Fishing ocean.....alone

[wellcraftv20step]

I've been home from work for 3.75 months .it wouldn't surprise me now if she suggested that I go alone .

[steplift20]

Let's get serious, I tell all my sons never ever go out alone,anything can happen.i tell them a true story about 5 years ago at the beginning of the fishing season their was this charter captain who was taking his boat from one point to another by himself,well the boat ran aground with no one aboard and the engine was still running ,they found the captain dead footing in the water so what they think happened was that he tripped and fell overboard, I feel so bad for that guy cause he was probably all hyped up about starting his season and never made it, he must have been doing that along time with no issues until this day,so don't go out alone period

[bgreene]

Safer ..... yes no doubt, but like sailing solo across an ocean, part of the human spirit.

Snow skiing.....now that’s more dangerous in my experience. Large group of family and everyone’s been injured on the slopes, either from wipe outs , or other smashing into them.
I’ve seen people hurt from the chair lifts too.

The point ..... as a percentage, I bet snow skiing accounts for many more injuries per person
than fishing ocean alone, but it’s just viewed differently .

I’m humble to the power and risks at sea......taken in context of life overall.

[wellcraftv20step]

I was not going to add to this thread beyond my last post but I'll add this..Quite possibly My son in law may not have grown up without a dad if there were a second set of eyes aboard. Not that it would have stopped the clueless captain of the 35 footer from driving rite over his dads boat but maybe that 2nd set of eyes would have spotted the idiot ! I myself make a point of telling everyone aboard my boat that they are all Captains and don't be afraid or hesitant to say something! I'm going to assume you all do the same. Recently My two fishing partners over the last 30 years have retired and moved out by Spare. I don't mind cruising after dinner with the wife because as long as we're moving I have my eyes peeled.But I'm giving serious thought to the fact that I'll be anchor'd up Bass fishing the bridges and rips without those trusted sets of eyes and years of boating skills that I'm used to! Just something I've been thinking about.

[spareparts]

90 percent of the boats I'm on are broken, about half of those their owner doesn't even know its broken. I run boats by myself on regular basis, I've got 35 years on the water professionally and run three to four boats on the water a week. I wear an inflatable pfd, tell at least one person where I'm going and how long I will be. I've got at least one back up plan in case the engine stops running. I have a phone and vhf. I leave against the current in case I need to drift back. I go at it expecting it will break or give me trouble, its my job to fix it. I will not go boating for recreation by myself, its just not enjoyable or safe. I've seen the results of way too many unexpected

[bgreene]

Spare - you run boats by yourself all the time.....but you won’t go alone for recreation .
Not sure I follow but clear about the safety features. I use same plus I wear the personal locator ....
I fish with and without others, continue to do so as long as the Feds don’t create a law and mess it up.

[spareparts]

I run boats inshore, near docks and facilities, for short amounts of time, with all the safeguards I've mentioned. I do not go near the inlet or beyond the jetties without someone else with me. I prefer to have someone with me even running inshore. I carry a fair amount of tools and diagnostic equipment with me JIC. Most often, when I'm running one, I have someone on standby with a boat in case I need assistance. It is not fun, its not relaxing, its work, its what I do. BTW, GPS, PLBs, etc fail pretty regularly. I've got one customer that fishes offshore by himself, he bought a clip on PLB that responds if hes too far away from the helm and will shut the engines off. After several false alarms, a call from the USCG and the system shutting his engine off for no reason. He had the system removed and returned it