Assassin Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Decided to hit browns yesterday morning sat 28/7, we loaded and launched from Cooks at 8.00am. The water conditions looked fantastic not an ounce of wind and with the sun sitting low it looked to be promising. Passed through the heads travelling at a speed of 24knots, approx 18 nautical miles out the water condions soon changed, a S/W breeze was noticeable and boat speed is approx 15 knots. Short sharp cresting chop increasing in size was pushing us from behind, the wind picked in bursts over the 20knot rate and my concerns started to grow. Boat speed now dropped to 10 knots I called coast guard for an update on conditions, they advised me of the increased wind speed update and also mentioned that wind speed and direction is not in line with there forecasts. At this stage we are approx 1.5 nauitcal miles west of browns i made the decision to turn imeadiately and head for home, it is dissapointing to travel so far get so close and turn, anyway shit happens. Bought her home travelling 10-13 knots at best punching into the swell, the ride home was like ridding a bull getting wet and smashed by the waves. Was glad to hit calmer waters 3 nautical miles out from the Bay. My boat is a 5.8 meter sharkcat which weighs over 2 tonne loaded, i couldnt imagine being out there in anything smaller. Its amazing how different conditions can be from the predicted forecasts. On previous trips to Browns ive seen some rather small craft, days like these makes one think why would people risk it. The fin will wait for another day. Anyone else do Browns on Saturday? Cheers Assassin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boban Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I've had the same thing happen to me at Port Stephens with the family in tow. No fish is worth risking your safety. Good on you for being sensible about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpinta Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Those winds were forecast on Bouy weather and Sea Breeze for Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Too bad the weather ruined ur planned fishing activities however u are still with us, so u gotta be happy with that penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assassin Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 (edited) Those winds were forecast on Bouy weather and Sea Breeze for Saturday Which winds?, not 25 knots early morning. I take note of the sea breeze forcast and the only prediction was winds in the 15-17 knot range and easing.. 1 meter seas....0.9 meter swell. The winds we experienced also pushed the swell and seas up with it. A water craft warning was issued to all boats from coastal patrol not long after we arrived back at Cooks river. Edited July 29, 2007 by Assassin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolan Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I can't believe you turned around soooooooo close. I reckon that would put you down in my books as being a very good boat Captain. Many idiots- like you said, would have attempted that feat in much lighter, smaller craft, and put all their crew at risk. Its a hard call to make, especially with the cost of setting up a Browns venture, but at least you get to take another crack at it. We passed a single guy in a small 12-14 ft tinnie with a baby tiller drive out at East Reef today, and I was rather stunned. The swell was up , a very firm wind was blowing(and I believed building), the washing machine action in the water made me uncomfortable in my 2+ton boat, so we headed in. This guy just put his life jacket on and kept fishing! At times you would loose sight of him in the swell! Cheers Stumpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wigg Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Forget it. No fish is worth it. I fish from a kayak, outside. I had an incident a couple of weeks ago. On the way out had a few hiccups, got to my spot and turned around and came home. A paddle that should take 20mins took over an hour and all I could here was my wifes voice "be careful you have a baby girl waiting for you at home" I am glad I turned and headed for home. Conditions worsened. I have caught some quality fish in these conditions but if you are not comfortable as I wasnt, head for home. No drama. At least you live to tell the story. Browns is a long way from home. I fish only 1.5kms from home. You did the right thing. Stay safe. Cheers Wigg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Sorry to hear you didn ,t fish Assassin Big thumbs up from me you saw the conditions where getting worse and decided to pull the pin. It,s a hard call to make when you are so close You have probably gotten more from this one experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assassin Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Cheers Stumpy.... any sensible boatie would have done as you and i did and turned around. Its way too common to see undersized boats fishing areas that is beyond both the boats purpose and captains experience. We passed a small aluminium bowrider with 1 person on board heading out to browns at the 12 mile mark, i remember thinking "i hope he got back ok". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpinta Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Which winds?, not 25 knots early morning. I take note of the sea breeze forcast and the only prediction was winds in the 15-17 knot range and easing.. 1 meter seas....0.9 meter swell. The winds we experienced also pushed the swell and seas up with it. A water craft warning was issued to all boats from coastal patrol not long after we arrived back at Cooks river. A lot of the time when we get forecasts they are for inshore waters and they are usually a little stronger the further out you go. I usually compare Buoyweather, Seabreeze and BOM and settle somewhere in between as they usually all differ from one another. BOM is usually worst case though. I was watching the weather myself though to get out on saturday and we decided against it. Buoyweather had yellow flags up and that is a definate no for any trailerboat going to browns. It wasnt meant as a dig at you!! Sorry if it came across that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolongeramember Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 (edited) I had a trip planned for Saturday aswell. Was gonna go out in the morning then decided the afternoon was better after looking at the reports. I look at buoy weather, sea breeze and the BOM and there all usually slightly different. Then I make my own prediction based on experience reading these reports. It was forcast on BOM for Saturday as 18-23Kts with higher gusts offshore in the morning and 1-1.5m seas, then easing in the afternoon. Sorry to say dude but what was predicted is pretty much what happen by the sounds of it. Sorry your day didnt turn out for ya, but you did the sensible thing and exactly what I would have done by turning straight back. Good luck next time and hope this bit of info helps you out man. Edited July 29, 2007 by Roylo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Good call ,and those conditions would not have been conducive to cubing anyway with a fast drift because of the wind Regards Stewy. The places that give this info on wind strength are not always perfect and to predict the weather 100% every day would be a mean feat in its self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assassin Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 A lot of the time when we get forecasts they are for inshore waters and they are usually a little stronger the further out you go. I usually compare Buoyweather, Seabreeze and BOM and settle somewhere in between as they usually all differ from one another. BOM is usually worst case though. I was watching the weather myself though to get out on saturday and we decided against it. Buoyweather had yellow flags up and that is a definate no for any trailerboat going to browns. It wasnt meant as a dig at you!! Sorry if it came across that way No worries, you do make a good point though - it pays to cross reference several weather condition sites. It was a very last minute decision for us, however i did check coastal watch and sea breeze. Buoyweather is now added to my favourites. I need to be very fussy about conditions as i live a 40 minute drive from the coast, so not picking the best of days costs me alot of money and time. Cheers Assassin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I wouldnt have turned back, especially in a cat, and especially since you were so close. Conditons were slighly sloppy and due to be abating in the arvo, and they did exactly that.. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussieraider Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Very sensible "safety first" message here. Not as useful to offshore boaties but also interesting is swellnet.com.au - the surfies swell predictor. Coastalwatch.com also usefule to look at the coast on the shore. BOM does have a 60 nautical mile offshore forecast too as well as the closer inshore forecasts. Just great to have all this info but they do vary quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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