bow high, slow down, and have control at all times. It is generally best not to try and turn sideways. On some occasions I have followed other vessels thru breaking inlets. Often those with local knowledge will know the best route thru the difficult waters.

A good ditch bag is important, but even more important is to have the PLB and the VHF radio strapped to your person. Now we have the Standard Horizon HX 851, which not only is waterproof, but has full DCS functions--which will bring help far faster than the PLB. One area, which I may not agree 100% with, is the function of a life jacket in an enclosed cabin boat. Life jackets are important on deck--and should be worn many times. But there are dangers of being entrapped in a boat with an auto flatabled or high floatation jacket--so one might argue that a manual inflatable life jacket makes more sense in the cabin of the C Dory. We often use belt pack inflatables. (Also make a better life jacket for the dinghy).

The good news is that the C Dory is one of the safest boats around for many reasons. The rolling of a C Dory is almost unheard of (I am aware of only two times--and one was in surf the other I believe involved a large amount of water in the cockpit which made the boat unstable.

A life raft is an entirely different animal--and probably belongs in the discussion of offshore boating. A few C Dorys carry them. I have always favored a good inflatable dinghy, especially for small boats like the C Dory.
 
Had the same thing in open water on the North Channel. Not comfortable, but the boat handles it just fine. Best I could do at times was about 3 mph. Just barely enough headway to keep the bow into the waves. After an hour of that crap, I was done enjoying the North Channel! Suppose I could have turned around too, but I was too busy trying to make Little Current and staying on top to waves to think about that... :shock: Colby
 
Jason,

One last suggestion for you. Pick an inlet, not one of the really gnarly ones One of variable difficulty, perhaps with a half decent channel. And spend some time running it, beginning at high slack, and edging away from high slack a bit, to see how it changes. After several transits, in variable conditions, talk it over with some of the locals, and solicit tips. Then run it a few more times to exploit what you got from the locals.

Getting pretty late in the season for all that, so you may have to wait to do that. But, it will attune you to what to look for when it is about to go sideways, so you will be more savvy when you encounter a new inlet, and have to run it "cold."
 
As usual, all good points.

I would submit that another issue - LOADING, should be in the mix as well. While we may not consider it as having a direct impact on running/handling in a difficult situation, it does.

We enjoy our delightful C-Dory's. They're well built, spacious, and will carry everything ... including the kitchen sink! Particularly when we're cruising, we will load enough people, food, supplies for several weeks or months. If there's room - we take it!

And that's fine - until we find ourselves in a situation where we're quietly praying to make-it-through. The analogy of a floating-cork is a good one, and basically correct ... until we've badly overloaded our poor little cork! Even in those situations our little C-Dory usually comes out ok; but the Captain may have a few more gray hairs.

I would submit that handling in emergency conditions begins much earlier than entering or leaving that badass inlet. Your timing, boat handling skills, route, and load are all vital parts of the equation.

As Dave mentioned, experience can be invaluable. Knowing what you need to do to "batten down the hatches" can help as well. And if you know the situation is deteriorating (and there is no safe bailout option...) don't be ashamed to get on the radio and tell the USCG your location, situation, and plan. You're not actually declaring an "emergency," but it can be handy to have them pre-briefed on what you're facing. As I recall we've only done that twice in our boating life ... but it can be comforting.

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
Like you, I've been shaken up leaving the Cape Cod Canal on an ebb tide with strong NW winds. There was no standing waves, but there sure is a washing machine from waves ricocheting from the jetties. There was no warning or visual indications until I hit it. I used power and put the bow in green water a few times but didn't broach or yaw severely.

Once thru it was unbelievably uncomfortable as the waves echoed back from Plymouth and Sandwich shores meeting the waves from the NW. This resulted in frequent 6' waves from any of the 3 directions as the waves met. I had to pull into Plymouth and wait a day to get home to ME.

Rick from Maine
 
In cases with running inlets use enough power to stay up on the back side of a waves but not too much as you don't want to go over the top and don't go slow enough to allow the wave following you to break on you and your boat. Throttle control plays a big part IMHO. Sometimes people will wait it out for a tidal change that will make conditions more favorable. Knowing the tide stage and wind direction velocity in advance can help with your decisions. That might allow for coming back in before the tide switches or not going out at all. Always wind against the tide will make for exciting or maybe dangerous conditions. Safe Travels,
D.D.
 
Thanks for the responses. It's hard to reply to everyone!

Another point that I'd like to make is that I have been through this inlet (Canal) many times and with different winds and tides. BUT I have never seen 6 foot walls of water coming at me before. Lol. I've taken the 16 and 19 C Dory through there many times.

In a strange way I'm kinda happy that I encountered those conditions. It'll prepare me for my multi day cruising trips next year and any weather/bad conditions I may run into.

I'm hoping to find a USCG seamanship class that I can take over the winter. That was my regret, that I didn't take it last year. I figured that I could learn everything on my own. Well, in many ways I have learned a lot on my own and through the Brats but I'm not against taking instruction either. I spoke to a few guys at my marina and asked them about the USCG course and they laughed at me (not in a rude way). They told me they would never spend a dime on that; well I don't agree with them at all.
 
I would love to take a course on everything you could learn about boating. From navigation,to maintenance ,to chart reading also old school navigation .of course everything safety ,understanding tides,figuring slack tides ect. Long winters around here ,would be a great way to past the time. But here in PA not many in depth learning courses.
 
South of Heaven":22w4vdj0 said:
Thanks for the responses. It's hard to reply to everyone!

Another point that I'd like to make is that I have been through this inlet (Canal) many times and with different winds and tides. BUT I have never seen 6 foot walls of water coming at me before. Lol. I've taken the 16 and 19 C Dory through there many times.

In a strange way I'm kinda happy that I encountered those conditions. It'll prepare me for my multi day cruising trips next year and any weather/bad conditions I may run into.

I'm hoping to find a USCG seamanship class that I can take over the winter. That was my regret, that I didn't take it last year. I figured that I could learn everything on my own. Well, in many ways I have learned a lot on my own and through the Brats but I'm not against taking instruction either. I spoke to a few guys at my marina and asked them about the USCG course and they laughed at me (not in a rude way). They told me they would never spend a dime on that; well I don't agree with them at all.
Click to expand...

Yes, every day is different, and learning is an accumulative thing. The only "for sure" about boating is: I learn something every time I go out. Getting caught in rough conditions may not prepare you for "any weather/bad conditions," but it does give you a knowledge base to build on.

You can learn a lot on your own... often times, about what not to do. I feel education is a good investment, though. Your friends laughing at you makes me think there is a lot they could stand to learn. If you are not able to find USCG Aux classes in your area, look for US Power Squadron courses. Start with their Safe Boating class, then build up from that. Over the years, we have taken ASA Sailing Classes, US Power Squadron classes, and schooling for my original OUPV Captain License and the Master License. All money well spent. Read as much as you can about boating. The Chapman Piloting and Seamanship is a wonderful reference.

Nobody thinks it is acceptable to get an airplane and teaching yourself how to fly by "going out and doing it." I don't understand why this is acceptable with a boat.

Good luck as you progress - you have a very capable boat; do all you can to be an equally capable boat operator.
 
Jason, Really good thread, good information being provided, and good to share your experience.

Jim's advice on finding and taking classes is well worth serious effort. Experience is also a really good teacher IF, you survive and are smart enough to learn from it.

You have a good, sound and seaworthy vessel. Don't abuse it but do use it. It is bigger and heavier than the 19, so less like a cork and more like a 2x4. Keep the hatch battened and stuff stowed. Keep the PFD on, and I would highly recommend a PLB to wear on the PFD along with the handheld VHF. Single handing, you have to keep priorities in order. If the PFD and VHF are with you, you will have that few extra seconds to grab the ditchbag, (which for me is on the seat next to the cabin door), on your way out.

Keep enough power to maintain control, and riding the back of a wave is a very good place to be, if they are going your direction. You have to look at the situation. Sometimes it's better to run in the center, deepest, part of the channel, sometimes there is less wave action along one shore or the other. Look for where the wave action is happening and judge your course accordingly.

Experience on your boat will be your friend. Enjoy it.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

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