I have been out in a 3 to 4m swell before and that would be my limit, wind wise anything more than 15 knots gets pretty un pleasant especially an easterly

i would say its a experiance thing and also knowing the area knowing what your boat does in certain conditions  and your limitations as a skipper i have been out behind 3mile off ocen reef in my 4.45 tinny a 4.5 mtr swell but i know the are well and drove to conditions i made a educated decision from past experiance but im shore plent of people will say im a dick head ,  having said that there is risk evertime your boat goes in the water

480 quinnie........over 2m swell and 15kn winds and the boat stays home.

swell hasn't yet been an issue for me. just don't go anchoring on the reef.

sea on the other hand can put an end to my day fairly quickly.

i've been out in my 6 meter boat and not been able to crack 5 knots. thats too rough

heard of some bloke goin out in storms in a 12 ft tinny..........

but on a seriouse note when it becomes uncomfortable  then its no good for me

what would you call uncomfortable!

when its unsafe to stand on the boat at rest its way past the  time to go

hahahaha im soo lazy ... swell i dont care about really . . but i hate the choppy crap .. if there are a lot of white caps i cant be bothered launching . if im already out there then 20kn winds are annoying .. 7.5m westerberg

Going out in to conditions that would be a border line decision is not a good choice, if you think you are going to be uncomfortable forget it. You are doing it as a sport/ hobby/ relaxation so why go out and get belted and lie through your teeth to yourself that this is what its about.

I've only got a five metre boat and when fishing over at the islands off Carnarvon once I notice the very first sign of the sea breeze its up anchor and on the way home regardless of what is biting. Sometimes its still like glass when you're half way home but nine out of ten times its shitty by the time we're five miles out.

More than once I've motored down from Koks Island at the northern end  to the gap between Bernier and Dorre islands a distance of around 7-8nm in the expectation of a very strong breeze coming in so that the weather will be from behind instead of side on and fished there while waiting for the breeze.

Too many boaties on holidays have the thought in their heads that they must go regardless of the conditions and not surprisingly are the ones who get in trouble. Was pro fishing out of Hamelin Bay one Easter when on the Monday the weather turn nasty. When you see that the pros haven't gone out doesn't that ring a bell somewhere. We the decky and I were on the boat doing some maintenance when a bloke steams over in an about 24/26 foot glass boat and asks which is the best way to get his boat out.I told him to forget it and drop his decky off to drive the vehicle and trailer round the cape to Flinders bay ramp at Augusta. Stuff that he said and away they went. Next thing we see was the boat sitting at right angles across the trailer  and the ute halfway under water with bloke floundering in the surf. They had two more goes before he came back and ask directions on the safest passage round the cape. The same day there was a couple of arms broken by idiots trying to do exactly the same thing.

It was all eyes on us when we finally came in, decky gets dropped off, reverses half way down the ramp waiting for the signal then backs all the way. As soon as he sees my right hand wind the rope round the post he's heading up the ramp regardless of wether the boat is on properly or not[ we can right that later] thankfully it was a perfect retrieval but then we were set up for that sort of thing where all the holiday makers weren't.

If things go egg shape and you get in the shit because of your poor choice of weather conditions think about the blokes who are going to go out in the same or worse to rescue you. If you don't think about your own safety think of theirs, they have loved ones who worry about them too and let them know as soon as possible instead of waiting. You can always cancel your call but at least they have extra time on their side.

Sorry  [NOT] for harping on but SOLAS is one of my main concerns

I look at seabreeze and if the arrows are red the boat gets wet

Im prity much the same as feral,swell im not to much worred about ,but over 18 knots is a pain in the butt, i fish out wide tho im not a big fan of inside fishing much ,thats is under 20m ,i like over 60m+

jeff

Dad you hit the nail on the head you got to know everthing before you even put the boat in {ramp,condictions,knowledge of the area,your ability and posable alternatives } thanks dad { canarvonite}

jeff

everything over 2.5meter swell and 15knots gets to much for my little boat

5.2 genesis been out to sw bank in 3 m swell not to bad on a calm day but anything over 15 knots is just not worth it way too uncomftable and the drift is just too quick

we have a 23 ft fraser that is a very dry boat and we find 3.5 metro is our cut off if the wind is more than 10knts, if the swell is lower we will go out in stronger winds but 20knts is our no go zone. generally it depends on wind direction and location, some places you go fishing you can fish in quite strong winds and it wont affect you

There's some good comments here.

Things that I look for.....

Can I launch and and retrive safely in the current and forcast condtions.

If the conditions are marginal or are forecast to worsen, say in close for a quick run back to shelter.

As mentioned before, we do this for fun. If your not having fun, the boat should be back on the trailer.

Always give yourself a big safety margin. Dont be afraid to call it a day or be pressured to go out if you're not comfortable.

I think 3m swell is dooable just watch the period you really want 10secs and up otherwise I find it makes me a bit uneasy ;) wind propbly up to 10/15 a strong easterly makes it ugly at times as waves adn swell want to go diffrent ways. high swell long period and low winds lesser swells I dont mind stronger winds up to 20kn but the problem si holding ground can be iffy even with a decent sea anchor ps ryan sells really nice localy made ones.

I think 3m swell is dooable just watch the period you really want 10secs and up otherwise I find it makes me a bit uneasy ;) wind propbly up to 10/15 a strong easterly makes it ugly at times as waves adn swell want to go diffrent ways. high swell long period and low winds lesser swells I dont mind stronger winds up to 20kn but the problem si holding ground can be iffy even with a decent sea anchor ps ryan sells really nice localy made ones.

5.4m Trailcraft. A little blessed in Dampier with so many lea areas, and usually little swell. 3m swell + no go. Wind is a little different because of the lea situation, but anything above 20kt is bloody uncomfortable in King bay and dampier Sound (Northerly winds for King bay, westerlies for Dampier Sound) Easterlies limit you to sticking close to the Burrup, but using it as a lea you can get out in Easterlies above 20kt and still fish comfortably in the leas provided by Gidley, Angel Islands and if you are particularly brave along legendre.

With current up here often it is like a washing machine. Current one way, swell another and the wind another. That can make it interesting reading the best way through the sea.

The guys going out in the Fishing Comps up here have been out trying to catch Bilies in 30-40kts this year. Stuff that.

Safety and comfort first.

Im a bit like Feral but it also depends what time of year for me.

Got a 26 foot console, and lets just say if the winds howling you get wet! not a fan of getting wet in the middle of winter!!

So winter usually winds have to be down...but i am getting lazy nowdays!

Summer who cares!!! Cray pots are out at rotto so we go in anything, and i mean litterally anything!!!

Scano will remember a trip out to rotto to get the cray pots december the year before last... it was howling 35knot winds and a 2.5m swell. Lets just say we made it and got some crays to boot :) and it was an experience! but dam i may aswell have swam over we got that wet!

Good thing about heavy boats they can sit in pretty rough weather quite safely (windy)

We dropped the pots over at rotto last year in i dunno 25 knot winds on opening day, no swell tho but man another WET day! but almost summer nice and warm, no one cared!!

Went to hamelin bay with Scano 3 months ago took his tinny down, and it was a reasonable swell over 2.5m and 10-15knot winds, and it was frustrating!!

But this time of year, usually wont go out unless we can sit on 25-30 knots :)

as far as im concerned wind to 10 knots and .5m swell makes it a no go unless i have help to launch and retrieve from any of the Busso ramps other than Port Geo as it's impossible to keep it lined up on your own. Even with assistance the bay is too choppy for comfort once the whitecaps get up. These are the days the Blackwood calls.

I guess I'm getting older, I ask myself what will happen if theres problems,motor,fuel etc and should I put people at risk to rescue me, just my thoughts on it

Any strong easterly, anything over 3m swell and 15 knot winds and I don't launch.5.4m Quinny

We have the 42' westcoaster so the swell doesn't come into my calculations but even with the bigger boat , I cant be bothered heading out in anything above 16 knots.

Crank up the BBQ in the pen ........much nicer way to spend the day !

swell doesn't really come in to the equation its the bloody wind that makes it difficult!!!

swell (no wind wave behind it) ok, but old fart won't take boat out if strong wind warning or over 12knots, too old to rock and roll in the boat,  stupid if you do, as you put too many people at risk to come and rescue you if something goes wrong, plus I don't think your insurance will cover you with a offical strong wind warning.  Northerly winds, forget it for fishing.  He loves a nice gentle easterly to go out and come home with the southerly blowing, especially in Leeman.  We have a 18' boat.

Being an ally boat its not much fun in rough seas trying to head into the wind.

I prefer 15knots or less but have fished stronger winds in the past and just adapt to them by hanging in close. 3m swell is max I like to fish, as getting out past the breakers can give you a heart attack sometimes and I'm not quite ready to die just yet.

One point I will make is that you should be very conscious of wind direction and swell direction as some combinations are worse than others and can create dangerous conditions for the inexperienced in some waters (for example around shallow reef areas and headlands)