Bar crossing goes wrong

[frozenpod]

I know one copped it, saw a post about it of Facebook. A pro ab diver, with good knowledge of the ramp/area.

Bugger.

[Sebb]

Oh wow that's scary. Hope they're okay.
Weird, some swells look okay then these two boats got hit by the high rolling breaks.

[cobby]

Oh wow that's scary. Hope they're okay.
Weird, some swells look okay then these two boats got hit by the high rolling breaks.

That's why you sit back away from the breakers and get a feel for the sets before heading through. They both looked like they shat dacks and tried to stop, little bit more power to keep the boat straight through the breaking wave. They would've been soaked, but that's better than swimming

[4liters]

In the vid, simple, should not have been there. If you are going out to recreational fish. Never go if conditions are a bit dodgy, you are going for fun. Smashing out through breakers isn't fun. Don't do it. Regarding pro divers and fishers there is some commercial pressure, this leads to occasional bad judgement. As an ex commercial operator I can say I have made those bad judgements and suffered the consequence. That is what leads to "experience".

Sort of but if you cross bars you will eventually find yourself against an unexpected vertical wall of water.

Knowing how to deal with that safely is basic seasmanship skills.

Both those boats could have safely passed those exact waves if driven correctly and the second boat could have recovered.

Out of interest what would you do in that situation?

I know on the kayak launching through surf the best bet is to try and get up as much speed as possible and head straight into the waves even if they're well over head height when you're sitting down. It's a fairly moist start to a day of fishing but I haven't been knocked off yet.

[bowl]

2nd boat should of drove back in , not tryed to get out 2nd time
Both should of waited for break in sets and been further left to where blue water is and not go out thru white water were previoous waves had broke in

[ben475]

WOW fark haha...

I like to watch the "noosa bar" videos on youtube sometimes, some interesting ones on there.

i'm not an experienced bar crosser myself but just going faster into those breakers wouldn't have been any good. the guys on the noosa bar vids who hit decent waves too hard end up vertical and usually capsize.

[hornet]

It's all about the timing, if you watch and count the sets coming through you will see a pattern, a lull ...when you see this lull it's time to go !
I've sat in the Narooma entrance watching and counting waves for a long time before taking off into the waves.

Sure from a high vantage spot you can make judgement on others, but at sea level it's a different ball game. I used Narooma as a base for 5 or 6 years of the Canberra yellowfin comp in the early days, not for the faint hearted some days !

[Boonanza]

2nd boat should of drove back in , not tryed to get out 2nd time
Both should of waited for break in sets and been further left to where blue water is and not go out thru white water were previoous waves had broke in

This :thumbsup:

[frozenpod]

Out of interest what would you do in that situation?

I know on the kayak launching through surf the best bet is to try and get up as much speed as possible and head straight into the waves even if they're well over head height when you're sitting down. It's a fairly moist start to a day of fishing but I haven't been knocked off yet.

Ideally the best situation is to not be there in the first place.
There was much safer water a little further out from the rockwall, maybe another 30m.

Firstly you should have high flow bilge pump(s) and they should be on before you attempt to cross.
Even with your best efforts you will eventually end up facing a large breaking wave and you have to deal with it and come out the other side safely.

SWR is a prime example it is a long bar you go in everything looks perfect it can be totally different before you have finished crossing, a lot more boats go over at SWR compared with Narooma for example. Whilst Narooma is famous for big waves there is normally only 3 waves to deal with. SWR whilst typically claim is still a bar and has dozens of waves to deal with.


So when you have to clear the wave, how do you clear it. You need enough momentum ie speed to make it through so the boat doesn't turn and go backwards and end up being rolled. IE the first boat needed a lot more speed. The boat needs to be correctly balanced, correct motor trim but the critical factor is momentum.

The second boat again same problem they needed a lot more momentum ie speed. After the first near miss they should have been 3/4 to wide open throttle and turning left. Even if they turned right lots of throttle was the only way to recover.

[frozenpod]

WOW fark haha...

I like to watch the "noosa bar" videos on youtube sometimes, some interesting ones on there.

i'm not an experienced bar crosser myself but just going faster into those breakers wouldn't have been any good. the guys on the noosa bar vids who hit decent waves too hard end up vertical and usually capsize.

You need more momentum not less. The slower you go the more vertical you tend to go.