Captain Tred Barta - FISHING: Offshore Safety

[Captain Tred Barta]

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Captain Tred Barta has decades of experience running sportfishing boats across the world. Get his thoughts and ideas on what is really important when the worst happens and how best to prepare for any situation. Add your ideas and tips to the discussion and jump in the discussion with your questions and experiences to keep us all safer on the water. You only get one chance in a life threatening situation, are you really prepared?

[Jagsare1]

Unfortunately, I have experienced the worst case. An on-the-water fire that took the boat with 6 of us onboard 30 miles offshore on the way to our spot during a tournament. I would be happy to elaborate but I can break it down into a very few absolutes.

#1. Do not leave shore without an up to date, self inflating marine rescue raft appropriate to the size of your crew.
#2. Invest in and create a well equipped ditch bag.
#3. Maybe most important...instruct your crew on how to use the equipment mentioned above...not once or twice but every single morning before you leave the dock.

I believe these 3 things led my crew off a burning boat into my rescue raft without a scratch. We planned for what we hoped would never happen. When it did, we all knew exactly what to do. Myself and 5 of my friends are here to tell the tale and that is the best proof I have that my planning and preparation worked.

[Parapapam]

The best and worst of Mike (sorry Tred....):

1. File a float plan. It is easy. Don't give me the "I want flexibility if the bite is hot" excuse I have heard in the past. I look at it this way, how long do I want to be floating out there until some gets worried. Even if I am due back at 2 pm, I may say "Do nothing until 6 pm." I have 4 hours of flexability. But if the sun sets at 6 pm... I make damm sure I say call the CG by 4 pm so they have some daylight time to look for me.

2. I don't always remember to give the safety speach everytime I leave the dock. I should. Shame on me.

3. Does every memeber of the crew know how to hail the coast guard on the VHF? My 9 year old does. If I have a heart attack (hopefully because of the size of the fish I just caught) who knows how to call for help? Every one should. Don't assume they do.

4. Light sticks: Those crack and glow light sticks that everyone uses for swordfishing (no not the expensive LP ones, the cheap ones that cost $2). Every one gets one when it is dark. Put them in your pocket. When the sun comes back up, they go back in the box until next time. Ever try to find a floating object in the dark? Try a floating human in the dark!

5. Back ups: I have 2 GPS's (one handheld and one mounted), 2 VHF's (one handheld and one mounted), 1 PLB... I need some other things in my ditch kit like a solas flare. Shame on me.

These are some of the things I do or have....

Mike

[Northern Ivy]

Thank you!!! We have the strobes that are attached to inflatable vests but that assumes that someone is wearing the vest. As well the light stick assumes that MOB is conscious. Good stuff.

[Jagsare1]

I was trying to hit the high points but Parapapam did mention a couple of really good ones.

I have a laminated sheet of paper that my wife is in possession of. It has pertinent boat information such as type, color, equipment, name, etc. It also includes phone numbers for the local USCG. Each morning when I leave, she gets a sheet of paper that tells her how many I have on the boat and the general area we will be in. Tells her which inlet I left from and will return to. Also tells her that if I am not in by a certain time noted on that paper, to call the USCG and tell them I am overdue.

If we swordfish or stay overnight for any reason, everyone gets a light stick in their pocket.

Finally, if you own the $5 Wal-Mart life jacket, you should not be allowed to venture offshore. If you value your friends lives no more than to give them a $5 life jacket, shame on you. I invested(yes, they are expensive and it is an invenstment) in commercial Type 1 life jackets. Each has a strobe light attached. These lights are tested frequently and batteries are changed every 12 months.

Be safe.

[Boonebird]

i got a story it still haunts me to this day.I wasnt offshore. This why I dont drink on the water its to easy for something to happen. I was early season striper fishing in ct on the ct river. It was the first week in april bass run is on. I ran my 14 foot john boat when I got out of 20 miles down river. I had my 4 month old pup lab with me. It was crazy nice out that day. It was noon when I dunked the boat fishing by 1. I had a few bass and i new with the 45 minute run north. I need to leave now so I didnt have to do it in the dark. I was just north of the 95 bridge when I hit a log the tiller handle flys out of my hand. Me and the dog roll out of the boat. My life jacket and kill switch still in the boat. The boat circled me 3 times at full tilt before crash on a island .5 mile or so away. I was in the middle of the widest part of the river. 39 degree water with my hound beating me up. I had a hard enough time trying to say afloat I did not need her. I picked her up and threw her behind me and swam like a raped ape. She would catch up to me. When she did I would do the same thing over and over. A big boat passed with in 30 yards of me not seeing me. It kept going. I then hurd sirens. After acouple minutes I lost hope. They where up on the bridge. I kept swimming down currant with the tide at a slight angle. After 10 minutes in the water of swimming I was getting ready to say good bye to my pup and hold her under water. I had no choice in the matter it was me or her. I would push her she would go under and come up. Every time I did this she went under further. I saw 2 jet skiers I started to wave. They saw me and started to go around me. Later I found out they thought I was scuba diving. They saw my pup and came over. I jumped on the back. We went over to my brand new john boat that was still running. It was going full tilt on an island with no water. I pulled the kill switch. Shut it off. We dragged the boat 75 yards to the water. I got a tow back to a boat launch. I ran into a cop while I was waiting for a friend to come down with my truck. I asked the cop if anyone reported a boating acciedent. Nope. Great. Well I was greatfull that one saved my life. I later stopped by some friends and told the story to them. It took me 1 year to go on a boat. I later that week lost two labs that I had and my grandmather. Life will never be the same.

[Captain Tred Barta]

Unfortunately, I have experienced the worst case. An on-the-water fire that took the boat with 6 of us onboard 30 miles offshore on the way to our spot during a tournament. I would be happy to elaborate but I can break it down into a very few absolutes.

#1. Do not leave shore without an up to date, self inflating marine rescue raft appropriate to the size of your crew.
#2. Invest in and create a well equipped ditch bag.
#3. Maybe most important...instruct your crew on how to use the equipment mentioned above...not once or twice but every single morning before you leave the dock.

I believe these 3 things led my crew off a burning boat into my rescue raft without a scratch. We planned for what we hoped would never happen. When it did, we all knew exactly what to do. Myself and 5 of my friends are here to tell the tale and that is the best proof I have that my planning and preparation worked.

Hi Jag, it's Tred. You made a very direct answer to my rant. As I'm sitting by the computer, I wish you could see me. When I finished your message, I gave you a U.S. Army Salute. Your reply is absolutely perfect, direct and the way it has to be done. I would like to get the opportunity some day to shake your hand. You very well may have saved 5 lives.

Everyone on Sportfishermen.com needs to be aware of what you have said. It can not be said better. I wonder if the children and wives of your crew truly understand what a hero you were and by the way, a great captain. Good going, and Thank You.

P.S. Every once in a while, a couple of my sponsors, which I have very few of by design, allows me some liberty. ACR has agreed to give you a gift of one of their new ditch bags. Send me a private message with your address and I'll get your gift off from ACR right away.

From one Captain to another, Sir Yes Sir.

[Captain Tred Barta]

Everybody at sportfishermen.com, I'm begging for more activity on this thread. What great replies. One captain saved the lives of 5. Another man relates his experience of almost certain death, being thrown overboard in cold weather. A third relates important information about a trip log, about a float plan, about the use of cylumes and another talks about the need for all of us to give good crew briefings with everyone knowing what to do and when in case of an emergency. I ask from the bottom of my heart, for all of you to relate your screwups, your tragedies and your successes in boating safety. This is so very very important because any intelligent person will learn from every single entry as you go through this thread. I don't want to say too much here, but I'm asking for more participation.

At the end of each week, let all of us here develop together a long checklist, procedure checklist, contents in our ditchbags, safety ideas so that at the end of a month, two months, six months and a year from now, we have a checklist that's bullet-proof. I am asking ACR electronics to join us on this thread. I am also asking them for twelve prizes to be given out for the greatest, most inovative ideas in safety to be posted over the next 12 months.

Please everyone, jump aboard this thread. You could save a life just by typing on your keyboard. I would like to make one personal point about my boating. Running the last several years for the canyon out of Oaklands Marina, Shinecock Long Island, I always left an emergency float plan with Cord the dock manager. Cord is a dear friend and I would usually give him two areas that I was fishing, sometimes three. Let's say the dip 14786.2 / 43282.7 or the fishtail, 14650 / 43316. In both of these areas, I would give him exact loran numbers, where in case of emergency, I would try to get to or the search would start after a certain time.

I believe that all of us are guilty of not letting loved ones, or other fishing friends know of where we're going. Believe me any search is so far ahead when you know where to start.

Finally, the Coast Guard is not your enemy. They are an absolutly heroic group of American patriots. I salute everyone of them. Don't be afraid to give a float plan to your local coast guard.

One other point that I want everyone to think about. One problem usually will never kill you and your crew. I am a turbo prop and jet pilot with over 7500 hours with 22 ocean crossings. It's not one thing that kills you, it's when one thing is added to two things, which is added to three things. When you have a problem, the most simple problems compound quickly. What's my point? When you sense that you are in danger or potentially in danger, for God's sake, tell somebody. So many people are embarrassed to ask for help, or embarrased to let others know they "may" have a problem. This is a very big point of safety.

Big game hunting and fishing come with inherent risks. All of us in these sports, expecially with our family members, are in the risk management business. Manage well. Let's keep this thread going.

Till Next Tide,

Captain Tred Barta

[Avenger]

I had that conversation with my uncle... "There's no such thing as an accident. There's a chain of screwups that leads to a disaster." the day before he died in a boating "accident".

He agreed with me at the time. The next day he was caught in a chain of events. An inaccurate weather forecast, a very fast moving storm, failure to wear a PFD, being unable to hold on to the boat while he was trying to make sure his wife was safe, and so on. Maybe I take the safety issue more seriously because more than one person in my family has died in boating "accidents".

I watched this thread a while before replying because I was curious to see what the response would be like. We've had some excellent posts, but it seems like a lot more people would rather debate the merits of Calcutta Kill Tournaments than want to talk about coming home after the fecal matter collides with the air turbine.

A friend and I attended a fishing seminar and we split up the breakout classes between us. But we both agreed that the safety seminar was one we should both attend together. We were the only ones there.

It's not just about internet threads and seminars. I've had the opportunity to work on a lot of boats both commercial and recreational and I can see that a lot of guys don't take the issue seriously. Which brings me to my point. The second most important piece of safety equipment on your boat (your brain being number one) is.... THE BOAT! A large floating machine beats the snots out of jumping into the ocean no matter how good your raft is.

Not every fisherman is a mechanic, and I wouldn't expect them to be, but blind ignorance of how your boat and its systems work is inexcusable. Hearing a captain say "Oh, the yard checked it out when they put it in" makes me run for the dock. I've got news for you: the yard mechanic isn't going to be there when your bilges are filling up in the canyon. It's your @$$, not his.

Do you know how to change a fuel filter and re-prime a fuel system? Did you buy those tapered wooden dowels and tie the appropriate sized one to each of your seacocks so you don't have to go looking for one if a fitting breaks? Speaking of seacocks, when is the last time you opened and closed yours. Do they still move? How old are the hoses and clamps on the raw-water system? The stuffing boxes? Can you get the intake hoses off quickly and stick them in the bilge so the engine raw-water pumps can help pump you out? Or better yet, have crash valves set up so you don't need to fumble in a dark flooded bilge with a screwdriver.

Speaking of hoses, when is the last time the engine hoses were changed? When I bought my boat some of the hoses still had factory paint on them..., from 1982! It doesn't seem like a big deal if one of them pops on a sunny day. I'll run home on the other engine. I'll even put lures out and do some trolling. But it's rarely that easy. They'll pop and overheat an engine in six-footers. Now things are going to get uncomfortable, and the chain of events begins.

Bilge pumps. Sure, the factory one or two works okay. Do you have some real big monsters mounted up a little higher in the bilge for emergencies? Water comes in FAST even from a small hole. Do you have high water alarms? Do they work?

Fire extinguishers. When is the last time they were checked? Serviced? Do you have enough and are they easy to get to? They need to be near exits so your escape isn't on the other side of the fire you ran in to try to fight.

Have you ever done a MOB drill? Does anybody else in your crew know how to run the boat in case you're the MOB? Do they know how to use a VHF?

The biggest enemy is complacency. The scariest boats I've ever seen are some commercial boats, because they go out so often that they just get used to this not working, or that thing missing. Personally, I try to follow aviation practice in that I have a checklist and logbook for maintenance and safety items. Yes, it's important to have good safety equipment and a plan, but it's just as important to try to get ahead of the chain and break it before you need to trust your life to that EPIRB.

Oh by the way, that first, most important piece of safety equipment... use it. We had three guys die in a tournament here recently because they went out in conditions they weren't able to handle. Maybe Tred's other point about tournaments and how money makes people behave differently has something to do with this after all.

[Boonebird]

Capt. Tred

I'm semi new to the whole canyon fishing thing up here in hudson ,block and atlantis canyons. The last two trips I made offshore. Second to last we lost our life raft over board. We didnt learn of this till the next morning when we where pulling up 1800 of anchor line. What would you do in this situation?

Why is it that commercial and recreation guys cant get allong? Why I ask. We nearly ran over 300 feet of nylon rope on the last trip. thansk god all that happened was we chopped off a few spreader bars and lures and bent an outrigger. It looked like someone that had no clue what they where doing tied up to it at night and left his rope on the lobster gear. The bag was popped it was a mess. Now there is a lure and hook hanging from it.

Tred do you ever make it make to oaklands fishing now that your out west.