Noob Question on Offshore Venture

[pjbrownva]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

to Block island from where?

its only 12 miles from point judith inlet to great salt pond.

a seaworthy v20 in good weather with a seaworthy captain would have no problem with that

do you have a seaworthy v20 and are you a seaworthy captain?

if so then all you need is the right weather for a round trip.

I'm not familiar with the area.

I agree that a 12 mile trip is very doable... as you say, as long as the boat and the captain are seaworthy, and the weather cooperates.

Last summer, I took my maiden voyage on Fish Beware from Plymouth harbor to Race Point, to Province town and back to plymouth. It was about 60 miles round trip, but I stopped to refuel in Provincetown - only because the boat was new to me, so I had no experience with fuel burn or accuracy of the fuel gauge.

Brave or dumb... I don't know, but it was summer, and those waters are fairly regularly travelled, so felt I could summon help if needed.

O.P. Make sure you have a marine VHF radio and it works... a full sized one, not just a hand held.

A good GPS with chart plotter too.... I'm assuming you have one.

Since you said you're a newbie, are you familiar with channel markers, what they mean, how to find them on your GPS and/or charts, and also at night?

Those are definitely some of the basics.... but if you feel comfortable, I wouldn't sweat a 12 mile ride.... that's not what I think of as "off shore".