What does going offshore mean?
Going offshore means boating in open water and away from shore areas.
The opposite word of offshore is onshore. If you are boating onshore means you cruise in closed water in light weather, such as boating at a lake.
How far offshore is offshore?
There is no clear definition of how far away from shore is offshore. Different people have different opinions.
Some people agree that being approximately 100 miles from land means you are offshore. Some people say that you are offshore if you see the water is blue, not green or brown.
Few people even say that you are not offshore until you are more than 24 hours away from land or when you face unpredicted weather.
A small number of people believe that you should consider yourself offshore if you can not see the land.
What is an offshore boat?
The offshore boats are also called bluewater boats. The offshore boat should be sturdy enough to endure rough weather and big enough to store water, and fuel for long voyages in open water.
Related Post: Best Ships For Long Distance Sea Travel Check this article to know all about long distance bluewater boat
What size boat is an offshore boat?
Generally speaking any boat over 23 feet can be an offshore boat, but of course, the boat should be well-made at the same time to be qualified as an offshore boat.
Most onshore boats are in the range of 18~23 feet. Onshore boats are good for day sailing, and weekend cruising. Offshore boats are more robust to deal with tough weather and have enough storage capacity to cross the ocean.
What is a brown water boat?
Brown water boats are boats that can operate close to the shoreline in the shallow water area.
Brown water area refers to rivers or any inland water that is very close to the shoreline. When boats pass by the river, dirt and mud at the bottom of the water are all disturbed and make the water brownish and unclear.
What is a green water boat?
The green water area stretches a couple of hundred miles from the brown water area or from the shoreline. The majority of boats are green water boats.
Most of the ports are in the gree water area. Water police, harbor control, and customs are all clustered in the green water areas.
What is a bluewater boat?
The blue water area can start from the edge of green water and goes all way to the deep ocean.
Bluewater boats are boats that are capable cruise in the blue water area. Sometimes people refer to bluewater boats as offshore boats.
Popular offshore boats
Offshore fishing boat
The recommended size for the offshore fishing boat is over 30 feet.
The most popular offshore fishing boat brands are Boston whale, Catamaran, sportfishing yacht, etc.
The average fishing boat price is between $200,000 and $450,000.
Offshore sailboat
The recommended size for the offshore sailboat is also 30 feet above because you need storage for extended voyages.
The most popular offshore sailboat brands are island packet, Tayana, and Catalina, etc.
The typical price of Tayana 37 in the year 1983 is around $85000. Island Packet 320 in the year 1999 is around $110,000.
Offshore powerboat
The offshore powerboats go between 40 miles/ hour to as fast as 70 miles/ hour.
The most popular offshore powerboat brands are Boston Whaler, Everglades, Caymans, etc.
The price of offshore powerboats can be from $200,000 to a couple of million. The new Everglades 455cc is approximate $1.5million.
Offshore fishing boat vs offshore sailboat vs offshore powerboat
- Speed
- Offshore fishing boats and offshore Powerboat can reach as fast as 70 miles per hour. The average offshore sailing boat’s speed is between 17~28 miles per hour.
- Quietness
- Most people love sailboats because of their quietness. You do not hear motor noise, except the water and wind
- Affordability
- Offshore sailboats and offshore fishing boats are more affordable than an offshore powerboat
- Skill
- Offshore sailboat request more boating skills than other powerboats
Offshore boat event
Below is a list of major offshore boat organization and events
- P1 Offshore
- Is an international powerboat and personal watercraft promoter. has hosted over 600 races in 18 countries
- Has US office in Orlando
- Famous race
- UIM Class 1 offshore racing
- Offshore powerboat racking
- OPA Racing
- OPA is an abbreviation of Offshore Power Association
- OPA hosts races every month
- APBA
- APBA is an abbreviation for American power boat association
- APBA has 116 years of history to host different boat racking competitions
- Ocean Cup World Speed Records
- Sep 2022 racing event: The Rum Run
- Oct 2022 racing event: NorCal to SoCal
Below is a good video of 2020 Ocean cup offshore boat race
Resource
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_geography#Blue_water
https://p1offshore.com/About-Us
http://www.oparacing.org/
