Welcome to the Offshore Boating Safety Requirements and Preparation article by FishingMad. Safety and preparation are critical components of fishing offshore. You must take every measure to ensure you go out in safe conditions and have all the necessary gear available should you encounter an emergency. When it comes to safety, don’t take shortcuts. Never take unnecessary risks and put yourself or your passengers in vulnerable situations. If you’re new to boating, then take considerable time to learn about the wind strength and direction on swell and wave height. Plus, how to properly operate and maintain your vessel.
The guide below will walk you through the critical steps in planning your trip aswell as the mandatory safety gear required for your offshore trip. For more specific details, please download the latest Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook or visit the Maritime Safety and VFA Website.
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Offshore Boating Preparation
- Check the weather forecast and conditions. Take considerable time to study the wind strength, wind direction, swell and tide times. These are critical to understanding safe conditions.
- Make sure the vessel is in good working order.
- Make sure your vessel can handle the volume of passengers you intend to take
- Ensure you have ample fuel for your trip
- Ensure all vessel Batteries are fully charged
- Inform someone of your trip
Offshore Boating Requirements
These are the mandatory requirements when boating two nautical miles offshore
- Life Jackets ( level 100 or greater )
- 2 inshore flares ( two hand-held red distress flares & two hand-held orange smoke signal flares )
- 1 parachute/rocket flare ( Orange smoke signals, which can be seen for up to 4 km (10 km by aircraft )
- EPIRB ( Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon ) ( satellite distress signal )
- Marine Radio ( channel 16 / 67 alternative )
- Waterproof buoyant torch
- Fire extinguisher
- Fire blanket ( if cooking )
- Anchor
- Bailor with lanyard
- Compass or GPS navigation
Marine Radio Channels
The following graphs show the UVH channels for marine usage.
Boating Safety Matrix
Thanks for reading Offshore Boating Safety Requirements and Preparation. If you have any enquiries, don’t hesitate to reach out at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au. Tune into the FishingMad YouTube channel, which has countess videos of fishing and boating.
