Weather and waves
For a small sailboat, the two critical things to lookout for while sailing offshore are the weather and the waves offshore. Shallow inshore waters can have wind blown choppy waves due to the changing wind speed and wind directions caused by the local land mass. Offshore waters can have ocean swells with constant winds that will increase the steepness of the face of the wave. When you sail offshore you have to look at the ocean weather maps and not just rely on the local weather forecast, huge waves can be generated by storms far out at sea. The local weather can be find, but a storm hundreds of miles away can generate very steep waves that can capsize a small sailboat if you aren't prepared. You might be able sail in the big ocean swells when you are in deep waters, but as you get near shallow waters as you head back to the marina, you might not be able to run the gauntlet of big rollers as they break near shallow inshore waters. The big difference in offshore sailing is the big rollers that can come out of nowhere all of a sudden as you try to re-enter the shallower inshore waters. Its like walking in a dry riverbed in the desert and all of sudden having a tidal wave rolling down the dry riverbed generated by a storm high in the mountains. Check the ocean weather maps and check the NOAA offshore weather buoys for weather and wave information. Fair Winds. Clyde
