Winter Trips – Over the last several years about 70% of our scheduled pelagic trips from January to March have made it offshore. About 35% of these trips went on the Sunday weather date. In the case of extremely bad weather (like a northeaster or strong cold front) a trip may be cancelled the day before. You may call (252) 986-1363 or (252) 216-9163 the Friday before a trip to check on trip status. If there is no message to indicate the trip has been canceled or postponed until Sunday, you should plan to show up as scheduled on Saturday morning. Experience has taught us that weather forecasts are often unreliable, particularly 24 hours prior to a departure, so the final decision about whether or not to go will usually be made by the boat captain the morning of the trip.
All Other Trips – Plan to show up at the dock where a decision will be made on the morning of the trip unless really severe weather such as a strong low pressure system threatens the area. In this case, we will use the contact information provided to us when you register to let you know if a trip has been cancelled or postponed.
Regardless of the season, don’t automatically assume that a trip will be cancelled just because the weather service is forecasting something like 6 or 8 foot seas or 20 or 25 knot winds. Taken in combination, say 20-25 knot winds with 6-8 foot seas, that might be enough to prevent us from going. But if you take those forecasted conditions out of context, say for example a 6-8 foot sea with light and variable winds (i.e., a gentle swell), or a brief period of 20-25 knot westerly winds during the morning (behind us), you might end up with a dreadful misconception of an otherwise pretty day. Remember also, that some weather systems are hard to predict, and we have many years of experience in dealing with this. So, have a little faith. Not much is worse than canceling a pelagic trip and having the weather turn out to be beautiful. Also, don’t figure that we won’t go if it is raining. We often do. Downpours usually let up and the birds are out in the rain!