Dangerous Surf Tosses Captain off Dive Boat in Boynton Inlet
Captain of the dive boat named “Starfish Scuba” was thrown completely off the fly bridge of the boat when trying to navigate Boynton Inlet in Southeast Florida.
A situation that could of been a lot worse after a set of large swells came crashing into the mouth of the inlet.
The first wave started to turn the boat from the side, then the second wave pushed the boat almost completely broad side lining the boat up for the next incoming wave. The third wave then struck the side of the boat, a force so strong that it pushed the boat over onto a 45 degree angle to starboard.
That third wave in the set pushed the boat so hard that the captain at the helm on the fly bridge was launched off the boat and into the water.
Luckily the boat did not completely roll over and capsize, the boat was fortunate enough to survive the set of waves and stay upright.
Captain Bradley Williams however was tossed over the side and suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Nearby jet skiers picked up the captain, and a nearby surfer Burt Garnsey who captains a drift boat charter boat witnessed the captain falling overboard. Burt paddled his surf board over to where the boat was and climbed on board.
On the dive boat the dive master had taken the lower controls of the boat after the captain went overboard but accepted the help from Burt Garnsey to operate the vessel to navigate through the waves back to the marina.
A strong storm located off the East Coast of the United States has been producing massive swells that have been blasting the East Coast of the United States. Many of these Swells made there way all the way to Miami.
Boynton Beach received swells 4 to 9 foot throughout the day of the incident.
Captain being thrown overboard by huge wave in Boynton Inlet
Dive boat “Starfish Scuba” was pushed by two waves in a row which turned the boat broad side then the third wave that slammed into the side of the boat.
The third wave hit quickly rolling the boat to a 45 degree angle which launched the captain off the fly bridge and into the water near Boynton Inlet.
Man Overboard! One of the worst things to hear while boating especially while in dangerous conditions.
Boynton Inlet is known as one of the most dangerous inlets in the world. The combination of deep water rising up quickly onto a sharp bar / reef causes the waves to pitch up quickly and in a short distance forcing all of the waves energy out quickly.
This is very different from a long slow sloped ocean bottom which causes the waves to come up gradually and spreads the force of the wave out during a longer duration.
The short quick waves are harder to predict and see coming than the type you see in gentle sloping sea floor conditions.
Couple this steep inclined ocean bottom found in Boynton Inlet with a massive tidal area that is forced through the small inlet to exit the ocean on an outgoing tide.
Waves that are entering or near the inlet clash against an outgoing tide. An outgoing tide will add to the force of the incoming waves. This creates a wave that will also be less predictable due to the sudden influx of energy from the waves energy being compounded by the moving tide colliding with it.
Due to this an outgoing tide will always produce larger waves in the inlet than anywhere else. The waves will also be less predictable and can often pitch up into sharp peaks suddenly and break without warning.
A marine forecast showing 5 ft waves coming directly into an inlet while there is a strong outgoing tide can actually produce 7 to 8 foot waves in the mouth of the inlet when the energy of the wave collides with the energy of the outgoing tide.
The steep reef or bar pitching the waves up suddenly coupled with a very strong fast moving tide through a narrow inlet is dangerous not only in Boynton Inlet but also many inlets through out Florida and many places in the world.
In Florida Boynton Inlet is considered one of the most treacherous inlets long with Boca Inlet which exits through Boca Raton Florida, Hillsboro Inlet in lighthouse point Florida, Haulover Inlet by Bal Harbour / Miami Beach area, and to lesser extent also Fort Lauderdale port everglades inlet, West Palm inlet, and Government Cut in Miami Florida. The last three don’t get as extreme due to the deeper water cut going out of the inlet but the waves can still pitch up and become much larger than what is shown on marine forecasts.
Boynton Inlet Jetty near where the captain went overboard due to large breaking waves
In this picture you can see the amount of white water from the breaking waves on the jetty, and you can also see the strong tidal movement flowing out towards the jetty.
These two forces hitting one another cause even more extreme situations than one or the other can produce alone.
Boynton Inlet is one of the most dangerous inlets in the world
You can see from the picture above the Boynton Inlet was extremely rough with huge waves crashing onto the jetty.
The waves were even bigger due to the swells running straight into a outgoing tide which pushes the waves up and makes them even bigger in inlets.
Its important to watch the tide charts when swells and wind driven wave reports are high. Paragraph directly below is the main portion needed from the full weather report located farther below.
Main portion that corresponds to this incident in paragraph directly below
REST OF TONIGHT West northwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 6 to 8 feet with occasional seas to 10 feet. Period 12 seconds. North northeast swell 4 to 9 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
Below this is the full marine forecast from the time frame this incident happened
National Weather Service Marine Forecast FZUS52 KMFL
FZUS52 KMFL 190229 CWFMFL Coastal Waters Forecast for South Florida National Weather Service Miami FL 929 PM EST Mon Nov 18 2019 Atlantic coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Ocean Reef out to 60 nm and Gulf coastal waters from East Cape Sable to Chokoloskee out 20 nm and Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach out 60 nm...including the waters of Biscayne Bay and Lake Okeechobee. Seas are provided as a range of the average height of the highest 1/3 of the waves...along with the occasional height of the average highest 10 percent of the waves. AMZ600-GMZ606-191515- Synopsis for Jupiter Inlet to Ocean Reef FL out to 60 nm and for East Cape Sable to Bonita Beach FL out to 60 nm- 929 PM EST Mon Nov 18 2019 SYNOPSIS The Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for the Atlantic waters tonight. The large northeasterly swells over the Atlantic will slowly start to decrease as the night progresses. By Tuesday afternoon, the wave heights will range from 4 to 6 feet across the Atlantic waters as the northeasterly swell continues to decrease. GULF STREAM HAZARDS Seas of 7 to 10 feet are still possible through tonight. The approximate location of the west wall of the Gulf Stream as of Nov 16, 2019 at 1200 UTC... 5 nautical miles southeast of Fowey Rocks. 12 nautical miles southeast of Port Everglades. 4 nautical miles northeast of Lake Worth. 4 nautical miles east northeast of Jupiter Inlet. This data courtesy of the Naval Oceanographic Office.
AMZ650-670-191515- Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM- Waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL from 20 to 60 NM- 929 PM EST Mon Nov 18 2019 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY REST OF TONIGHT West northwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 6 to 8 feet with occasional seas to 10 feet. Period 12 seconds. North northeast swell 4 to 9 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. TUESDAY West northwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet with occasional seas to 9 feet. Period 11 seconds. North northeast swell 3 to 6 feet becoming 5 feet in the afternoon. Intracoastal waters a light chop. TUESDAY NIGHT North northwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to 6 feet. Period 11 seconds. North northeast swell 4 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. WEDNESDAY North winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to 6 feet. Period 10 seconds. North northeast swell 3 feet in the morning. Intracoastal waters a light chop. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY East northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with occasional seas to 5 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. THURSDAY NIGHT East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. FRIDAY East southeast winds 5 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. FRIDAY NIGHT Along the coast, southeast winds around 5 knots becoming southwest in the morning. In the Gulf Stream, south southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. SATURDAY South southwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
AMZ651-671-191515- Coastal waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL out 20 NM- Waters from Deerfield Beach to Ocean Reef FL from 20 to 60 NM excluding the territorial waters of Bahamas- 929 PM EST Mon Nov 18 2019 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY REST OF TONIGHT Northwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with occasional seas to 8 feet. Period 12 seconds. North swell 3 to 5 feet becoming 4 feet after midnight. Intracoastal waters a light chop. TUESDAY West winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas to 6 feet. Period 11 seconds. North swell 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. TUESDAY NIGHT North northwest winds 5 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Period 11 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop. WEDNESDAY North northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Period 4 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY East northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY East winds 5 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. FRIDAY NIGHT Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop. SATURDAY South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
Very informative about why that inlet is so dangerous.