How not to do it

As I busy myself with gathering up my charts and clearing out collected "stuff" from various lockers and cabinets on the boat so we can load it up for our trip, I am also aware of the unfolding events in the waters off Tampa where several men are still missing after their 21-foot boat was found overturned. While we will be passing through that area in a week or so, I want to assure the non-mariners looking in on this blog that there is no comparison between how those men went to sea and how we intend to conduct ourselves.

First and foremost, I will not subject us to sea conditions that would challenge Calypso's seaworthiness, as those men foolishly did with their small boat. A strong front had just passed or was passing through the area off Tampa creating very rough seas, and they decided to go out anyway - they challenged Mother Nature and lost. I am monitoring about five different weather and sea state websites to ensure as calm a passage as I can. If the water conditions I have pre-determined to accept are not met, we won't go into open water, period. That said, quite a lot of our trip will be in waters we could wade ashore in.

Secondarily, we are probably better equipped than that 21-footer off Tampa. When in open water, we have the inflatable dinghy ready for rapid deployment as a liferaft should we have to leave the Calypso. In the dinghy we have a water-proof box with flares and a hand-held marine transceiver. Most importantly, we have immediately at hand a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) which sends our exact position to the National Rescue Center via satellite within a couple of minutes of activation. Like having a lot of spare parts means you never seem to have to use them, I am confident I have "wasted" thousands of dollars on this emergency equipment. :)