What is the first safety precaution that you should take when you are boating in stormy weather?

Table of Contents Show

The Nuances of Wearing a PFD On Board
Wear Your PFD
Secure Loose Items
Contact the Coast Guard

To prepare the boat to handle severe weather:

Slow down, but keep enough power to maintain headway and steering.
Close all hatches, windows, and doors to reduce the chance of swamping.
Stow any unnecessary gear.
Turn on your navigation lights. If there is fog, sound your fog horn. If you have radar, use it when visibility is restricted.
Keep bilges free of water. Be prepared to remove water by bailing.
If there is lightning, disconnect all electrical equipment. Stay as clear of metal objects as possible.

To prepare your passengers if caught in foul weather:

Have everyone put on a Canadian-approved lifejacket or PFD. If a lifejacket or PFD is already on, make sure it is secured properly.
Have your passengers sit on the floor close to the centreline. This is for their safety and to make the pleasure craft more stable.

To determine the distance you are from an approaching thunderstorm:

Count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder.
Multiply the number of seconds by 340.
The result is roughly the distance in metres you are from the storm.

bail To remove water by scooping it out with a bucket

Strong winds, aggressive waves, and pouring rain create the worst conditions for boating. And although any boat owner might check the weather forecast before heading out to sea, Mother Nature has been known to throw a curve ball now and again. So which safety precaution should be taken first by a boat operator when boating in stormy weather? Here are the answers.

If that stormy weather hits while you’re out and about, what’s the first thing you should do? Should you cut the engine and anchor your vessel? Should you phone the coast guard and send a distress signal? Or should you try to make your way back to shore?

Well, while all of those might seem like something you would do in the often stressful and frightening conditions of a storm, the answer is that you should make sure everyone on your vessel is wearing an appropriate personal flotation device or PFD.

The PFD is a simple yet effective safety measure that can prevent all sorts of potential dangers. In fact, studies have found that PFD’s prevent up to 90% of potential fatalities that could result from falling overboard. And because strong winds and rain increase the chances of being tossed over the rails, it’s no wonder why throwing on a PFD would be the first safety measure to take.

The Nuances of Wearing a PFD On Board

Although it would be helpful if PFD laws were the same across the board, different states have varying specifics when it comes to the use of personal flotation devices. For instance, in some states, children below the age of 13 don’t need to wear a personal flotation device. Others require kids as young as the age of 6 to wear a PFD whenever they’re on the boat.

For adults, the rules are a little different. No laws require the use of a life jacket or PFD for adults, so they can or can’t wear them depending on what they prefer. In most cases though, it’s strongly recommended that adults wear a PFD when their vessel is underway.

The reason why it’s important to wear a PFD even when it isn’t necessarily required by law is because wearing one when you’re already in the water can prove to be almost impossible. That’s why there are type IV or throwable PFD’s like life savers that need to be stowed on board.

But because not every vessel is required to have a type IV PFD, the chances of rescue become slimmer if a person falls overboard without already wearing one.

More info regarding PFD's:

Even with the best planning, it’s not impossible to find yourself in less than ideal conditions. If you ever end up wrestling it out with a stormy sea, try to keep these tips in mind:

Stay Calm

Panic can become a catalyst for even more danger. Try not to get ahead of yourself and maintain a clear mind. Keep your composure and plan your next steps with care and tact.

Wear Your PFD

Before you do anything else, make sure that everyone on board is wearing an appropriate PFD. Don’t wait for the last minute before you decide to put them on - the moment the weather starts to turn, see to it that everyone’s strapped in.

Slow Down

You might feel pressured to head back to shore as quickly as possible. But heading into strong winds and waves at top speed during a storm seriously increase your chances of capsizing. Reduce your speed and pay attention to the waves to avoid major accidents.

Secure Loose Items

It can be dangerous to have things tossing and sliding in the cabins and across the deck while a storm crashes against your boat. At the first signs of potential danger, make sure to strap down and secure anything that might cause accidents on board under stormy conditions.

Contact the Coast Guard

If you have a radio or any other means of contact, you may want to take the opportunity to reach out to the coast guard and let them know your coordinates. You can also call a friend, a relative, or the marina to let them know you’re in the middle of a storm. This just makes it easier to locate your vessel in case of an accident.

Which safety precaution should be taken first by a boat operator when boating in stormy weather? Well, the obvious answer would be to strap on your PFD. The humble flotation device has been known to save thousands of lives from almost certain death. And because falling overboard during a storm isn’t unlikely, having your PFD at the ready can prevent potential disaster in case the waves toss you over the rails.

Most of those who earn their living on the water are familiar with the old adage “mackerel scales and mares’ tails cause tall ships to fly low sails." Working far from shore, they know to keep a weather eye to cloud formations that portend incoming storms and a test of their seamanship.

Recreational boaters can avoid boating in bad weather for the most part by checking the marine forecast before heading out and postponing their cruise until the weather improves. But once on the water sudden severe thunderstorms are still a hazard and can materialize out of nowhere. That’s when seamanship—the ability to pilot a vessel effectively under adverse conditions—comes into play. It is a skill acquired over time and involves a broad understanding of your vessel and how it handles in different situations and with varying loads. It also requires knowledge of wind, water and geography, information that can be gained both in the classroom and in on-the-water training. You and your boat need to be prepared at all times. Anchors and rodes should be kept in a state of readiness, along with life jackets and all other safety equipment.

No two storm situations are alike. Many small boats are not designed or constructed to take a heavy pounding and the result can be structural damage that can cause the boat to break apart. In strong breaking waves, flooding and capsizing may occur. In beam seas (waves perpendicular to the side of the boat), excessive roll can cause your load to shift, creating a dangerous list. In following seas (waves coming from behind the boat), your vessel may lose stability on a wave crest; plus, if your speed is excessive, broaching may occur – a situation where the vessel runs down the crest of a wave, gathering speed, and buries its bow into the backside of the next wave. This frequently causes the boat operator to lose control and the vessel to veer sharply off course. In quartering seas, beam and following seas combine to create one of the most serious conditions a boater may encounter.

In a sudden storm, your most immediate problems are limited visibility, high winds and – depending on your location – rapidly building seas. Try to remain calm. Have everyone dress as warmly as possible, put on their life jackets and, if possible, go below.  Close all hatches, doors, watertight compartments and windows to reduce the amount of water taken on board. In an open boat, passengers should sit low in the bottom of the boat along the center line.

Although you need to get your boat to the dock as quickly as possible, once waves reach a certain height, safety dictates that you match the speed of the vessel to the speed of the waves. That means slowing down a lot. The more you reduce speed, the less strain will be put on the hull and superstructure and less risk that portholes and windows will pop out or break. Keep your vessel at a 45-degree angle to the wind and make slow but steady progress to the nearest port.

Stay away from rocky shorelines. If you’re far from port but have shelter available, such as islands and peninsulas, sheltering may be a good idea depending on the depth of the water and the condition of the shoreline. Just bear in mind that in most thunderstorms the wind direction will probably change. In a thunderstorm, winds generally blow outward from the area of heaviest rain. As the storm approaches, winds come straight at you. As it passes overhead, the winds ease off, then reverse direction. Understanding this pattern can give you a reasonable idea of how long you’ll be fighting the storm. In smaller boats, putting up on a sandy beach may be a good idea. If you perceive the situation as life threatening, it's better to sacrifice the boat to save yourself and your family or friends.

Roughing It Out

Being out on a boat in bad weather, even within sight of the shore, puts you farther from help than you might think. No one can tell you precisely what to do because every situation is different. Play it safe. When a storm threatens, head for the nearest dock or sheltered waters immediately. Do not attempt to return to your original marina if there’s a safe haven closer by. If you can’t make it to shore, follow the guidelines below:

• If you have passengers aboard, get everyone into their life jackets and foul weather gear now. • Secure all hatches and close all doors, ports and windows to keep water out. • Secure gear above and below decks; stow small items and lash down bigger ones. The weight of gear and passengers is especially important in smaller craft. Keep your load low and balanced. • Ready any emergency equipment that you have on board: bailers, hand pumps, first aid kit, signaling devices, etc. • Pump bilges dry and repeat as necessary to eliminate any sloshing of water as the boat rolls, which can effect stability. • Get a fix on your position and plot it on your chart. Note your heading and speed, and the time. Chart your course to the nearest shore or dock. • Monitor Channel 16 on your marine VHF radio for Coast Guard updates on the weather. Also, listen for distress calls from other boaters. You may be the closest one that can lend assistance. • Ready your sea anchor or drogue in case it should be needed, but do not anchor the boat unless you’re in a narrow body of water, you’ve lost visibility completely and are in danger of washing ashore. Under those conditions, anchor your boat from the bow to keep the boat headed into the waves. • Turn on navigation lights. • Reduce speed and head your boat into the wind at a 45-degree angle to reduce stress and maintain better control. • If there is lightning, keep everyone away from electrical and ungrounded components, and as low in the boat as possible. • Switch to a full fuel tank, if possible. • Maintain a lookout for floating debris, obstacles and other boats. • If your vessel has a flybridge, operate your vessel from below if that is an option. • If you’ve lost visibility temporarily, maintain a slow headway until visibility improves. • On larger craft, rig jack lines and/or lifelines and require anyone who must go on deck to wear a safety harness, if available. • If the incoming storm is extremely severe, review your procedures for abandoning ship, including sending a Mayday to Coast Guard Search and Rescue. • If you have a life raft, have it ready to be deployed and stocked with emergency food and water. Be sure you have a sharp knife to cut it free from the boat.

• If you are in fear losing the boat, get everyone on deck and send a Mayday on your marine VHF-FM radio.

That Other Weather Hazard: Fog

It is rare to encounter heavy seas with fog, but it can happen. When it does, the rolling of the vessel combined with reduced visibility can cause the operator to become disoriented. Fog brings the greatest risk of collision with an obstacle or another boat, so do the following before your visibility becomes seriously reduced:

• Fix your position on a chart or mark it on an electronic plotter • Reduce your speed to the point where you can stop your vessel in half the visible distance • Turn on your navigation lights. • Instruct any passengers to help you keep watch – by sight and hearing – preferably in the bow.

• Begin sounding one long blast on your horn (4–6 seconds) every two minutes while under way and two long blasts every two minutes when stopped.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is asking all boat owners and operators to help reduce fatalities, injuries, property damage, and associated healthcare costs related to recreational boating accidents by taking personal responsibility for their own safety and the safety of their passengers. Essential steps include: wearing a life jacket at all times and requiring passengers to do the same; never boating under the influence (BUI); successfully completing a boating safety course; and getting a Vessel Safety Check (VSC) annually from local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadrons(r), or your state boating agency's Vessel Examiners. The U.S. Coast Guard reminds all boaters to "Boat Responsibly!" For more tips on boating safety, visit www.uscgboating.org.