Practice, practice, practice...

[Cap'n Mike]

This past Sunday, Cindy, Adoryble, and I were planning a sail before the weather came. We woke up to fog, but we had to travel the 30 minutes to the boat since we didn't put the covers on her after our Saturday evening sail.

The fog on the water was thick, like looking into a steamed up mirror after a hot shower.

Cindy didn't think that going out was a good idea.

I decided that motoring out in the fog was practice. We have slept aboard on the other side of the bay, so if fog came in we would need to get across the bay - fog or no fog.

We do have a GPS with all of the channel waypoints in memory. We also had a horn and the VHF.

We motored out of Clear Lake into the channel. In the fog, the visibility was about 50 yards! When we passed the green number 7, we could barely see red number 8 on the opposite side!

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy1.jpg[/img]

Using the GPS, we motored out to marker 2 - about a total of 2 miles from the slip, where we anchored just outside the channel. After casting the fishing pole for about 45 minutes, we weighed anchor and started back in, since we knew rain was coming.

The trip back in was just as eerie with extreme low visibility.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy2.jpg[/img]

Using the GPS, we stayed on our side of the channel while calling out our position on the VHF as we passed the channel markers.

It was demanding work that played on the nerves.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy3.jpg[/img]

This was excellent practice. I remember my days of IFR flying. We always practiced. This was the first opportunity for me to do some IFR boating.

What an experience!

[Joe CD MS 300]

Mike,

One of the best way to learn to deal with fog is get out in it but that is easier said than done. I sat in Rockland harbor ME (on a week long charter) with the wife and 3 kids for three days waiting for the fog to clear on one of our first trips to Maine. I just didn't have the confidence to rely on the radar or loran (it was a while back). I was getting so stir crazy I thought about following one of the wind jammers out and just follow along to where ever they were headed. That experience instigated my first purchase of a hand held GPS and the use of the radar when it was clear.

After a while you learn to trust the GPS and radar. Ideally you want to use as many methods and tools as are available, dead reckoning, radar and GPS. They all should be giving you the same answer. Hopefully you are using at least DR and the GPS. I always plot the GPS waypoints on the chart and make sure that the course that the GPS is giving me is the same as I have on the chart. Unless I was forced to, I'm still not sure if I would go out in the fog without one or the other, GPS or radar. You could be right on course for DR purposes and still not be able to see you next mark unless you bump right into it. You might be able to hear it, but figuring out what direction its in is often hard in fog. If I had to pick only one to use, I think it would be radar. It's like being able to see in the dark. After a while you get use to it. I miss the fog a little if I don't get at least a day of it on a trip. It helps to keep the skills up.

Joe

[Cap'n Mike]

Joe:

I did use the GPS along with DR. Once in the channel, which is straight, I used the GPS along with compass headings and times, just like in IFR flying.

I have never used RADAR - either in aviation or boating, so it would be a new skill to learn. One that I would be willing to learn.

[Kato]

A method not metioned is the Dog and Potato method of piloting in fog (Annapolis Book of Seamanship. J. Rousmaniere; pp 246. 3rd ed. 1999;Simon & Schuster). When a dog(s) is heard barking, make a 180 degee turn directly away from sound(s). Large breeds (Labador etc.) are more reliable than smaller breeds such as Pekinese although smaller breeds may have higher frequency barks. In addition, potato's maybe lobbed off the bow dead ahead at frequent intervals (1 minute or less depending on potato supply). When no splashes are heard, immediately change course 180 degrees.

This method may raise the eyebrows of your insurance agent, but what do they know.

[Neil Gordon]

... see the other guy!

Depending on your nav skills, you can know where you are with just a chart, compass and lead line. Only radar tells you who else is out there with you.

One safety point... don't know the depth ourside of your channel, but if the draft is sufficient (including leeway!), then passing marks on the "wrong" side can keep you out of the way of larger, deeper draft vessels.

[John D.]

I have a sort of reverse DR for my most common routes written out on 3"x5" cards. I keep the appropriate one tucked in my shirt pocket, and tell my crew it is there and how to use it.

When I obey the pre-written command to
"steer 25 magnetic for 12 minutes at 5 kts to R2",
and the correct daymark appears out of the fog as hoped,
I almost think I know what I'm doing.

I've only had to use them a few times (once at at night and twice in fog), but on the Chesapeake, which is well-marked, I've found them useful.

[winthrop fisher]

Hey Mike,
you did the right thing.
but you need to use the charts more and your compass more as well.
because if you lose your electronics or gps you will be in trouble and galveston bay can get pretty hairy out in a small boat.
i sailed that bay and the coast for over twenty five years in all condishsions.
you can get run over by some one not looking it has happen there many times over.
be careful and keep a good look out.
winthrop

This past Sunday, Cindy, Adoryble, and I were planning a sail before the weather came. We woke up to fog, but we had to travel the 30 minutes to the boat since we didn't put the covers on her after our Saturday evening sail.

The fog on the water was thick, like looking into a steamed up mirror after a hot shower.

Cindy didn't think that going out was a good idea.

I decided that motoring out in the fog was practice. We have slept aboard on the other side of the bay, so if fog came in we would need to get across the bay - fog or no fog.

We do have a GPS with all of the channel waypoints in memory. We also had a horn and the VHF.

We motored out of Clear Lake into the channel. In the fog, the visibility was about 50 yards! When we passed the green number 7, we could barely see red number 8 on the opposite side!

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy1.jpg[/img]

Using the GPS, we motored out to marker 2 - about a total of 2 miles from the slip, where we anchored just outside the channel. After casting the fishing pole for about 45 minutes, we weighed anchor and started back in, since we knew rain was coming.

The trip back in was just as eerie with extreme low visibility.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy2.jpg[/img]

Using the GPS, we stayed on our side of the channel while calling out our position on the VHF as we passed the channel markers.

It was demanding work that played on the nerves.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/j_m_kovacs/adoryble/Foggy3.jpg[/img]

This was excellent practice. I remember my days of IFR flying. We always practiced. This was the first opportunity for me to do some IFR boating.

What an experience!