Big Water and Responsibilities

[rjitterbs@gmail.com]

Hey,
The how to drive on big water thread has been sitting in the back of my head since I read through it and added my two cents to it. But, something I have never seen on a forum are the responsibilities of the boat owner, "Captain". Whether you are a ticketed captain, a boat owner with a ticket or just a boat owner, you are still THE CAPTAIN. And with that title come a ton of responsibilities that are exacerbated by big water.
First and foremost, what is big water? Big water can be that 3 foot deep mud puddle you call your home lake. You know that after a certain wind speed the lake because of its shallowness becomes impossible to navigate. That makes it big water. Big water is definitely Oahe, Superior, Francis, Erie, Devils Lake, etc. and they can bite you in a minute. All of these lakes will test your abilities as a captain. Ticketed or not.
Now on to our responsibilities.

A captain has two basic responsibilities; 1) Everyone that you allow on board comes back alive, 2) No-one gets put in the water. There is not a one or two position. These are both the same and equal.
I will use hypotheticals to help understand what I believe to be the captain's responsibilities.

1) You as captain have determined that everyone on board wears a life jacket at all times. One of your clients/friends tells you that they are unnecessary because he or she is great swimmer. Leave this idiot at the dock.
2) You as captain have determined that everyone needs to know where the throw cushions, retrieval rod/gaff, life ring with tether line, etc are located on the boat. Anyone who is detrimental to getting this information across gets left at the dock.
3) This relates directly to big water and our responsibilities. You get to the ramp and things may not look that bad but your local knowledge/sixth sense and your phone are telling you that the weather is going to get much worse before it gets better. You have someone in your party that may be a long time fishing buddy, a family member who has never fished or anyone else on the trip and they start in. They start with how the weather is perfect, they are really looking forward to this trip or go all the way to "be a man/woman" line of attack. If you succumb to this peer pressure and launch your boat you have abdicated your responsibilities as the captain and violated the moral responsibility to keep everyone on your vessel safe.

One other hypothetical takes place in the Pacific Northwest. Everyone is having a good time and all of a sudden you strike a submerged log and hole the boat. You are going down and everyone is going in the water. Is this an accident or a mistake? I place it in the mistake category. You as the captain should have known that you were in the shipping lanes and that it is not uncommon for a 40' log to fall off of a timber ship headed to Japan. You should have known that these logs are normally green when loaded and when they hit the water absorb enough extra water to partially submerge them in a very short period of time. You as the captain screwed up because you were obviously traveling too fast for the location and conditions. Hypotheticals but also real world possibilities when you are the captain.

Another responsibility of being the captain is your log book. You should know how many hours are on the engine(s), how many hours are on the boat ( yes, this is different) because the hull receives wear and tear when on the trolling motor (electric or outboard) and a full maintenance log. You, as captain, should never have any doubt as to when the boat has been serviced. The question, "Did I change the lower unit oils last fall?", should never be an unanswerable question. Your logs will tell you.

You and me, we are the captains of our vessels and we are ultimately responsible for the safety and life of everyone that sets foot on our vessel. Protocol demands that everyone request permission to come aboard and by granting that permission you are telling that individual that their life and safety are in good hands. This may sound over the top but it is not. It is the very essence of being the"captain". Being a captain, ticketed or not, is a great responsibility and if you think this thread is ridiculous then you should sell your boat.

I fish alone for a number of reasons but I do have family and friends on board occasionally. I know my wife would miss me dearly if something were to occur but I am not going to put other families in the position of mourning a loved one because of my inadequacies or down right stupidity as a "captain".

It is a tremendous responsibility and needs to be constantly perceived as such. Especially when your children or grandchildren start driving. We must instill in them the awesome responsibility that comes with driving the boat.

I am done pontificating. Thanks for reading.

[TUNASUB]

Wow... I agree to a point, but there are day's when we are just floating for the most part, and the girls in bikini's don't want to put the life jacket on since their tops are off and it messes up their tan. I'm good with that as the Captain..

Wound a little tight there bud. Safety is no accident though..

[Custom Eyes]

You lost me at life vest mandatory at all times. Over the top and ridiculous. I'm not making my adult passengers wear a vest while casting in 3-5FOW on a 80+ degree day, or almost any time for that matter, unless conditions dictate otherwise.

[Juls]

You won't keep customers very long, or stay in business very long if you live by that life jacket rule.

The USCG required jackets are those big orange puffy things....not the nice inflatables or ski type jackets. No one will wear those all day in a boat. No one.