First Time At Sea

[lazydaniel]

I have recently obtained a late 70's Pongrass Surf master 4.5m, which i have been told is rock solid and as good as new suprisinly. It is powered by a new evinrude 40etec. Can this be taken out past the heads? on a fine day of less than 1m, 1.5m of swell? I have all the safety gear gps,compass, flares, epirb, v sheet, vhf radio. I will be taking out of the hawksbury. I a am hoping to find a few reefs close by, less than a few km out, to get into the sport of reef fishing. Is this in your opinion a safe idea? and any pointers or tips would be great. Thanks

Daniel

[Basil D]

Hey Daniel. I have an old sebercraft 14.5foot, I have taken past the heads on many times,

just go out with someone who knows what they are doing and learn,

regards basil

[fishmaniac]

Dan,

I head out to sea in a 3.9m open tinnie powered by a 15hp Yammie. Been out in swells over 2m. It's mainly the wind you have to worry about and, if the swell is big, make sure its long. I check the manly hydraulics lab wave ryder bouy. It gives you the live swell height and the period in seconds. If you have a 1.5-2m swell running at over 10secs its still quite comfortable given its not windy.

Build up your confidence and you'll be right. If you are after reefs, stay in close unless you have some marks. I would recomend staying in close and as you become more confident over time, you can head further out.

Depending on your boats capabilities, be smart about wind direction. For example, in summer I exclusively head north for when the NE blows up its fine riding it in. Going into big chop in a small boat is a different story... trust me.

Cheers,

Andrew