Are you afraid of the fog?

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Jun 10, 2004
7
Catalina c30 Savannah, GA
+If you don't have...

All you need is a radar, GPS chartplotter, and radar reflector. If you don't have these then stay docked or anchored. The only thing left is that other boats at least have a radar reflector to give you a chance to see them.
 
Sep 26, 2008
546
Hunter 340 0 Wickford, RI
Thought You Might like this Photo

This is a photo of Wickford Cove. (Wickford RI) Socked in with fog. That day we all watched the fog "roll" up Narragansett Bay.
It's 3 Hunters (1997-376 - 1997-340 - 2000-340 (L to R)) , all moored on the corner of the channel.
 

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Sep 23, 2013
5
ODay DS Sharonville
Yes (OMG) of course I am afraid of fog!!!

Yes of course I am afraid of fog. My humble opinion is……When preparing a sail plan and checking the weather you should make an educated evaluation. Is the weather going to get better or worst. Factors for fog is air temp and water temperature difference, temp and dew point spread, wind speed and from the land or from the sea. The questions you need to ask before you launch 1— is the weather getting better or worse barometer going up or down?. 2 --- is the weather better or worse at the destination? 3 – what are the risks and benefits? My be capable but if we scare our passengers, make them sick and have high anxiety, time maybe better spent at the dock conducting maintenance and drinking beer.
All keep in mind what’s next (contingency). If the weather gets worse where can I go?
 
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Ross did make a good point. I've sailed inland lakes & rivers, and know that limited searoom can make for different concerns especially fog.

I use numerous weather sites incl. NOAA, satellite, radar & such. Over the years it has made me a better forcaster.

When talking weather "info is power".

CR
 
May 20, 2013
7
Catalina 34 Berkeley, CA
Wouldn't quite call it fear...

...but it certainly can change the day from leisure to challenge.
We don't go out in fog and we work away from it if we see it coming through the Golden Gate.
Radar, VHF, GPS, (actually we usually end up with three GPSs, what with cell phone apps) compass and working knowledge of charting means we don't panic or really move int fear mode.
About every second year we get caught where we have (we choose) to return to Berkeley in fog. We do it carefully and by the book.
One thing that gives us confidence is that we practice with the radar on clear days. We get used to seeing what it picks up and especially what it doesn't!

A few years ago we were heading down the coast to Pillar Point for the night and the fog rolled in on us. We were charting manually point-to-point as well as using GPS and radar. We heard VHF chatting from a small flotilla that was ahead of us; most of them were already in the harbor but one was wandering somewhere outside the outer breakwater.
Fortunately we could see them on radar and direct them away from the breakers and toward us. Once they got within a hundred feet or so they could see us and follow us into the harbor.
They bought our dinner.
 
Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
Same as Mainesail, I have no fear of water vapor. What may be lurking in that water vapor is of great concern. I use 1 mile visibility as a minimum. Some chuckle head traveling 20 knots is in your boat in 3 minutes. Plenty of time to see and avoid even if he isn't looking.
 
Jun 2, 2004
45
Catalina 400 Muskegon, Michigan
I avoid fog as much as possible even though I have all the modern electronics to help and I know how to use it. However if you sail the Great Lakes as long as I have you WILL get into fog at some point.

Once in northern Lake Huron I had a motor yacht coming up on my stern at about 20 knots in a fog so thick that I couldn't see the bow of my own boat! I could see him on radar and he was on a collision course. I tried to hail him on the VHF to find out if he had me on radar. He wasn't even monitoring the VHF!!! I altered course 90 degrees and heard him pass by about 100 feet away and right when I had been!

On another occasion I had a small boat on radar with about 1/8 mile visibility. I intentionally passed close enough to see them as they appeared to be dead in the water. When we were within sight of each other the person standing at the helm yelled that they were trying to find the entrance to White Lake (Lake Michigan). They said that their GPS was giving them bad information (we all know the REAL scenario was that they didn't know how to use it!!!). I used my radar to guide them to the entrance as I continued north. I would have expected a "thank you" on the VHF after they were in the channel but they didn't have a VHF!

Gary
 
Jul 27, 2004
27
Nauticat 331 Wickford RI
I should buy one of those electric horns.. aerosol cans run out of juice...
One of my fog horns runs on (manually) compressed air. It comes with a hand pump so never runs out as long as I can pump it back up.
 

H45DS

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Aug 12, 2010
55
Hunter 45DS Portland, OR
I love to fish and lately we have been pretty well fogged in. Where we live there is relatively little commercial traffic. We may have a ship a week or less (Navy or commercial) and a couple of tugs a day, but that's about it. I don't have radar (but I do have a radar reflector, GPS charting, working compass and know how to use it.) Naturally when there is fog we can't usually sail because there is no wind, so it's hard to hear other boats because of the engine noise.

Maybe I'm a fool, but I occasionally go out into the fog anyway depending on how thick it is.
I usually don't go if visibility is less than 1/4 mile or so. I'd still like to get out again before the silver salmon are gone for the year.

My question: when do you stay home because of visibility.

Ken
I think many have stated very solid positions on this question. In my opinion, the only answer you can arrive at is "it depends".

In flying, each pilot has his or her own "personal minimums" which is a set of conditions around the weather, and extends to other factors, that the pilot is comfortable operating within. My own "personal minimum" with our boat in fog depends on many factors, including the area I am operating within. What capabilities do I have aboard my boat? Are the waters well charted, and is my chart current (including the chart plotter database)? Do commercial vessels operate the waters I'm in, and can I ensure they will show up on my AIS? Is it fishing season where I will be operating? If so, it is a safe bet that fishing boats will be there en mass, and we all likely have stories about their practices so I won't continue. And certainly if I decided to go, I'd have the radar on and would be very focused on it!

Attached is a photo from a trip my wife and I made with friends to Astoria from Portland. The photo was taken not long after leaving Astoria to return home, and is a shot of our friends' boat in the conditions we had at that time. It was fishing season, and needless to say the trip home was more lengthy than we originally planned. :)
 

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Oct 7, 2008
17
Hunter 340 Seattle
No one has mentioned the Vessel Traffic Service we have here on Puget Sound. On a trip in fog from Port Townsend to Anacortes, I radioed them to inquire about traffic in the traffic lanes before crossing to Whidbey Island. They told me when it was safe to cross but then went further and tracked me all the way to Anacortes, having me report in when making certain landmarks/waypoints. All this even though I wasn't using the traffic lanes. Combine that with GPS, radio, charts, depth sounder, and horn for the really soupy times and the situation is manageable but tense.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
This was my neighbors boat (notice the fog bank moving in behind the island):


This was about 40 minute later. Same shot, and his boat is approx three boat lengths away..:


For Maine this is considered great vis (400 feet):


My cursor is on the island and it is 411 feet away:


This was about 250 feet of vis and this boat was on full plane, no nav lights, no radar, no radar reflector, no VHF, no fog signals and traveling at a completely UNSAFE speed for the conditions. Oh and a boat full of kids... Can you say MORONS!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:



This was about 150' of vis...


If you don't like the weather just wait a minute and the fog will roll back in:
 
Oct 13, 2010
8
Macgregor 26X trailer/all over
You bet.

It is more like respect, but I don't go out in it. Nevertheless, with microclimates on bigger waters, it is impossible to go sailing with any regularity and not get caught in it. When we do, we sail on, beach (center boards are great at times) or head for the harbor, depending on how much fog, how far out, and other factors, like shipping and other commercial traffic. While in it, we are thankful for a quiet motor, listen hard and toot our fog horn. Like the idea of the trumpet; we have run out of compressed air too.
 
May 11, 2013
3
Catalina 34 Clinton
I grew up on Fishers Island and Long Island Sounds and was boating (with oars) at 7. I have never been comfortable in fog regardless of how many instruments or radar I have used, or lack thereof. I am with Maine Sail. When I started power boating at a youthful age I used a watch, a tachometer and a compass with a healthy dose of Kentucky windage, with or without fog. Fog requires a healthy respect for judgement, speed and the use of all your senses, as well as good old common sense. ( Ah, an opportunity to to discuss that ad-nauseam). A fog horn is requisite, as is being quiet enough to listen for other horns, engines, surf, etc. Personally, I'd rather never sail in it at lower visibilities, and when caught up in it, skill, caution, heightened awareness and good luck are all assets...
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,841
Catalina 320 Dana Point
Naturally when there is fog we can't usually sail because there is no wind, so it's hard to hear other boats because of the engine noise.
Not so much here, I've had to reduce sail in heavy fog because 5 or 6 knots was WAY TOO FAST when you can only see as far as in Maine's pictures.
Prefer to sail so I can hear when in open waters, got a real deep and loud horn so when the Cattle Boats hear my HOOOOOOOT HOOT HOOT they shear off like I was a tug with a barge full of scrap iron.:D
 
Mar 2, 2008
406
Cal 25 mk II T-Bird Marina, West Vancouver
“Solo Fog-tober crossing”

As you know our unusual dry and sunny October weather on our South West Coast has produced a bit of fog in the Strait of Georgia for the last week or so.

I sailed my s/v Jalepeno over to Vancouver Island just before the Thanksgiving weekend and left her in Nanaimo for some rigging work by Blanchard Rigging while I went home on my (BC ferries) big power boat “Queen of Oak Bay” for Turkey Day. Last Thursday I was back on the Island waiting for a no fog “weather window” to sail her back home. The marine weather synopsis for “Strait of Georgia - South of Nanaimo” predicted fog in the morning dissipating in the early afternoon. The best weather conditions reports for this area come from the automated “Halibut Bank” weather buoy but it had been off-line for over a week (I think it is too fogy for the Coast Guard contractor to go out to repair it or they can’t find it in the fog). The automated reports for Entrance Island and Point Atkinson both reported one mile visibility but Victoria Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) on VHF 11 said that there is still fog out on the Strait but that it should dissipate in the afternoon.

I waited in sunny Nanaimo until after 1pm before setting out. The conditions at Entrance Island were as reported, cloudy with visibility about one mile, winds North-West 10 to 15 kts with a 2 ft chop. Nice condition for a return to Vancouver. Only two other sail boats on the water and no power boats. The Ferries were running but not many tug boats because both the Vancouver harbour and the Fraser River were socked in with visibility of about 50 feet. I wanted to get across as quickly as practical before it got dark because the only thing worse than fog is fog in the dark so I motor sailed with full canvas and turning a gentle 2400 rpm on the Yanmar. GPS speed over ground was over 6 kts most of the time with 7+ kts going down the back of the “seventh wave” (the seas had built up to about 1 metre high). This is very fast for my CAL 2-25 with a LWL of 22ft. About half way across the fog got very thick with about 100 metre visibility so I switched from VFR mode to IFR mode using my GPS chart-plotter / depth sounder to keep track of my progress. I wasn’t worried about running into the BC ferries or commercial traffic as I kept in touch with VTS (they were tracking me on radar). The main fog hazard is power boaters but they don’t go out in fog. The sky opened to beautiful sunshine around Cowen Point and I docked at T-Bird Marina in a record crossing time of less than five hours dock to dock.

I often make solo crossings to Nanaimo if the weather isn’t too bad but this was the thickest fog that I have ever encountered in my many years of sailing on our coast. I respect fog but I’m not afraid of it. As I’ve said before, what doesn’t kill you helps to make you stronger?
 
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Bob,

Great link. I gotta say that I sailed in Tampa Bay for years. It is also a heavily traveled port. The shipping channel is shallow by national standards, and a narrower channel by definition.

I can't recall all the stupid things I have witnessed from boaters interfering with big ships. Yet I've witnessed many encounters of the CLOSE kind in clear/rough conditions & traffic clustered.

Most of these ships are considered "RAM's" meaning restricted in their ability to maneuver. And/or "CBD's", meaning constrained by draft. Also most people misjudge the speed of these ships. I see this all the time in "meeting & crossing" situations.

I can say, that if you hear 5 blasts, the small boater is usually the culprit. Then there are the anchored-near-marker fishing boats. And, when conditions change, they swing into the channel are now interfering. Tampa bay doesn't have a traffic separation scheme so clearance room is at a premium.

So, this brings me back to the 27 sailboat. I once witnessed a similar boat on the correct side of the channel with a ship bearing down on him from astern. The sailboat skipper stayed his course as the ship's pilot sounded the danger blasts 4 times. There was also an inbound freighter & where the sailboat was, the ships would pass one another with little free room (RAM?). Outside the channel there is plenty of depth.

At the last minute, the sailboat made an evasive maneuver to STBD and just past the bow of the freighter it kissed the sailboat's hind quarter slightly. The sail boater was STUPID & steadfast idiot feeling he was on the correct side of the channel and had right-of-way, luckily, he only ended up embarrassed & a big dinged hull. Hopefully he learned a valuable lesson.

"Rules of the Road states that "BIGGER HAS THE RIGHT-A-WAY".

Your boater, I was not there, not enough details of the event, why he was there, did he follow fog signal rules etc. etc etc? Suffice it to say, unless the sailboat was a CBD, with no clear depth outside the channel, my vote says he was at fault. It's a lot easier to maneuver a small boat in short order than a large RAM.

CR
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
The fog pictures are nice and helpful. What's even more important are distances. Having seen the pictures on this topic the other day (before Maine Sail posted his), I took these Tuesday morning. One is the sailboat in the fog at 900 feet, the next one is the shoreline behind that boat a half an hour later at 1500 feet. 900 feet / 6000 feet per nm. Not very far. I didn't move until half mile visibility showed up. I consider that a nice long breakfast! :) The third picture is the afternoon before when clear.
 

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Nov 9, 2008
1,338
Pearson-O'Day 290 Portland Maine
In Maine, you often have no choice. I am concerned about going out for the same reason as Mainsail, although I'm more in the camp of the morons that he ranted about. No offense taken. I would not go out in the fog without a GPS. My navigation skills are fair, more line of sight w/ compass bearing and with all the islands and those pesky rock ledges everywhere . . . nuff said. BUT . . . when the fog rolls in, the air horn comes out, a bearing is taken and location noted. Armed with my GPS, a known location, a good set of ears, marine radio, a good bearing, a chart and my depth finder, I feel I can get to where I'm going without incident. Unless another of my moronic brethren are out and about.

Don
 
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