safe to be out on lake porchartrain tonight?

[nickatnite]

Be very careful, the lake can sink a boat in a matter of minutes, waves have kicked up on me before and I've hardly made it back in with a boat 1/2 full of water, wear your life jacket, keep a flashlight in your pocket, your cellphone double bagged tied to your lifejacket, and let a few people know where your headed out to.

And while you are doing that, take a sharpie and write your N.O.K. Phone number on your arm...

 

[3fifty7]

Well, did y'all catch anything other than a hangover?

 

[SHOT1]

Yes sir! Not anything to write home about though. 3 of us went, the lake was calm for the most part, but when we did get some waves, they rocked that little boat so hard, the other two got sea sick. We had to find dry ground so they could stop puking, lay down and recover a little. I'm guessing we were about a 1/4 mile away from shore. I can tell you this. Everything y'all said was spot on ( as I expected it would be). When we nearly ran over the first stump, we slowed down and were extra careful. There's all kinds of crap out there on the lake. Also, had the lake decided not to be so calm, that would have probably been our arse, cuz even the little waves were rocking this sucker pretty good. The boat owner was such a nervous wreck, he couldn't even fish. He quickly realized this little adventure was probably "on the riskier side" and at any moment things could potentially get pretty bad. Let's just say we learned a LOT! And I'd like to think that thanks to y'all's advice, we didn't end up in serious trouble. I doubt we'll be taking that boat back out to the lake. There really is plenty of bayou to scoot around in.

I'm gonna go get some shut eye, this was quiet the adventure.

 

[SHOT1]

Be very careful, the lake can sink a boat in a matter of minutes, waves have kicked up on me before and I've hardly made it back in with a boat 1/2 full of water, wear your life jacket, keep a flashlight in your pocket, your cellphone double bagged tied to your lifejacket, and let a few people know where your headed out to.

Yep, we did just that. We got through it fine. But let's just say even though from the get go I knew this was not the best idea, I didn't realize how bad until we were out there. I'm thanking GOD it didn't rain or wind didn't pick up, as it very well could have.

 

[sandman7925]

Yeah, sometimes 2 little catfish are worth dying for.

 

[honestlou]

Two things:

1) If he's not an experienced boater, I highly recommend that he take a class, like those offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. There's fundamental knowledge that he should have, and he'll probably get a discount on insurance, if he has insurance on the boat.

2) Somebody needs to learn how to take fish pictures--hold it out at arms length so the fish is much closer to the camera than the person holding it-- makes it look huge!

 

[Sully]

Hmmmm gaftop sandwiches after a good puking...lol. I night fish big lake and based on the conditions prob would've sat this one out

 

[MyTFAL]

Simple mistakes on the water multiply the consequences 10x. One of my good friends is a St. Tammany Sheriff, he spends most of his time in their patrol boat. I'm glad he didn't bring you home. The lake in a 16' flat in daylight is a good weather proposition only. At night, with torrential storms all around, it is actually pretty stupid. I am glad ya'll made it back safe and sound.

 

[JR1572]

Two things:

1) If he's not an experienced boater, I highly recommend that he take a class, like those offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. There's fundamental knowledge that he should have, and he'll probably get a discount on insurance, if he has insurance on the boat.

2) Somebody needs to learn how to take fish pictures--hold it out at arms length so the fish is much closer to the camera than the person holding it-- makes it look huge!

I took that class. I learned a good bit in the class but actual time on the water trumps that class. I've spent a lot of time on the water, and I still hate going out in a boat at night. Especially one without radar.

Now that I think about it, the last letter of commendation I received was from retrieving stranded boaters at night...

JR1572

 

[3fifty7]

Gaftops .... hummmm.
Glad y'all made it back in one piece.

 

[Tom Gresham]

Strobe light attached to you.

Personal locator beacon with GPS attached to you.

Inflatable suspenders WORN ALL THE TIME.

VHF radio in waterptoof case that allows it to be used in the case. On you.

Two QUALITY flashlights ... yep ... on you.

If it is not attached to you, you don't have it.

That lake will kill you. Simple as that.

 

[buttanic]

It is said that experience is the result of taking the test before learning the lesson. You all took the test, hope you learned the lesson.

 

[SHOT1]

It is said that experience is the result of taking the test before learning the lesson. You all took the test, hope you learned the lesson.

That is precisely what happened. I'm glad we did it and didn't die. I was crossing the causeway sunday afternoon, weather was pretty bad, and was looking at those waves and realized that if weather had gotten shity all of a sudden while we were out there, we would have never made it out!

My friend sent me a pic of the path of our trip (follow the red line, starting at madisonville bridge launch). We stuck to the plan to stay close to shore, but none the less, this was playing with fire, it would have taken next to nothing for that little boat to take on water.