Considerations before sailing rough waters

A boating lifestyle is great fun but it also means you must be prepared to spend time and money on repairing systems, safety equipment, running gear, electronics, food, water, and many other expenses that are part of the deal.

There are a few important recommendations you might consider before sailing away, including  The type of boat, the owner’s personal skills for navigation, and the way the boat will serve the  captain and passengers ( family and friends).

The Type Of Boat 

One of the main purposes for repairing and making adjustments on “motor yachts, sport fishing yachts and other vessels” is to make sure boat is in optimum condition before you sail away and therefore reducing the risk of getting stranded in the middle of the ocean.  A vessel survey or inspection will almost always result in a list of “findings”—parts of the boat or its systems that are less than stellar and in need of attention. It is common to hear, that part of your boat does not comply with the guidelines. In many cases, the cost to correct all the problems exceeds the budget and might reduce the time or distance planned for a cruise.

Such information can be confusing and alarming to many boat owners. But “Do we have to fix everything on the list?” Any answer other than “you should fix it” might be seen as taking on exposure to a lawsuit or an unwanted risk on the sea. In many respects, this is a question that only the boat owner can answer. after all, the goal is to enjoy your vessel and go cruising ( keeping in mind that cruising the deep seas always involves some risk.)

If you have six months to enjoy your yacht, losing a week fixing repairs may not be a big deal. But if you have two or four weeks, losing a week can be crushing. As you work your way through a self-assessment, remember to describe yourself as you are, not as you think you should be. At this stage, you are meeting the facts about the problems found on your boat, assessing the risks, and having an honest talk with yourself about your personality tendencies and your plans. 

As with any personality tool, when you are cruising you should make smart decisions and that start when you are prepared to be self-awareness.

The owner’s personal skills for navigation 

In order to make smart decisions about boat maintenance, we have to be skilled at risk assessment. Unfortunately, numerous studies have shown that people are not very good at it. We have a tendency to respond to the dramatic, and to overlook the more mundane. Chicago economist and author of Freakonomics, Stephen Levitt, gives some examples of this tendency. “most people are pretty terrible at risk assessment”. They tend to overstate the risk of dramatic and unlikely events at the expense of more common and boring events.

With regard to risk assessment on our boats, we can temper our tendency to overreact and imagine the dramatic by asking ourselves a specific question:

If it fails, can it kill or injure us? The answer might include fire, electrocution, carbon monoxide poisoning, or sinking. This one gives you the chance to imagine the dramatic. But you should also take the position that anything that can stop the boat is potentially life-threatening. Even along the coast, bad weather or bad inlets can become a life or death situation if the boat stops. While less dramatic than a fire, a quiet engine can be a serious problem.

The way the boat will serve the navigator

Getting to know your boat electronic navigation system is as important as having your boat repaired and adjusted when needed, but the way the boat will serve the navigator depends more on the number of times you are cruising and how you adapt your boat to a different situation while on water.

Cruising inherently involves taking some risks. By identifying and eliminating flaws on your boat, you can reduce the risks, but not eradicate them. But there is another risk at play here—the risk that by feeling the need to correct every problem found, you will spend your way out of cruising, or limit your cruising time.

|At the end you do not have to be an expert to make smart decisions, but you should understand and know your boat as well as be prepared to take right decisions when addressing difficulties.

In the 1800s, William Shedd wrote, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what ships are for.” 

If you have any questions regarding your boat, we recommend Whiticar Boat Works! We are a leader in the marine industry. We are a well-known company in Florida founded in 1949 by Curtis ´Curt´ Whiticar. Whiticar Boat Works is a family owned & operated company. we have various division in the state! For more information about us check out the website  http://www.whiticar.com/ or call us (772) 287-2883

References

Zimmerman, S. (2013, May 06). How To Make Smart Decisions About Repairs To Your Boat. Retrieved from Passage Maker: http://www.passagemaker.com/articles/lifestyle/how-to-make-smart-decisions-about-repairs-to-your-boat/

Curt Whiticar, The Son, The Father, The Friend, The Captain…A legacy of life that will remain in our hearts forever!

1.Picture: Front Row… Jim D, Curt, JW, Dot Whiticar. Back Row…Deva Dragseth, Tara Darvill Shelly (Laura Kay’s Daughter), Scott Shelly, Laura Kay Darvill Whiticar, Jill Roller (Joanne’s Daughter), Joanne Talley,JW, Laura Kay, Joanne siblings of Curt

G. Curtis “Curt” Whiticar, founder of Whiticar Boat Works, first came to the Stuart, Florida area in 1917 with his parents and two brothers. Addison Whiticar, Curt's father, would hand-line commercial fish during the winter months and make a decent living due to the abundance of fish at that time. Summers were spent fishing in Fortecues, New Jersey. Due to competition from commercial net fishing in the late twenties, Addison started to use his boat more frequently for sport fishing.

Initially splitting time between his native New Jersey and Stuart, Whiticar worked with his father in the fishing industry as a kid, coming to Florida in the winter for the warmer temperatures and bountiful catch. 

He eventually settled down on the Treasure Coast, raising his three children with his late wife, Elsa, in Stuart.

Curt built his first boat when he was 14, and by the age of 23, he had designed and built a 33-foot single screw boat called the “Shearwater.” This fishing boat, based on local inlet problems and demanding fishing needs, is the backbone to the design of the modern Whiticar sport fisherman of today. Addison - more fondly known as Capt. Add - had Curt build him a boat shortly afterward in 1938. “The “Gannet,” a twin screw 38-footer was Capt. Add's pride and joy.

"He was a remarkable man, and a living library full of history of Martin County," said Rick Crary, himself a member of a longtime local family and historian. "I had dinner with him a few years ago, and the story that impressed me most was when he told us about the day Gov. John Martin came to Stuart to celebrate the creation of the new county bearing his name. Curt pointed out the spot where Martin gave his speech in 1926, a few months after the county was formed in 1925. Curt remembered because he was there, a teenager of about 14."

By the late 1930s, had begun to make a name for the family with his craftsmanship. By the 1950s, his boats were in demand by anglers who wished for good sea boats built to handle the sometime choppy Treasure Coast waters offshore. They were known to have a sharp entry bow and steep deadrise, which made them perfect for slicing into a 4-to-5 foot high wave. More than 60 Whiticar boats have been built since Whiticar assembled his first.

Due to ever increasing demand for these boats, Curt moved the Mess Hall from Camp Murphy, at what is now Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and reassembled the wood on a slab at its present location in 1947. The first boat built at the new facility in 1954 was the 38 ft “Hobo” – made for Curt's brother, Jack. Powered by a pair of 225 horse power Chrysler engines, it proved to be fast and exceptionally seaworthy

Before founding Whiticar Boat Works in 1947, Whiticar ran a charter fishing business that came to include seven boats called the Whiticar Fleet. Considered among the early conservationists in the area, he devised a plan to present anglers who were coming to the “Sailfish Capital of the World” with a special golden pin if they released the billfish back into local waters. This would allow tourism to the area to continue without putting the fish's population in danger. The mission was taken up by the newly formed Stuart Sailfish Club, which included local fishing charters like Whiticar's, in 1941.

*Captains Johnson Whiticar (left), Curt Whiticar (kneeling), Addison Whiticar and Jack Whiticar (right), all of Stuart, work on a boat's motor in this 1950s era photo. (Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY JOHN WHITICAR)

The 70’ by 90’ building became the foundation from which Whiticar Boat Works evolved. In 1949 Curt hired his brother-in-law, John Dragseth, to help him run the company. The company’s success came as a result of quality repairs and the famous line of custom fishing boats. John Dragseth and Curt Whiticar relied on a trained staff and attention to customer needs for Whiticar Boat Works to become a known destination for the East Coast recreational boater.

Much the same way that a father teaches his son to fish, it was fitting that both John Dragseth and Curt Whiticar had sons join the company and continue the family tradition of excellence in marine service and repair. Sons Jim Dragseth and John Whiticar were at the helm as the recreational boating life style continued to grow and become more demanding.  To maintain the ability to meet the needs of the boating community Whiticar Boat Works established new divisions of the company, including:  Shearwater Marine in 1996; Whiticar Marine North in 2003; Whiticar Yacht Sales in 2004; and Whiticar Custom Boats in 2000.

Whiticar retired from the boat building business in 1986 when he was 75. But he continued to play golf three times a week at Martin County Golf and Country Club well into his mid-90s. He may have played longer except a friend accidentally hit him in the knee with a golf cart and he was unable to play without pain after that.

Whiticar dedicated also more time to painting, a favorite pastime. He gave some of his works to family, friends and even the Historical Society and Stuart Heritage Museum. At the age of 96, he wrote a book about what life was like in Stuart in the early 1900s. 

Whiticar celebrated his 106th birthday on Feb. 13, shortly after which he was presented with a Legendary Captains & Crew award by the International Game Fish Association. 

"Everyone uses the word 'amazing' and 'great' and 'accomplished,' and I think probably the one word that probably says it all is 'accomplished,'" John Whiticar said, recalling how people often referred to his father. "He's an accomplished fisherman, boat-builder; he was an accomplished golfer—he wasn’t the best golfer, but he was dedicated… just an all-around great person." 

Curt Whiticar is survived by his children, Laura Kay Darvill-Whiticar, Joanne Talley and John Whiticar; John's wife, Dot Whiticar; eight grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

There will be a celebration of Whiticar's life April 9 at Indian RiverSide Park in Jensen Beach at a time yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family asks to make contributions in his name to the Stuart Sailfish Club, the Stuart Heritage Museum, or Treasure Coast Hospice.

References

Killer, E. (2017, March 9). TCPALM. Retrieved from http://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/2017/03/09/curt-whiticar-boat-builder-charter-and-commercial-fisherman-golfer-and-artist-dies-106/98968126/

Llorens, I. (2017, March 8). Curt Whiticar, Founder Of Whiticar Boat Works, Dies At 106. Retrieved from Stuart Magazine : https://www.stuartmagazine.com/up-front/noteworthy/curt-whiticar-founder-whiticar-boat-works-dies-106

Fishing with Curt Whiticar by Ernest Lyons

Early Labor Day morning I went out commercial fishing with Curtis Whiticar on the “Howdee”, a small charter craft which used to belong to DeWitt Upthegrove in West Palm Beach.

The “Howdee”  has caught her share of sailfish, but when sport fishing went the way of many other non-war essentials a couple of years ago, Capt. A. A. Whiticar, Curtis’ father, bought her and refitted the craft for the more serious business of hauling in mackerel and bluefish. She furnished a great many thousand pounds of seafood by the hook and line method during the emergency-and is still doing it.

The trip started out right with a rare human   element-consideration   for   the other fellow. As we eased down a narrow channel past a moored houseboat, Capt. Curtis slowed her down to a crawl. “Has it   shoaled   here?”   I   asked.   “No,”   he replied. “I’m just keeping our wake from rocking  that  houseboat.”  You  can  put that down in my book as one of the top reasons why Curtis Whiticar is one of the ace charter captains of the Martin County fleet. 

Easing out the inlet in a grey dawn, we saw ugly rain squalls north and south, but edged between them to the northeast-and soon  had  four stout  hand  lines trailing, with two 3 ½ Drones on outriggers and a couple of feathers astern. 

Before  I  had  time  to  get  my  gloves  on those  hand  lines  went  into  action,  and soon there were three big king mackerel, four blue runners, a jack, a small Spanish mackerel and about a 15 – pound barracuda  threshing  and  flailing  in  the fish box. Although the clouds grew more menacing,  we  continued  on  our  course, and about six miles offshore Curtis unerringly   located   a   small   red   buoy which he had placed  to  mark a  hidden reef. 

“Here it is,” he said. “I’ll get the grouper lines ready while you stow the trolling gear.” 

He idled the “Howdee” down and a small dolphin  struck  as  I  brought  in  a  stern line. While it was still threshing in the box one of the outriggers bowed-and  Curtis said “Get your gloves on for this fellow.” 

I really needed him them. What a fish! If you don’t believe it, try hauling in a 30- pound amberjack man to man. While I was still breathing hard  from this exertion; he said-“and here’s another.” I am now thoroughly convinced that the only thing harder to haul in than a 30- pound amberjack is a 35-pounder which was next on the bill of fare. 

Meanwhile it was getting rougher. The squall hit and we  were  enveloped  in clouds  of rain.  That is-we thought we were. Before we came in we were to know what real rain could look like. 

Finally the sea flattened, and over went the grouper lines, baited with chunks of blue runner. “I find,” said Capt. Curtis delicately, “that the novice sometimes has difficulty in this deep water reef fishing. He fails to pull fast and hard enough to take the belly out of the line and set the hook.” 

“Yeah, that’s so,” I agreed, feeling sorry for the poor novices. 

There must be some other reason. Curtis hauled   in   four   big   grouper   and   a beautiful 13-pound red snapper while all I did was feed ‘em bait with my feeble jerks  at  the  hand  line.  What  a  fellow needs in that sort of fishing is six-foot arms. 

All this time it had been raining intermittently, and the sea got to kicking up more and more, so we called it a day and  started  in.  Myself,  I’ll  be  honest about it, if I’d been at the helm I wouldn’t have known which way to go. Six miles offshore   in   a   rain   squall,   I   would probably have headed for the Bahamas. 

We  saw  some  beautiful sights  going  in. Veering winds created a hillocky cross- chop with considerable ground swell-and the flying fishes showered like little silver birds ahead of us. Once we saw a great hammerhead shark lolling on his side just ahead of our bow – and it rained. A 10- pound king mackerel whanged onto an outrigger-and I insisted on dangling him overside two or three times   until Capt. Curtis kindly took him away from me. 

And  it  rained.  It  rained  like  it  used  to rain.  It  rained  in  a  solid  wall,  and  the little “Howdee” rode through the squalls without a sight of land unerringly to the inlet mouth. Going in over the bar an 8- pound cobia latched on a Drone, and he was still kicking when we got inside the river. 

I had a wonderful time. Just the memory of  hauling  in  that  last  35-pound amberjack was something. Of course, Capt. Whiticar, all alone one time, using an   ordinary   hand   line,  brought   to boatside from the reef bottom and landed a jew fish which weighed 265 pounds, dressed with head and tail cut off. He’s modest about it, not with a rope or shark hook-but with an ordinary tarred hand line. 

Back at Salerno, we unloaded our edible catch at Banks Shelton’s fish house, and the   barracuda   and   amberjack  at   the shark house, and were soon under cover again in the Whiticar boathouse at Port Sewall, where Capt. Curtis showed me the initial work on a 34-footer charter craft he is building  with his own hands for use in sailfishing. I hope sometime to have the pleasure of going out in it with  him-and know that I will enjoy myself just as thoroughly as I did Monday on that trim little sea boat, the “Howdee.”

Stuart News ~ 1945 - E.L.