Boating on the Gulf… Safety Tips
The Gulf of Mexico is one of Mother Nature’s premiere wonders. But when conditions go sour, she’s just a plain ol’ “mother.”
He’s long gone, but Capt. Herschell Gollott was convinced that someday the sea would take him. The barefooted and leather-tanned charterboat skipper was a legend in his time, a fellow who through a keen sense of understanding engine rpms and compass headings could put a boat smack-dab on top of a rock better than 60 miles offshore.
He was also my father’s best friend.
I remember Herschell as the highlight of my childhood deer camp experiences. He was tall and lanky, with a ready smile and a knack for making kids feel like big guys in an adult environment. One of my proudest days occurred when … after a quick trip to a stock tank on the family ranch … I returned with a stringer of a dozen or so bass, all taken on a Woodchopper topwater I’d bought from the Pearland TG&Y Store.
Herschell could eat red snapper any day of the week. Largemouth bass, and ducks, too, were delicacies to the crusty old boat captain, and my brother Bill and I provided them to him at every possible opportunity. He, in turn, mixed them in with deer liver, deer heart, a plethora of onions and chopped-up God-knows-what-else and cooked up the finest deer camp gumbo known to Man.
At least that’s the way we remembered it. Anything Herschell did, from cooking at camp to sharing fishing and hunting stories, was ace-number-one in our book. He told us then, and he meant it, that he feared the Gulf. He was sure that someday, somehow, the Big Pond would take him away.
It wasn’t the Gulf, but cancer, that ended the life of our friend Herschell. My dad, who by his own admission would have much rather died of a heart attack while fighting a big redfish on the channel side of the North Galveston Jetty, succumbed to heart failure in December of 1991. He, too, respected the Gulf.
He, and his best friend Herschel, knew just how dangerous the big pond can be. They caught some huge fish together … including a 94-pound amberjack (at the time, a new state record) my father caught on July 4, 1979, during the annual Freeport Jaycees Fishing Fiesta … but they never got so wrapped up in the action that they neglected to watch the weather.
So, every summer, and come Fourth of July, a time at which we need to remember all of the brave men and women who have given their lives to assure the liberties we take for granted each and every day, I ask that you, too, respect the Gulf.
With any luck we’ll see “ice cream” seas smooth as the proverbial glass, and we’ll catch kingfish and ling like they’re ants on a double-dip cone. But we shouldn’t, and mustn’t take those conditions for granted. They can change quicker than politicians change parties. And when they do, they create a formula for disaster.
Check your boat before departing from the dock. Treat it like an aircraft prior to take-off. Double-check the life jackets; make sure the air horn is working; and if you don’t own one, get a “drift anchor.” (The Drift Control Sea Anchor is arguably the best on the market.)
In the unfortunate event your engine conks out (and if you’re really safety-conscious, you have a small “kicker motor” on the transom alongside the big powerplant), a drift anchor on a long rope will keep your bow positioned straight into the wind. It’s a great optional device to have on hand when drift fishing, as it substantially slows the drift rate of a drifting boat and makes it easy to position the hull in accordance with the approach and number of fishermen aboard. But as a safety device, it’s mandatory. If you don’t have one; get one. If the day ever comes that you need it, you’ll thank God you bought it.
Make sure your bilge pump is operational. Clean the screens of any intakes, and make a quick run on the water before taking a long-unused boat offshore (or even out on the bay, for that matter).
Take along a GPS unit, either a handheld or a dash-mounted system. Mark the channel mouth at your point of departure. You may think you know your way in, or that you can rely purely on your compass. Both points may be valid; or, they may not. A recent night fishing trip to the Galveston jetties made me very happy I had brought along my handheld Magellan. Following that little arrow down the line on the screen makes navigation as simple as it gets. You know in a glance exactly where you are, your exact heading, how far away you are from your destination, and how fast you are moving.
A GPS … especially since the satellites have now been “corrected” to accurize readings … is a precious commodity for the serious and safety-conscious boater. My little Magellan now retails for only a little over a hundred bucks. It not only logs waypoints and plots routes, but also gives instant readouts of “best times” for fishing and hunting that I have found to be extremely useful (and amazingly accurate in terms of predicting fish and game activity).
Also … and this one is arguably more important than anything … buy a VHF radio if you do not already own one, even if it’s a basic handheld. Shakespeare makes quality VHF units and quality antennas as well; Uniden is another good brand at a good price. Whatever the brand or price, invest in a VHF. It’ll provide you instant weather updates, and on Channel 16, will keep you in touch with a great many other boaters.
Hopefully, you won’t need the assistance of those boaters. Nor will they need yours, with any luck. Unfortunately, however, it’s not luck alone that brings us safely back to port.
NEVER forget that when you leave the dock.
–Reprinted and updated from the original coastalanglers.com website - Respect the Gulf, and have a Happy 4th of July
Jul 4, 2001
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