How to NOT enter an inlet

one of the stories I read said the boat was taking on water prior to entering the inlet. Once I read that and rewatched the video it made sense, the water in the bilge must have shifted forward and buried the bow.
 
Strecker25 said:
one of the stories I read said the boat was taking on water prior to entering the inlet. Once I read that and rewatched the video it made sense, the water in the bilge must have shifted forward and buried the bow.
Click to expand...

That makes more sense.
 
Read similar accounts, no doubt having taken on water accelerated the problem.

First thing I saw was the bow was on the back of the wave in front of it, then started sliding backwards into the following wave. Not good. Neither is tipping over the top of a wave. Either scenario is trouble.
 
Agreed, I thought the bow looked very low in the water. And yes, a good reminder of just how fast things can go bad.
 
That was at Jupiter Inlet Friday. Word here is that the two large containers on the bow were full of live bait - which translates into also being full of water. When the surf lifts the stern of a bow heavy boat, we can see it turn into a submarine. The Jupiter Inlet is among the most dangerous of Florida inlets and often not for the faint of heart. I've had several "pucker" moments coming in against a strong out-tide. Good news here is the guy survived unlike the two that weren't so lucky this time last year.
 
In a situation like that, you always run on the face of the wave in front of you in a following sea and never run over the crest. IF you do run over the crest, the risk is that the bow will stuff in the trough, while the wave behind pushes the boat down, sideways and under. This video is a perfect example.
 
Creekwood said:
In a situation like that, you always run on the face of the wave in front of you in a following sea and never run over the crest. IF you do run over the crest, the risk is that the bow will stuff in the trough, while the wave behind pushes the boat down, sideways and under. This video is a perfect example.
Click to expand...

Good lesson here.
 
There was a video of a 60ish sport fishing boat (professional fishing charters) in one of the area inlets floating around the internet a couple of years ago.

I want to say Lake Worth, but probably wrong about that.

Evidently he either tipped over the crest, or slid too far back, in any case the boat spun sideways. The boat survived, however when it spun around the boat turned nearly on its side and the captain fell off the bridge, hit the gunnel and broke his back before going in the water.

This was an experienced professional captain on a substantial size boat. He ran the waters 2-4 times a day doing fishing charters. Crew later reported the Captain was aware it was a bad time for the inlet, but elected to run the inlet anyway to save the time of going to the other inlet - he had an afternoon charter scheduled.

I guess every part of the country has unique challenges, on the east coast of FL it is the inlets.

Mark
 
Yes that incident also occurred in the Jupiter Inlet. Captain Tom on the Water Dog... RIP
 
That's why I only go in and out of there when it's flat. If I showed my wife that video she would flip the heck out.
 
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