A go or no-go call is not a feeling. It is a short list of numbers, read in the same order every time.
Under 12 knots: comfortable for most small boats, with normal attention on the water.
12 to 18 knots: the caution band. Fine in a bigger boat, tiring in a small one, and the sea starts to build.
18 to 25 knots: hard on small boats, and wave height climbs fast with no time to correct.
Over 25 knots: stay on land, even if the sky is clear and the sun is out.
0.5 m is workable in a small boat if you stay alert and keep the load trimmed.
1 m is where a comfortable trip turns into a tiring one, and the difference shows most on the way back.
At 1.5 m and up, call it off and take the next day instead.
Do not read the average alone. A gust can hit roughly double the average, and one gust at the wrong moment is enough to roll a small boat or shift a load.
Sea state comes in words: slight, moderate, rough, very rough. Anything at rough or above is not small-boat weather, and an active marine warning means no trip for the period it covers, however important the plan was.
Visibility counts too. Fog or heavy rain hides both the sea and the landmarks you need to get back, and leaves you relying on instruments you cannot see through.
You usually head home into the wind and swell with a loaded boat, and taking waves head-on is the tiring part, not the calm run out.
When the tide runs against the wind, it builds a short, steep chop that is more dangerous than a big regular swell, because it hits fast with no rhythm to work with.
Thunderstorms are a hard line. Lightning at sea gives you no second chance, and you do not wait until it looks close.
Before you move, check the sea state and the Shuwaikh and Shuaiba tides in B7R, and remember the SOS button is there for emergencies but does not replace calling the official authorities.
No trip is worth a life. Postponing is a decision, not a loss, and the sea will still be there tomorrow.
Read the numbers before you leave, and log the trip when you return. Download B7R free on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q8dm.b7r — sea state, Shuwaikh and Shuaiba tides, fish guide, catch log, seasons, navigation tools and an SOS button.