Back in the late 60s I was trying to impress a young lady by going out for motorboat ride in my Lyman 16 footer. Left the Jafco Marina on the Niagara River on a clear sunny afternoon. Proceeded up the Niagara on the Canadian side of course, under the Peace Bridge into Lake Erie. Still a nice afternoon and we cruised out to the Canadian coast. Headed back to go home and there was a little bit of fog that eventually became thicker and eventually a total pea soup. Not good place to be with no visibility. Somehow with pure luck we came across an Erie County Sheriff's boat was anchored and had several other boats tied along side. The Sheriff had no radar and we sat waiting for a break in the fog. The Coast Guard arrived and led us all back to their base. Had to hitch a ride back to our car and got home very late.
Lesson's learned: Have a compass on board,Have charts of the area even if you think you know the area well, Have a radio,Check weather report prior to departure,
Learned that newspapers love these stories and print names of rescued. Most importantly, your girlfriend read the paper. OUCH, BUSTED.