How do they not die - Haulover Inlet

So I have decided that Haulover in Miami has to have the greatest collection of ....... people. Below is a video of the years "best" haulover moments.

First look at the kids who invariably sit at the front of the boat WITHOUT a life jacket. Look at the wave action (longer video - lots of wave action) and see how these kids are just tossed around. Also you will see adults tossed around, and you'll see adults tossed off the boats.

Watching videos like these makes me feel like a whoosie when I worry if my secondary anchor isn't big enough.

Enjoy! Warning - you will get angry. I have edited several times and cant get it to start at the beginning.

I'd be fascinated to see how some of our FD boats handle these conditions.

Oh - and agreed.

I must be showing my age! That does not look like a fun day on the water!

Every video I've seen of Haulover leaves me wondering how so many people seem to think the best way through there is "as fast as possible". So many of those boats wouldn't be getting air if they just slowed down a little.

rslifkin said:

Every video I've seen of Haulover leaves me wondering how so many people seem to think the best way through there is "as fast as possible". So many of those boats wouldn't be getting air if they just slowed down a little.

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Because getting air is better than getting swamped with every wave coming over the boat and into the boat. Plus, it’s Miami and they only know one speed. I will NEVER use Haulover Inlet. Government Cut is just a little south and it’s big. It’s the one the ships use. Even better is Stiltsville Channel.

rslifkin said:

Every video I've seen of Haulover leaves me wondering how so many people seem to think the best way through there is "as fast as possible". So many of those boats wouldn't be getting air if they just slowed down a little.

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Yes, indeed. Notice how the CG boat went out and back in?

.When I drive over the bridge at Haul Over, I look at the sea state.
I am beginning to think these folks purposely choose a rotten day to make the trip.
When I traverse Haul Over, my only worry is "where are the rocks" and where is the delta.
Once outside, it could be a little rough depending upon the weather but, the further out I go, the more I become part of the waves.....
In other words, assuming it is blowing up a storm, everything just sort of rolls.
Personally, I would never own a bow rider. To me, the owner is asking to be swamped but, apparently others feel differently. Way too much open space fwd.
People insist on going fast in rough weather and here i come, a determined FD trawler. I may be little but tonnage still rule.
And then, there are dumb-ass sports fisherman who are trying to impress. I wonder how many get grounded on the delta or worse, rip out their bottoms on the rock.

Thanks for that! Made my day!

A lot of those looked like lake boats...for small lakes!

This goes in the "play stupid games win stupid prizes" category. The best was the one where the girl flies off the starboard side and the boat keep going, then one passenger dives off the swim deck after her. Both get picked up by jetskis in the end and everyone lives happily ever after.

lwarden said:

This goes in the "play stupid games win stupid prizes" category. The best was the one where the girl flies off the starboard side and the boat keep going, then one passenger dives off the swim deck after her. Both get picked up by jetskis in the end and everyone lives happily ever after.

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If you watch carefully you will discover she left the boat in an effort to retrieve the bottom part of her swim suit.

When I was in High School Haulover Beach was "our" beach. A right of passage was to jump from the top of the bridge, 50ft, and try not to land on a dinosaur

The inlet got its name from before it was an inlet. Story goes there was a guy named Baker that made a living hauling small boats over the narrow isthmus that existed before the cut was dug. Hence the name Bakers Haulover

When we'd base ourselves out of Aventura or Hollywood for awhile, we used Haulover frequently when headed south. Like any inlet, the prudent mariner avoids ebb tide especially against an opposing (in this case easterly) wind. I even took my Whaler in and out of there a couple times when showing guests the sights. You see all these videos because it is easy to take them there. There are quite a few also for Boynton and Jupiter further north for similar reasons (plus they are way more dangerous). The video takers set up when the ebb is taking place.

Additionally, you have to take into consideration the entire Haulover "ecosystem". The whole inland side is sandbar party city. One of the little islets is aptly nicknamed Beer Can Island.

It's a 32 foot bridge, by the way. I remember because I had to lower my tall VHF antennas. Going down to Government Cut is a PITA with the bridges and South Florida ICW traffic.

32 ft vertical clearance for vessel traffic, 50 ft from where you jump, we measured it, that is unless its changed in the last 50 years.

And you are absolutely correct re conditions, there are days its like a millpond, and tide conditions really create the conditions if there is any sea at all running. Boca and Jupiter can also be challenging, Sebastian can be a monster

My oldest daughter (now 28) made her 1st independent purchase (ice cream bar) from the hot dog boat at beer can island.

The inlet doesn't seem as bad as some, but most of the boats aren't designed to handle those conditions, and neither are the people at the helm.

I'm also amazed that I didn't see a single lifejacket.

Life jackets spoil the tan and hide the boo oh you know.

Xsbank said:

Life jackets spoil the tan and hide the boo oh you know.

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Oh - I forgot. You wouldn't want to spoil the tan on your 8 year old kid.

This is South Florida, you have no idea what boating is like here, but I can assure it is extremely special, you can see things here on the water that you will not see anywhere else on the planet. Those Haulover video's are just the coming attractions.

And not to be outdone, a 6 pack and a comfortable bench at any busy boat ramp on any nice weekend will provide some of the best live entertainment available anywhere.

AusCan said:

The inlet doesn't seem as bad as some, but most of the boats aren't designed to handle those conditions, and neither are the people at the helm.

I'm also amazed that I didn't see a single lifejacket.

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I started watching the videos a couple of months ago and I enjoy watching the different techniques used by the captains of the various vessels.

Some folks are very skilled at operating their boats, some not so much, and some seem to figure that if they have a big enough boat with enough horses it really doesn't matter!

Jim

I expect that there would be a busy chiropractor office nearby.
My back gets sore just watching boats slam like that.

Keysdisease said:

This is South Florida, you have no idea what boating is like here, but I can assure it is extremely special, you can see things here on the water that you will not see anywhere else on the planet. Those Haulover video's are just the coming attractions.

And not to be outdone, a 6 pack and a comfortable bench at any busy boat ramp on any nice weekend will provide some of the best live entertainment available anywhere.

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I second this, and if anything you have understated it. We used to save all our errands, land activities and boat maintenance tasks for the weekend, especially "in season" but pretty much any time of year. On the water, particularly inshore? Uh Uh. Learned that PDQ.

Haulover used to be my inlet when I kept my boat in Sunny Isles (a 32 foot Wellcraft St. Tropez). It could get some good waves with a strong east wind and an outgoing tide. I had it drop me off a cliff one day and jar my teeth. It can wake you up.

But, really, when I lived and boated in south Florida, I was continually astounded that they didn't have a hundred boating deaths a weekend.

I've watched a number of these vids and they're essentially all the same. If there's any current and or wind at all they're faced with steep waves followed by minimal trough.

Some guys haul ass and try to keep the bow up and skip off the tops. They generally get good marks in the comments. The part they don't tell you is how much damage their boats incur (and/or their backs) in the process. I know of at least one boat (Grady White) that ran across waves like this all the time. He thought he was quite the stud boatman. Well, the glass along the stringers broke. I think this happened due to repeated abuse. It finally failed and started taking on lots of water. The boat was totaled. In one of these vids, a guy loses two cowlings off of his huge engines. On another, cushions. What do you suppose that cost? Both boats were brand new center consoles with 4 engines.

The others go much too slowly and stuff their bows. It really gets interesting when they're running open bow boats and have people up front. And even more so when they're running a brand new, 300 thousand dollar, 30+ foot center console. I don't think that some of them understand the relationship between the throttle and the bow at slow speeds. They certainly don't appreciate how much water weighs and how small their scuppers are.

Occasionally some guy will run through at a prudent speed, keep everyone dry and not hurt the boat. This is a rare event, however.

All of this is easy for me to say because I have never lived in a spot with an ugly inlet.

The guy who pitched the gal overboard and then kept running, now that was something special. There are a lot of idiots with a lot of money in S Florida.

I was reading an article, forget what pub., two boat designers discussing where the most innovation was coming from. The one guy said, boat design in the east means when the next years model comes out, you add one more outboard. And on the west coast, they actually make real changes to the boat.

I have to say, here in coastal BC I'm sure I've seen a boat with three or more outboards, but offer me millions and I couldn't tell you when.

When I was getting my refitted boat repowered, my repower guy was saying, go with an outboard or two, much better for you. I said, its obvious outboards are better, easier to access, easier to remove and service, great performance. But tell me this, where on my 30 foot boat does the dinghy go if I fill my swim platform with outboards?

rsn48 said:

I was reading an article, forget what pub., two boat designers discussing where the most innovation was coming from. The one guy said, boat design in the east means when the next years model comes out, you add one more outboard. And on the west coast, they actually make real changes to the boat.

I have to say, here in coastal BC I'm sure I've seen a boat with three or more outboards, but offer me millions and I couldn't tell you when.

When I was getting my refitted boat repowered, my repower guy was saying, go with an outboard or two, much better for you. I said, its obvious outboards are better, easier to access, easier to remove and service, great performance. But tell me this, where on my 30 foot boat does the dinghy go if I fill my swim platform with outboards?

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I've never understood how you fish from the cockpit with 6' of motors behind you. I just don't get the trips, quads, quints mentality. It's rare to see more than two outboards on boats in our area. The only ones who have them are LEO, bought with our tax dollars....

lwarden said:

I've never understood how you fish from the cockpit with 6' of motors behind you. I just don't get the trips, quads, quints mentality. It's rare to see more than two outboards on boats in our area. The only ones who have them are LEO, bought with our tax dollars....

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I'm pretty sure the idea originated in a few places on the east coast, particularly North Carolina. In some of those places, the run out to the good fishing grounds can be 60 - 70 miles. So if you can blast out there at 60 kts instead of 20 - 30 of a typical sport fish, you get an extra 2 - 4 hours of fishing out of your day.



Then people who don't fish decided the high powered center consoles were cool and started buying them just because they can.

All of this is easy for me to say because I have never lived in a spot with an ugly inlet.

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Jeff, sounds like maybe you haven't been out Rudee Inlet in similar conditions, which are not that infrequent.

As for the folks wondering about all the outboards. Yes, the trend started as fishing boats got bigger, as in a lot of places out here as someone else noted, it is a ways to the prime fishing grounds. Or getting over to the Bahamas as the case may be.

Center consoles are the daily fishing boat of choice, and another trend is for them to get bigger and bigger. Due to the great ergonomics of the design, the outboards off the back are not a big deal as you have 340 degrees plus of unobstructed fish-ability, much more maneuvering room than a big traditional sport fisher. They are becoming very popular as family oriented boats as well for the same reason. In most of the southeast, they are easily the dominant boat type. You see them less out west mostly due to weather related issues, plus in most places you don't have to go out very far to fish.

Cal,

Nope, I seldom use Rudy. I have a buddy who lives on Long Creek and I rent a slip from him. That leaves me using Lynnhaven.

Your comments about Center Consoles are right on the mark. I used to run a single screw inboard C.C. and it was absolutely fabulous for fishing the bay and creeks. But for offshore use, it was too slow. 23' with a Ford 351. 3000 RPM was good for about 21-22 knots. It took forever to get to the Light Tower, let alone blue water. It carried a ton of fuel and would get you offshore but I'm now too old for a day like that. And I grew weary of being offshore in a SE gas vessel, though I used to do it several times a year.

I now run a Gamefish30 with a pair of Yam 300s. It will LOAF at 30 knots and gets surprisingly good mileage while doing so. If you get a late start, just a knob more throttle gets you 40. I have to admit, I love it. The boat rides remarkably well and it's nice watching the GPS distance click down at a sprightly pace. But I don't usually run it that hard just because the fuel burn gets eye-popping. Wide-open throttle results in about 52 knots but at roughly 50GPH. No thanks. WRT the cluttered transom, it only takes one lost fish to figure out how to keep fish out of the props.

I've never run Oregon Inlet either. So, what's the trick? Skip off the tops or pick one and ride it in? I would do the latter if it appeared that offshore waves were rolling in. But the steep standing waves in these videos, what's the answer?

Jeff Lebowski said:

I've never run Oregon Inlet either. So, what's the trick? Skip off the tops or pick one and ride it in? I would do the latter if it appeared that offshore waves were rolling in. But the steep standing waves in these videos, what's the answer?

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With standing waves where you have to go through them, the goal is to find a speed and trim angle where you can push through / over them without stuffing the bow but also without launching the boat in the air.

With standing waves where you have to go through them, the goal is to find a speed and trim angle where you can push through / over them without stuffing the bow but also without launching the boat in the air.

Now if someone would only make a video as to how to do this, I'd love it.