Can you read the signs?

Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Electronic systems on boats expand the sensory information being provided to a skipper.
Wind speed, barometric change, water speed, knot meter, SOG, CPA, bearing, Mag-Tru. Deviation, AtoN etc. the list goes on and on. It feels like you need a book to identify or decode just a few of these let alone understand what they mean and how they affect you and your boat.

Last year we had a discussion about radar. The bottom line was radar is a great tool but you need to use it on good clear days so you learn what it is telling you before you turn it on and attempt to find your way home through a “where did the bow of the boat go” blanket of fog.

AIS is another one of those seemingly simple gadgets. Turn it on and you will know where the big boats are so you can avoid getting run down. Oh if it was only that simple.

Reading an article in Panbo I learned about a new device. An AIS AtoN that is attached to a fishing net.

Cruising down the coast on a dark night. Suddenly your AIS alarm goes crazy. You alert from the peaceful cruising stupor and check your screen. What you see looks like a semicircle ring of giant wasps. Heading for your boat. You whisper that sailor phrase WTF ! You click on one of the RED dots. It says it is the MaryAnn a fishing boat. You click on a second dot. It also is the MaryAnn a fishing boat. WTF! A couple more clicks and your total confusion goes to panic when you scan the horizon and there is not a light to be seen, except perhaps the trusty light house beacon on the bluff 8 miles to starboard.

Just as you decide the AIS must be on the fritz your boat becomes entangled in a fishing net.

WTF!
 
May 7, 2012
1,338
Hunter e33 Maple Bay, BC
Thanks John. An interesting read. I was unaware of these animals. Have you had any experience with the AIS fishing net buoys in the PNW waters?
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
No. But the thought of them or of a series of them on Crab traps is a concern.

I have cruised up the Saratoga passage, Rounded the East end of Whidby and ran smack in to a series of lines of Crab traps covering the channel. It was a nightmare swerving back and forth to miss the buoys that were everywhere. To see that on an AIS Screen might damage my eyes..
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
JS, I have no experience with AIS, but was raised with radar. I can easily see your scenario happening. A real problem people in general have is not being able to imagine the possibilities outside of experience. If one has never considered the possibility that something like an AIS signal can originate from something other than an actual vessel, confusion, misunderstanding and disbelief are often the response to phenomena outside their experience.

I want to give another example of such a thing, but not having experience with that with which I have not run across before, I'm finding it hard to come up with something.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 

colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
119
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
We have experienced the fishing nets/lines ATONs a couple of times. The first time was a bit confusing because we weren't aware of this usage and it was like you described - a lot of "boats" with the same name. However, we also have an AIS transponder, and in every case, the main fishing boat contacted us well before we arrived, described the situation, and offered a suggested path around. From the distance we were contacted, a slight course change was all we needed to stay clear.

I don't understand why this situation would cause angst to anyone. Even if the situation wasn't accompanied by the mothership contacting the vessel, it is MUCH better than nets and lines not being marked or visible at all. Personally, I don't care about rules and regulations when it comes to this type of situation. If they wanted to mark them with disco balls, fireworks, and SOS-blinking strobes, I'm fine with that.

I'm a proponent of getting maximum range out of AIS, even using splitters to get the antenna up on the mast top rather than down on a stern rail. The other side of the debate rests on the case that range degradation to a few miles notice is plenty for a sailboat. This is one example where 10-12nm is a distinct advantage over 2-3nm. Those ATONS are practically at water level - sporty sea conditions and a heeling sailboat make for a challenging signal line of sight.

Mark
 
Feb 11, 2017
108
Gulfstar 47 NC
JS. Great post. I love Panbo, I let them do the research. I think we are all guilty of only using radar at night and bad weather. I’ve not encountered the fishing net AIS yet. Maybe they need to be identified different than a ship. My biggest issue is that not all boats have AIS. We should all refresh our boating skills regularly.
 

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,039
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
I agree with refreshing your skills. The last time I used my radar was during a daysail in my local area. So I knew what the shoreline looked like on the radar screen. The rainstorm that was traversing the bay was also plainly visible on radar and the mark one eyeball. What the eyes couldn't show us was the storm was expanding in our direction so we decided to head up a bit to avoid it. Before radar, that storm would have run over us. Instead, we had a training session and a dry sail home.
 
Feb 11, 2017
122
former Tartan 30 New London, CT area
I remember our first crossing of the Gulf of Maine, eyeballs and radar keeping us safe. Shortly after sundown, a red light appeared off to the East - nothing on radar. WTF? Don't see anything, but it's getting brighter. About 5 minutes later, we watched the moon rise!
 
Jun 25, 2004
475
Hunter 306 Pasadena MD
If I had one of them there expensive gadgets up there on the mast, I'd sure as heck be playing with it on most daysails until I understood it! I guess I just like electronic gadgets. Also, sailing. But especially: sailing with electronic gadgets...

BTW: my C80 just died, so I'm in the market for a new Axiom.
 
Feb 11, 2017
122
former Tartan 30 New London, CT area
Time to play with a new sailing toy (radar) is when you're NOT sailing. Do it when you're at a dock on a clear day, do it on a mooring, play with it while at anchor. What does the radar show? What do my eyeballs show? Learn the correlation between the two - guess what, they're different! Learn why!
Try tweaking the adjustments - what happens? DO NOT try to learn how to use your radar while sailing!
 
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Jun 14, 2010
2,081
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
I think we are all guilty of only using radar at night and bad weather.
I use it frequently, almost all the time underway. In fair weather and daylight it helps keep me practiced identifying nearby targets, estimating distances, and could also help avoid collision due to my headsail blocking the field of view.
 
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colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
119
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
I agree that the best practice is while sailing on nice days. Practicing at the dock or mooring might familiarize one with the buttons and settings, but little else on actually using and interpreting it. The massive returns from all the boats and land are obvious, and gain/clutter settings are useless.

The best way to get familiarity is when there is little to be seen except for that small fishing boat heading offshore, or the low lobster boat working traps in a zig-zag, or the small island close in front of the mainland, etc. This will hone your interpretation. Then move to more sporty sea states and play with gain/clutter settings to keep that small fishing boat lit while eliminating the larger waves it is traveling in.

We have ours on pretty much all the time, even on good weather days. It is the latter that I spend time going deeper into the settings, trying to pick out smaller and more difficult objects, and training myself to interpret more difficult situations. Echo trails, averaging, true/relative bearings, EBL/VRM, range shifting, ARPA - these are things that cannot be evaluated at a dock or at anchor.

Mark
 

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,039
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
Radar while tied to the slip. Nasty day with rain in the forecast.
Across the bayou.jpg
1/4NM total distance. Notice how dull the sailboats at anchor are?
Rain on Radar.jpg
6NM range. All the sailboats are blotted out by the shore line buildings. But we were tied to the dock so I wasn't worried about running over them. :biggrin: