Things to Know Before You Go Gamefishing Charter Boat

First, do your research. What you want to catch dictates were you want to go and fish. Once you decide where you want to go, find out what charter boats are in the area. Read magazines, get on line and put some time in to find out all you can about your options. When you have a couple of possibilities, call them up, drop them an email, ask them questions, not just “how much is it?” but “what is the best time to come? What fish are in season? What type of tackle do you have on board and in what classes? Can the weather stop you going out? Do you fish under IGFA Rules? Is the skipper an IGFA Certified Captain? What about beginners? Can you put me in touch with a couple of previous clients? What types of fishing can you offer?

Try to find out if they are a serious charter boat with good equipment, a good crew and they know what they are doing!

If you can, talk to the skipper before you go out. Tell him/her what you would like to catch, your level of experience and if you would prefer calmer waters or are happy to corkscrew all day if the fish are there.

You are out there to have fun, not sit in a corner looking green and feeling miserable. If you start to feel unwell, tell the crew ! Here in Kadavu, we can always move to calmer waters.

A good charter boat will take your wishes into consideration when deciding how and where to fish.

When You Step Aboard

Listen to the safety briefing. It’s not just done to fulfil Maritime Safety regulations, it will also give you information about that particular boat, where emergency items are stored, where you can sit and where you should not go or sit during cruising for safety reasons.

Be prepared. Talk to the skipper or deckie. Ask questions like “what do I do when a rod goes off? And how do I do it?” We always establish the experience of our guests and we tell you what to do and show you how to do it. The last thing the deckie or the skipper wants is to lose a fish because of simple confusion on the deck.

I once watched 3 anglers begin, and continue with, a lengthy discussion on who should pick up a screaming rod whilst a nice sailfish of about 100lbs tail walked away from the boat. Despite us backing down, the sail took over 700 yards of 30lb mono and spooled the angler just as he finally reached for the rod.

Don’t fiddle with the equipment, even if you are experienced and understand its operation. Lever Drag Gamefishing reels have their drag settings carefully tested and set to a drag setting appropriate to the type of fishing you are doing and the fish you expect to catch. If you accidentally bump a reel setting – tell the crew.

The crew should be more than happy to explain the use of any piece of equipment and why it is set as it is.

On a Game boat, everything has a place. The crew may need to get something quickly so be careful not to move things around. Don’t rummage through tackle drawers or pull out equipment and toss it back in a mess. At best, you will annoy the crew (who will have to sort it all out again and at worst, you may get a hook through your hand.

When the deckie takes a leader or gaff in hand, stay well back. Only the angler and the deckie should be at the back of the boat. It you are there too, you are in the way. If you are marlin fishing, this is positively dangerous. Crowding the deckie not only blocks the skipper’s view, it endangers the life of both you and the deckie. You and he could be pulled overboard if a hand or foot gets tangled in the leader. If the deckie is tracing a big marlin and you get in the way – it’s a tense and potentially dangerous moment. Don’t be offended by the stream of loud four letter words directing you to move back.

You will get your chance to take close up pictures when the fish is tagged and under control.

When a fish comes aboard, stand well back and listen to the deckie’s instructions. They are for his safety as well as yours. Most lures used have 2 or more hooks. One may be in the fish’s mouth, the other may be swinging free – just waiting to catch you.

A colleague of mine got a 10/0 Stainless Steel hook embedded in his calf when a mahi mahi got loose on the deck. Very painful and that was the end of the days fishing.

A good charter boat will do everything it can to ensure you have an action packed, fun filled day of fishing. It is, after all, in their best interests that you go home and tell all your friends how good the fishing was and what fun you had. If you are out there flogging a dead horse (its rare but it does happen)….don’t blame the crew….they will be even more frustrated than you are!

Some Do’s and Don’ts

Do:
Take a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. You will get a lot of glare reflected off the sea, even on cloudy days.
Take a camera.
Wear non marking soft soled shoes.
Ask if you are fishing under IGFA Rules – You just might catch a World Record!
Ask, if you want to come up and see the bridge.
Eat your catch – you won’t ever eat a fresher tastier fish than one that you just landed.
Respect the boat. Don’t trash it. Rubbish makes its way to the bilge and can block bilge pumps.
Enjoy the whole day’s experience, not just the fishing!

Don’t:
Brag before you go about how many fish you are going to catch. It’s bound to blank your day.
Step on board wearing high heels or shoes that may damage or mark the deck.
Play with fishing equipment settings. (Even if you do know what you are doing)
Put a rod butt down on a teak deck – It will damage the teak. All rods go in rod holders.
Crowd round the deckie with a camera when he is tracing or gaffing a fish. STAY WELL BACK.
Bring a hand held GPS. If the skipper sees it, you won’t be going to any of his secret hot spots.
Access the foredeck or engine room. They are out of bounds unless the skipper specifically tells you otherwise.
Litter. Never throw any type of rubbish (including cigarette butts) overboard. Turtles eat butts and die.
March up to the bridge, plonk yourself down in the deckie’s seat and put your feet up on the console. Unless you want a swim.

Crew Talk Jargon Explained:

“Fiddler & Tweaker”: Somebody who can’t resist playing with reel drag settings or ratchets.

“Nibbler”: Somebody who stares at the outrigger tip when you are trolling 16” marlin lures on bent butt 80s and shouts “I think we just got a nibble!”

“Plonker”: Somebody who asks if they can bottom fish when you are 7 miles out on the Kadavu Trench in 1,000 fathoms of water. (6,000ft)

(I once had a guy stand up on the transom with the boat cruising at 22kts, wave at one of our resort dive boats following in our wake and decide to dive in. (My deckie Joe managed to grab him before he killed himself) Game boats and large quantities of beer do not mix. If you get drunk aboard one of my vessels, I will consider you a danger to the crew who will have to rescue you when you fall overboard. I will tie you to the game chair and drive home. Just so you know.)

Adrian was born on the island of Cyprus and graduated to his first rod & reel at the age of five. Having fished around the world from the Arabian Gulf to the North sea and English Channel, he finally settled for the tropical waters of the South Pacific around the island of Kadavu, Fiji Islands. Director of Matava Resort Gamefishing, he skippers ‘Bite Me’, the resort’s 31ft DeepVee Gamefishing vessel and thoroughly enjoys exploring the light and heavy tackle fishing around the island and Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef. An IGFA Certified Captain, he advocates tag & release and is a keen supporter of the IGFA and the Billfish Foundation.

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Adrian Watt,
IGFA Captain   �
http://www.matava.com

In order to better understand why swordfish concentrate their feeding habits in certain depths on any given night or why the bite is better during different times of the month requires you to better understand how the effects of moonlight influence swordfish.

Before you can understand how moonlight affects swordfish, you must understand the moon and its phases. The moon revolves around the earth in 27 days. The first phase of the moon at the beginning of its new revolution is what we call the “New Moon”. The new moon is when the moons face is in the shadow of the earth causing the moon to reflect no light and look dark to us. A week after the “new moon” the moon will be in its first quarter, meaning that one quarter of the moons total surface is reflecting light back to earth. Since we only see 50% of the moons surface, when the moon is in its first quarter it is actually referred to as a half moon by many of us since one half of the moons face is reflecting light. One week after the first quarter the moon will be full, and the whole face of the moon which is visible to us will be reflecting light. One week after the Full Moon and again the moon will appear as half since it will be in its last quarter. One week after the last quarter the moon will have completed its lunar cycle and be a “New Moon” again.

Now, if we look back to our past swordfish trips and our catch statistics we would see patterns for a few nights when all bites were at depths greater than 200’. And we would also see a pattern for a couple nights when all bites were at depths less than 100’. These changes are a direct effect from the amounts moonlight which was present during these patterns. We know swordfish are predatory species feeding on concentrations of squid and mackerel which are both diurnal species, meaning that during the bright daylight hours they stay in the deeper darker depths of the ocean and as daylight diminishes and night falls they rise to the shallower depths. Now, moonlight plays a role in where the concentrations of the bait will be congregating. For example, during a full moon, since much of the moonlight is shining through the oceans surface, the bright moonlight will cause the bait to stay deeper in the water column. Conversely, during a new moon with virtually no moonlight breaking the oceans surface the bait will congregate in shallower depths closer to the surface.

Of course, we should always have a bait in both the deeper and shallower part of the water column no matter what moon phase we are in, just in case there is swordfish wandering. Although, the brightness of the moon is an extremely good indication of what depth the majority of the swordfish bites we will be. During nights when the moon is full and bright the majority of baits should be fished deeper in the water column.
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Tightlines,   �
Captain Vinnie La Sorsa
Swordfishing & OffShore Charters
http://www.GoodFellasCharters.com

Once you have your tackle ready to go, let us describe a typical drift out in South Florida’s Gulf Stream. We are basing this drift using 4 lines. Some of your center console fisherman may be able to fish 5 or even 6 rods, but we believe 4 rods is sufficient and will cover the fathoms needed to catch that broadbill you have dreamed of. Swordfishing off the southeast coast of Florida has really taken a turn for the better. We are experiencing a fish size of 75-100lb on average. Although we are deemed to be the breeding grounds and anglers routinely catch “Pups”, we have our share of three-hundred pound plus fish move through. November thru January is usually some of our best months, as the water temperature is cooler. But with all good comes some bad. The seas are usually much rougher this time of year. In the summer time, we don’t see as much action, but we still get our share. This is a year-round fishery and will be around for a long time as long as we don’t abuse it. We ask that you please report you fish! Please report your catches and releases. We know you are not required to report a release, but by reporting that we are routinely catching the numbers, lessens the chances of commercial fisherman entering our waters. We cannot stress enough how important it is to report our catch.

We also want to practice safety especially while night fishing. We suggest that each angler on your boat carries a glowstick and whistle in his/her pocket. This way if they were to accidentally fall over, you would have a means of finding them. Another strong point is no sleeping! Cargo ships constantly are running through the swordfish grounds and if you are sleeping and they are on autopilot, trouble could be approaching. We have had some close calls to where we actually had to pick up and move to avoid a collision course with some freighters. Bottom line, if you want to sleep stay home.

Now lets fish!

Locating The Swordfish Grounds:

As you may know swordfishing takes place at night, as they are primarily nocturnal feeders. Leaving the dock in the late evening hours and coming back to the dock after midnight is the standard, depending on the time of the sunset. Calm seas have much to do with the decision of when to go out. Swordfish can be caught when it is rough or calm, but we must think safety first. The combination of a gps and good fishfinder is essential when finding good solid structure to start your drift. Off the South Florida coast, our sword grounds are generally between longitude 79-51W and 79-49W. This is roughly 15-18 miles off our coastline. A fishfinder that goes to at least 1500 feet is very beneficial; as you will see the canyons and structures that hold the bait, hence attract swordfish. *Tip – If you want to find the fish, set your fish finder range to just 100ft and you will find bait such as Tinker Mackeral or Sardines. Where there is bait, there is Sword! Swordfish are known to roam these deep depths around ridges and valleys. With the two combined units you are already ahead of the game. Radar is also an important piece of equipment, but not absolutely necessary. Once you are satisfied with your location, you want to spend the next 5-20 minutes figuring out your drift. The drift is a very important aspect. If you have heard that the bite is strong along the 79-50W line, you want to make sure you are drifting on this line. A top-notch sea anchor can work to keep you in this zone. Deploy your sea anchor off the boats center cleat for the best drift. But maybe, the bite is fluctuating from the west 48 lines to the 51 lines. In this case you would want to drift over and over these grounds. Turn on your vhf or check out our reports to see where the most action is for the night you are going out. With the proper drift you can stay in the zone all night and have baits soaking for the majority of the night. Don’t be in a rush to put the baits out. Take your time and factor the wind and current and decide, “Am I going to push in shallow or out deep”. Which side of the boats are the lines going to be on? How much wait should I be using to get my baits to the desired depth? How fast will my drift be? All these factors are worth considering before you turn off the engines and decide where you are going to ride out a drift.

Tackling Broadbills:Although a live bait seems ideal when setting out to catch any gamefish, don’t rule out your dead baits! Bobby Boyle of RJ Boyle Studios came out with a shirt that says, “Live Bait Sux”. Bobby definitely has a point when it comes to swordfish. As a beginner in swordfishing, we suggest sticking to just one live bait and the rest dead baits such as squid. You ensure a much better hookset when using a dead-bait, and your strikes will definitely not suffer from not using live-bait! Your sole livebait can be fished just under the boat around 85 feet down. It will blend in with the other baits that have congregated around your boat.

Lets discuss rigging your rods. We use mostly 50 wides, but have a few 80’s that are ready for that big wintertime swordfish. A 50w is plenty sufficient for swordfish. With the invention of hollow-core braid, guys can load their 30’s with the over 700 yards and be able to fish their light tackle rods for broadbills. When spooling the reels we suggest marking the last 400 feet of your line. Mark the line using waxline half stitches. This will enable you to easily drop your baits to the desired depth without having to count every time you setup. A counter can be used to count off the desired feet. If you can leave a loop in the waxline marker on your line, this would be ideal. Later on we will teach you how to tie the balloon or jug to that loop in the waxline. It is very important to make sure the waxline does not slip! Your first knot that will be used on your mainline is the popular bimini twist (about 5 ft). The knot acts as a shock absorber and is very beneficial to the rig. Take your bimini twist right to the ball bearing snap swivel and tie an offshore knot. Have this combination on all four of your rods.

Lets discuss your rigs. We first start out by measuring 15 feet of 200lb – 400lb mono leader. On the top end we crimp a loop using a nylon thimble so that we can attach it to our ball bearing snap swivel with ease. On the other end, crimp a 8/0 – 11/0 hook. Make sure the hook is very sharp, if not sharpen it. You should be able to press it against your finger nail and make a nice dent. On the hook you want to place a bridle that is used to bridle your live bait. It is a loop that is about 6 inches in diameter made out of rigging floss. Attach that bridle to the hook and you are set. Attach your live bait rig to your rods ball bearing swivel. At the swivel top circle you want to also attach 1 electralume and a flasher at your discretion. This helps to make your bait visible to the swords.

Lets rig your other 3 rods for a dead bait. A swordfish favorite is the squid. There are a number of ways to rig a dead squid, but the best method is to have the hook exposed half way down the mantle. We find this much more effective that placing the hook down by the eyes of the squid. . Once you have all four rods ready to be deployed, get out your jugs and weights, along with copper/telephone wire. Have the gaff ready to be deployed as some days you may drop the baits right into swordfish territory. We don’t know how many times we seem to drop a bait right on a swordfish. Tip* If you like to take your time in setting up, that’s fine. Go ahead and put out a flatline while getting your other rods ready. This way if you have a curious sword come to the boat, you atleast have a bait in the water. We have seen them come into the light on numerous occasions. If you don’t have a bait in the water, most likely they will just leave.

Setting up your first Drift

Drifting for swordfish is very very effective. Providing that you have your baits staggered, your chances of catching a South Florida Sword are very good! Now that you have 4 rods that are ready to be deployed, lets get some lines in the water. Once you find your desired area to fish, shut off all engines. Here you will analyze your drift. You can deploy a sea anchor if you think you are going to need it. Once you are satisfied with the direction and speed of your drift, get the first line out. As a general rule of thumb, get your longest lines out first, meaning jug/balloon baits. Check out our forums and communicate with fellow swordfish anglers regarding everything mentioned here. You may even find out what depth the fish were biting out the night before. But a general rule of thumb is on a New Moon, you fish the baits shallower. And on a full bright moon, you fish them deeper. Tip* Be sure to have a bait at 100 feet and 300 feet. These 2 depths are critical. Once you get a bite on one, you can adjust your other rods accordingly.

With the first rod, attach the live bait rig, along with your electralume and flasher. Then take about 12 inches of telephone wire or a #64 rubber band and attach a 32-ounce weight to the swivels top circle. Wrap the telephone wire about 6 times and pull to ensure it breaks away. Put it back on and let your bait down to desired depth. For this exercise, we will go 300 feet on the first line. Once the 300-foot marker on the line comes up, attach your jug or balloon to the loop you left in the waxline using telephone wire. You can attach the balloon or jug using telephone wire or a small rubber band. Again, test to make sure it breaks away when pressure is applied by fish. Let the float out about 50-80 yards from the boat. Don’t forget to put a glowstick into your jug for visibility.

Do the same to the second rod, but this time go to 200ft and let it out on the jug/balloon about 30 yards. It is very important to test different depths by the 100’s. Don’t forget to attach a lightstick to the jug/balloon for visibility. Once you have the 2 lines out on the jugs, lets move to your tip rods. The tip rods are called tip rods because that is exactly what they are. You will see the tip of the rod bounce heavily when a fish is slashing the bait. These rods are being fished right at the boat at varying depths. Apply the same rigs as mentioned above and set these rods at 150 feet and 100 feet. These will be your most active rods, as they are in the direct light of the boat.

Now that you have 4 lines in the water, lets get your 4ft light out and put it on the opposite side of the boat, to avoid direct light into your eyes. Turn off all boat lights and sit back and listen to your rods. Check all lines as needed. If you don’t have any action within 30 minutes to an hour, start by checking your tip rods. If the baits have been slashed than bring in your balloon/jug rods and re-bait. The 4ft green light can be a very important piece of the puzzle when swordfishing. We have had bait by the dozens including bar jacks, flying fish, and dolphin come to the light. With the bait we have seen swordfish follow right behind them. When swordfishing you want to have your best game turned on. Without the light at the boat you might as well stay home. We deem this light very effective. Think about when you see a boats navigation lights about 10 miles away. Imagine a swordfish. Their eyes are enormous and we bet can see much better than we think. This could be the difference between a fun-filled night and a very frustrating night. Check out the forums for more information on the secrets and tips. Fish On? Now What?

Once you hear the drag being taken out or you see a fish surfacing, you want to jump on that rod fast. Each rod should have a different color light that distinguishes it from your other rods. The enables you to determine which rod the fish is on. You should of had your drag set at practically nothing, just enough to keep the bait from taking off line. Get on the rod and start cranking until you get tight on the fish. Once tight, start increasing the drag until you hit about 8-16 pounds of drag. Too much drag may cause the hook to rip from the soft mouths of these fish. The hook will automatically set and you are in for a fight of a lifetime. Have a buddy put the belt on you, so you can stand up and fight the fish properly. Do not arch forward or your back will begin to hurt very quickly. Do not rush the fish. These fish get in excess of 400lbs and have been known to keep anglers on the wind for over 8 hours! Once the fish is at the boat, it is ideal to have one guy handline the leader and another guy with the gaff. We also suggest using wind-on leaders. This will help avoid the dangers of hand-lining a big fish. A swordfish has to be at least 47 inches to keep. So before hitting it with the gaff, you want to decide if you are keeping the fish or not. We recommend not keeping a fish under 60 inches. This will help the bounce back of the swordfish industry. If you do decide to keep the fish, you want to gaff the fish right in the gill plate to avoid ruining the meat. Always wear tough leather gloves, as the bill is very sharp. *Tip – Keep your hands together when leadering the fish. This will help avoid the dangers of hand lining the fish.Tight Lines,Swordfishing Central
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Michael Grimm
http://www.swordfishingcentral.com

For the average fishermen, the urge to go fishing is usually proceeded by the time honored ritual of checking out THE FISHING REPORT.

Most rivers and lakes in traditional “fish bearing” areas, appear to have some sort of guru who compiles daily catch and success rates of the men and women who toil the waters casting and trolling for fish.

In most cases it is a local newspaper columnist OR river guide turned columnist who reports or gathers the information we all crave before investing our precious time into fishy endeavors.In some cases, on line fishing reports can be useful but then we all know how reliable the internet is for accurate information.

Oh yeah–I write columns on the internet. So, I take it back. The internet is a wonderful source of information, take everything you read as gospel.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

…Several calls or e-mails to and from guides and respected fishermen allow for a fairly accurate assessment of water conditions and “bite” of the fish.Bait of choice and actual fish count numbers also help us to make decisions as to where and how we chase after our prey.

We open our outdoor section in our local daily, and read the report like a want ad, expecting to see a report that says: “Hey A.J.–Yeah you— grab your rod head out to the old military bridge, walk up to the first riffle upstream and cast to the inside pocket. There are thirteen steelhead sitting there waiting for about a half ounce of roe, spit some tobacco juice on it for luck and be sure to use about a half ounce of weight,let it sink to the bottom and bounce it lightly. You will feel a slight pause and heavy feeling on your eight pound test–that’s a fish dummy –so lift your rod and start yelling like a little boy.”

Of course, what we really get is:

Fishing is really picking up in the middle stretches of the river, with many catches being reported on roe,flies,worms,plugs,herring,small dogs and lures. Some fishermen are occasionaly picking up fish by side drifting bait while others are having some success back bouncing or picking off a few fish from the banks.The numbers of fish are generally good and guides are finding pockets of fish scattered throughout the river….

For the most part, you can cut and paste that report and use that as your fishing report for any river.

Except for the small dog part.

That is the problem with fishing reports. They are useless.

By the time you get the information, everything can change. Fishing conditions can change hourly, daily,and even by the minute, so— to go armed with yesterdays news is just waste of time. Just ask anybody who has ever gone to a place with old information and came away with that “I should have been here yesterday” feeling.

For my inspiration to head off to the river, I need only get my fishing reports from the “drive by fishing report”???

Let me explain.

I was tooling along the boardwalk of the main drag in my hometown of Jacksonville Oregon the other day,minding my own business deep in thought of some silly idle brain cell expulsion of energy. When a voice rang out,” did you hear about my fish?”

Outside of the fact, that I was not sure if God had finally answered my prayers and decided to personally have a conversation with me, I knew somebody was trying to get my attention. I looked around and there hanging out the window of his pick up truck was Jerry.

Relieved that I wasn’t going to have to grow a long beard and wander the desert while carrying stone tablets, I heard Jerry holler at me again.

“Did I tell you about the fish I caught the other day?”

The fact that he asked me a second time, and was willing to slow the traffic behind him to give me some up to the minute report on fishing told me this might be big news.

“I caught a twenty-four and a half pound steelhead up on the North Umpqua.”

I replied in a fashion that certainly would disqualify me from any future Mosaic job openings,and of course asked him–when?

“This past weekend.”

I repeated my “first impressions” of HIS luck, and then traffic pushed him along and he was out of there.

Now that is my idea of a fishing report.

I knew it was accurate, because he added the half pound in his report. I had the location, and I had the approximate time.It was short and to the point. And for those of you that are unfamiliar with southern Oregon steelhead– that is a huge fish.

At that point I had just received all the inspiration and information one could possibly need to go fishing.

In other words, as long as fish are present there is always the chance that I may be the lucky person to be on the other end of that battle with an incredible fish like that.

Isn’t that what it’s all about?

So if you need to check out the fishing report before heading out for a day or week of fishing-so be it. But really, if you have the basic knowledge of knowing where, and how to catch the fish that are present in the lake or river system. Just go. You can’t catch ‘em until you get your line in the water.

And who knows, maybe it will be you giving the daily “drive by fishing report” in your town…..
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A.J. Klott Author, writer of fishing humor,and “fly tack” peddler.A.J. writes about the people,characters and modern day events that surround the fishing world. His first book is due out in December of 2005. If you need a laugh or a fun gift, visit his website at: http://www.twoguyswithflys.com

Admiralty Law (also referred to as maritime law)

It is distinguished from the Law of the Sea, which is a body of public international law dealing with navigational rights, mineral rights, jurisdiction over coastal waters and international law governing relationships between nations. 

Prior to the mid-1970s, most international conventions concerning maritime trade and commerce originated in a private organization of maritime lawyers known as the Comite Maritime International (International Maritime Committee or CMI). Founded in 1897, the CMI was responsible for the drafting of numerous international conventions including the Hague Rules (International Convention on Bills of Lading), the Visby Amendments (amending the Hague Rules), the Salvage Convention and many others. While the CMI continues to function in an advisory capacity, many of its functions have been taken over by the International Maritime Organization, which was established by the United Nations in 1958 but did not become truly effective until about 1974.

The IMO has prepared numerous international conventions concerning maritime safety including the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), the Standards for Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW), the Collision Regulations (COLREGS), Martime Pollution Regulations (MARPOL), Maritime Search and Rescue Convention (SAR) and others. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defined a treaty regarding protection of the marine environment and various maritime boundaries.

Once adopted, the international conventions are enforced by the individual nations which are signatories, either through their local Coast Guards, or through their courts.
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Looking for Maritime Lawyers check our Marine Directory

While the docking techniques in boating are always going to be dependent upon the weather conditions, there are a few simple things that you should always keep in mind. First of all, in this particular case practice makes perfect. Although we can provide tips, please remember that the docking techniques in boating are going to be something you will have to personalize to your experience, your particular boat and of course, the dock itself.

Secondly, the most common mistake boater’s make when attempting to dock their boats is to try and approach the dock in a straight line. By approaching the dock from an angle, however, it will much easier to get close without scraping and to hit the spot you’re aiming for. Thirdly, the speed at which you come in to the dock must be controlled. Anything you’ve ever been told about the best docking techniques in boating probably mentioned that it requires you to run your boat in at the slowest possible speed.

This however, is not as easy as it sounds. Often, even idle speed on a boat is too fast. Coasting, however, as a docking technique in boating, causes problems in and of itself. Coasting reduces steering capability, which makes it even more difficult to accurately line up with the dock. The best way to counter this problem is to alternate between power for steering (short shots of forward gear) and coasting for speed control. Being able to use the best docking techniques in boating is not automatic.

You’ll have to practice this one over and over. As you get closer to the dock, the best docking techniques in boating will tell you to start to turn the boat. It is at precisely the same time, however, that you will also need to decelerate to a stop in reverse. Again, the deceleration reduces steering capability. When approaching the dock, you are going to have to rely on the momentum of the boat to get you over this obstacle.

Momentum and speed, however, are not the same thing. Momentum is simply the forward motion of the boat that will actually carry you into the dock. You will need just enough momentum to get into the dock and that will allow you to smoothly make the shift to reverse so you can stop. Once you’ve actually mastered this task, you’ll probably agree that the best docking techniques in boating were the ones that you learned by trial and error. None of the docking techniques you’ll read will ever be a better teacher than practice, practice, practice.

The best advice that one could ever receive when looking for information on the best docking techniques in boating would be to take it slow, don’t get nervous or discouraged and most importantly, remember that every time you try it, will make it a little easier the next time.

Thomas Holley is owner of Pontoon-Boat-Products.com

If you are familiar with the process of obtaining a drivers license, the acquisition of a boating license won’t bring anything new to you. Just like when you were training for your driver’s license you will be required to follow a boating course and at the end of that be successful in passing the final test. The entire mechanical operation of your vessel must hold no secrets to you and all the elemental safety procedures with respect to weather characteristics and navigation must be acquired knowledge.

Where to Find a Certification Course?

Your nearby department of recreation will be able to help you locate a boating license certification course. Most of these courses are conducted during spring and summer. Depending on the sort of vessel you want to apply for, your training course will be either short or very extensive.

It goes without saying that a lot more education will be required from you if you want to navigate in a large and powerful craft. It is a good thing as well because the bigger and faster a boat is, the greater the risks involved for you, your passengers and other fellow boaters. Your local department of recreation will be able to give you more ample and more specific information

Like so many things nowadays you can even find boating license classes online. You must ask yourself however how much value these classes can offer you. There is no substitute for going out there on the water to gather real hands on experience. The presence of water and other vessels around you will surely make you learn as much as possible to get you to become a safe and responsible boater.

A “real world” class will also give you the opportunity to work closely with your instructor. Being face to face you will be able to ask questions and get the necessary feed back from him. Both these elements are vital to your boating instruction.

Limitations

In this matter of seeking a boating license there are a few limitations you need to be aware of. Just like with the driving license there is an age limit: the applicant must be at least sixteen years of age. It is however possible to get a provisional boating license for youngsters between the age of twelve and sixteen. They have to complete the necessary boating education and have to be accompanied by a licensed adult whenever they are driving a vessel.

You have to pay attention to the different state laws, most state boating licenses are valid across the state borders, but it always is a good idea to check the regulations of the state you are planning to go to before you set sail. Sometimes the age requirements change between one state and the other, so make sure you comply with the state law. Happy boating.

Frank Rom runs an information site about boating and boating vacations.

http://www.boating-102.com

The following diagram shows how the moon causes tides on Earth:
  
In this diagram, you can see that the moon’s gravitational force pulls on water in the oceans so that there are “bulges” in the ocean on both sides of the planet. The moon pulls water toward it, and this causes the bulge toward the moon. The bulge on the side of the Earth opposite the moon is caused by the moon “pulling the Earth away” from the water on that side.

If you are on the coast and the moon is directly overhead, you should experience a high tide. If the moon is directly overhead on the opposite side of the planet, you should also experience a high tide.

During the day, the Earth rotates 180 degrees in 12 hours. The moon, meanwhile, rotates 6 degrees around the earth in 12 hours. The twin bulges and the moon’s rotation mean that any given coastal city experiences a high tide every 12 hours and 25 minutes or so.