idiot factor #2

[Bob Fliegel]

I spent this Sunday sailing the Great South Bay of southern Long Island, NY. In addition to dreading that main sail furl at the end of the day, I noticed that I was getting some very deep depth readings on my depth meter.If anyone knows the Great South Bay, the average depth of this huge body of water is approximately 4 to 5 feet excluding, of course, the marked channels which can go down to mabye 20 - 30 feet. All day long I was getting 40, 50, sometimes 55 feet and, even though I knew it was high tide, I had a feeling that something was wrong. I went back to the boat tonight to check things out.As it turns out, on my depth meter/fishfinder (a Hummingbird 200DX, wonderful unit, $125 at West Marine) when you turn the unit on, if you hold the on button a bit too long, it defaults into the "Simulator Mode". I spent the whole day sailing in "Simulator Mode", not exactly my finest hour! Hope you feel a little better John.

 

[Voice of Experience]

Idiot Depthfinders

Well,Seems I'm not the only one to blindly trust my reliable depthfinder. About 2 weeks ago, I joined the second half of all sailors... the half that's run-aground (the other half haven't yet, but will)...In my infinite wisdom, I set the offset under the winged keel of our H30 so I would know exactly how much safety room was down there... much to my dismay, one sunny afternoon, while motoring along the Mighty Columbia River, we lurched forward. My first thought was, "we've hit a whale" because the depthfinder said I was in 12' of water below the keel. Surely it couldn't be wrong. After the wife glared at me for a moment, we motored off the mud shoal.As soon as I got back to the dock, I dropped the anchor, pulled it up and measured the chain and line on the dock. Sure enough, I'm the idiot! I'd set the offset in the wrong direction. GUYS! Periodically, double check the ol' depthfinder to make sure it is telling you a number you can trust!!!!Tony