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Worst Inlet ever?

Discussion in 'Marinas & Waypoints' started by NEO56, Jan 15, 2015.

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  1. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Growing up in North Miami, we used to run out of Haulover Inlet. With an outgoing tide and a Nor' Easter blowing in....would tighten up your sphincter to the point of being used for a Cigar cutter! The problem was the Inlet was so narrow that the tide was vicious, so much so that turning around once you committed was almost impossible. I can't tell you how many boats bought it in that Inlet. Sometimes I would sit on the inside like a surfer watching the break and picking a line to get out for a half hour before pushing the throttles forward. And coming in with a sometimes 6 foot chop following sea was the supreme challenge. It's a 500 yard Inlet with huge granite boulders on each side.

    I know that there are other Inlet's more gruesome, I just haven't been through any of them. Would like to hear some real time nightmare's about the Hatteras Inlet, etc.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Oregon inlet...... While Haulover is bad, I think Boca takes it by a nudge and Boynton takes both of them.....
  3. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Never been that far north...why is Boynton so bad? Just to elaborate Haulover is 500 yards long and maybe 40 yards wide.
  4. RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    Morriches Inlet on the South Shore of Long Island.
    I would not use the inlet for anything bigger that a 25' outboard!
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    It makes Haulover look like a highway compared to it and it doglegs, very narrow and very fast moving current.
  6. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    This is a very light day at Haulover, the video is being shot from the South Jetty facing North.

  7. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Here's a small idea of the current on an outgoing tide, and the stupidity of some of the people in Miami!

  8. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Speaking of Inlets, this is crazy, prior to the Captain getting tossed from the flybridge, check out some of the radical positions this boat gets into without going A over Tea Kettle. I'm also amazed the Captain survived this.

  9. Kafue

    Kafue Senior Member

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  10. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    This is known for getting pretty ugly and is the only entrance to the port.
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2015
  11. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Sorry Kafue, I wasn't around in 2010, but thanks for the link! I should have known you YF pros would have caught wind of this.

    And Capt. J, I you tubed Boynton Inlet....that is one crazy Inlet! I'd pick another Inlet as opposed to that nightmare.
  12. captaintilt

    captaintilt Senior Member

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    I would have to agree that Oregon Inlet is one of the worst that I've been in. Boynton is bad, Jupiter is tricky when it's rolling, and Ft. Pierce is a little tense with an ebb tide and incoming swell.
  13. CaptNeil

    CaptNeil Member

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    Shalloette and Lockwood Folly in NC are crazy. Devils Backbone with a NE wind is aweful.
  14. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    I'm not well-traveled enough to comment on inlets outside of South Florida, but agree with CaptJ on Boynton Beach Inlet. It frickin' rips! That said, it probably doesn't qualify for the discussion. It's not a big boat inlet.
  15. Scallywag

    Scallywag Member

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    Back in my home state, Depoe Bay, Oregon is pretty hairy. You simply don't ever cross the bar on an outgoing tide. Simple as that. Of course the CG closes the bar quite often. A 12+ foot outgoing tide plus 20 foot swell from the West is just not navigable.

  16. Scallywag

    Scallywag Member

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    And here is another boat with a view from the South jetty on a slightly sportier day:

    Skipper timed the sets perfect in this video.
  17. rgsuspsa

    rgsuspsa Member

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    To be rigorously correct tide is reference to vertical motion of water due to gravitational forces, not horizontal motion of water. Tides can be rising, standing, or falling.

    Current refers to horizontal motion of water, outgoing, incoming or slack.

    The people in the video were perhaps ignorant, but not necessarily stupid.

    The first principle of intelligence is to use the correct term for a given topic.
  18. saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    I might be mistaken ,but were there certain Inlets way back that you were no suppose to carry paying customers thru ???? Maybe an over 6 pass. deal.??....Boca & Jupiter come to mind.
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2015
  19. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I've never heard of that.
  20. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Fine Ron....Tides create currents....my bad. Feel better? Oh and two kids kayaking in a dangerous Inlet without PFD's on is not stupid?