Waiteman,

As a professional mariner, I would have to wholeheartly disagree with you unless I was still fishing commercially and had to put food on the table. However, a few thoughts....

My life is not worth the fish I intend to catch. I play, "Better safe than sorry." Additionally, if I was a betting man, I'd wager my wife would kill me (or cut me off for a very long time) if I attempted to leave the dock with her and my 7 year old daughter in a 16' boat during this type of weather.

Points to ponder:

1) It only takes half the distance of your freeboard to capsize your vessel.
(Displacement +/- Center of Gravity = Stability)

2) Although weather reports are fairly accurate, they are based on models therefore predicted. Low presssure fronts are nothing to play with especially in a small craft (or any vessel for that matter because they tend to be unpredictable in nature). Then one might have to deal with rogue swell/waves. I would rather concentrate on fishing than holding onto something...

3) Lord help those with sudden engine or bilge failure... And then there are those who don't carry VHF or GPS... scary thought!

4) Advise to all. You are a boater first and foremost- fisherman second. If you didn't have rods in the boat, would you leave the dock in heavy weather? We all fall in the
"complacency trap" all too often out on the water.

I didn't intend to come across as the fishing/weather Scrooge however, there is a vision that enters my mind when the chop is up. A vision that will never leave... Although the scenario is different, (earning a living vice recreational)it is painful to lose a buddy over the side. What a reminder huh?

Downriggin'