Sailing in Soup

[Don12364]

Radar - Can You Trust It

The British Practical Boat Owner Magazine has been running a series of articles on shipping in fog. Current issue has my article which shows that best bearing accuracy you might achieve using radar is +/- 5°. Plotting oncoming targets of fast moving ships can lead to a "wedge of uncertainty" where the ship's track cannot be exactly determined. What this means is that YOU may not have enough speed get out of this wedge and so cannot be sure to escape being run down.Also Coastguard does not recommend trying to call up ships in case of mistaken identity!!!!AIS may be the only solution.

 

[Dave Sharp]

Funny story

Reduced visability should be taken seriously but here is a story with a humorous twist. Twenty years ago we were to participate in the Barnegat Lightship Race off the coast of New Jersey. At the time I had a small boat, a Tanzer 22 with low freeboard. We sailed from our marina the night before and dropped the hook in a safe anchorage near Barnegat Inlet. Once safe at anchor we did some (much) pre-race partying before bunking down for the night. The next morning we headed for the inlet only to find dense fog as we approached the narrow Double Creek Channel leading to the ocean. We putted along at three to four knots trying to find our way in next to zero visability. Suddenly fishing boats roared by at twenty knots, clearly a reckless speed. Another and another sped by without regard to the foggy conditions. We couldn't believe it when one of our crew, ignoring his hangover symptoms, took one step up to the low flush deck cabin top and discovered the dense fog was only seven feet thick. We had struggled to motor along with next to no visability when we could have cruised along with these "Reckless" fishing boats if we only stood up. Needless to say we did not win the race that day.

 

[VIEXILE]

Bag 'o Spuds

Muscle Ridge Channel (several times) at night, in the fog. Bag of potatoes. Throw potatoes, fore, aft, starboard and port. When you don't hear a splash, turn away. VIEXILE ex. MAINEAC

 

[Eva Rummel]

Just a compass and VHF...

One morning I had to make a crossing through the middle of SF Bay. I was in Tiburon, needing to make it to Pier 39. Since I've made the crossing so many times in clear weather, I knew the heading that was needed. That's easy. Then I switched my VHF to channel 14, for Vessel Traffic Service in the Bay. It alerts mariners of all inbound and outbound commercial traffic. Since it was early in the morning, odds were that that was the majority of craft out in the bay. My first mate and I kept a very watchful eye out as we made our crossing through the fog. No GPS, No radar, just a compass, wind, and luck. We made it with no close calls.

 

[Phil Steinsiek]

Trust our compass

Sailing in the San Juans in Washington state we sometimes get caught in fog.One morning a couple years ago we were tied snuggly to the dock at Jones Island.Our plans were to go to Friday Harbor that day on San Juan Island.Several other boaters were gathered on the docks and all were discussing the fog.No one thought it would burn off until afternoon.That didn't suit our schedule and we got ready to cast off.Someone asked where we were going and we told them Friday Harbor.Soon everyone was talking about the boat that would be going to Friday Harbor.Someone asked if we had GPS and I said no.Radar?No.How do you expect to find Friday Harbor?Chart and compass.We left and could make out three or four boats following us.And we pulled into Friday Harbor about three hours before the fog began to lift.

 

[Bob Bass]

Radar, Reflector & GPS

That is why I have radar, radar reflector and GPS on the boat. You never know when you will be caught in fog or blinding rainstorm. Or just in the dark with no moon. Night vision is also a good idea.

 

[Shaun]

No Bid Deal!-Don't know tide exchanges!

The people who responded that fog is no big deal have obviously not dealt with the tide exchanges we deal with in the PNW. Even with Radar and GPS, you need to keep an eye out for traffic, dead heads, etc as well as tracking the influences of the tides and currents. I'm sure the majority of the "no big deal" responses were from day sailors who haven't contended with how demanding fog can be. I always sleep long and hard after a fog experiance.shaun

 

[Anne Westlund]

Roggy soup

One July 5th the sun was so bright, the breeze so right, and the day so long we just had to go out from Charlevoix into Lake Michigan to putz around. We sailed and sailed - right into a fog bank. You couldn't see the bow pulpit on the Pearson 33 sloop. Putting on my fuchia foul weather jacket I stood on the bow as a warning to all. My husband said the jacket was brighter than a lighthouse! Pretty soon we came upon a powerboat of some size. They asked for directions to Charlevoix. I said they should follow me. Then I was in the soup! My husband really read me the riot act but I said, let's go. We'd already been out for several hours and it was really chilly out over the cold lake water. I directed him to go east until we came upon the 25 ft. contour on the chart. I'd continue to watch from the bow.  We did just that and since the wind had not changed relative to the compass bearing we had taken originally, we were able to turn south and carefully follow that magical 25 ft. number on the depth sounder.  Within a half-hour we heard the faint moans of the fog horn and within an hour were in the Pine River watching the bridge go up to let us into Round Lake where the sun was shining like all get out! Have good charts. When the wind is up keep track of it's bearing (where it is blowing from) and use that depth sounder unless bottom and other issues prevent (like oil rigs or wrecks, etc.).

 

[ex-admin]

Final results

Final results for the Quick Quiz ending March 28, 2004:Which of the following best expresses your thoughts on sailing in fog: 34% I've sailed in fog and hope never to do so again 33% I've sailed in fog and it was no big deal 29% I've never sailed in fog and hope never to do so 05% I've never sailed in fog, but don't think it would be a big deal 1,286 owners responding

 

[John]

Hey, watch out!

I had planned on sailing solo to Put-In-Bay Ohio for a weekend of fun. Woke up to fog but it usually burns off quickly and I was eager to get going. I had loran with the waypoints I needed to get into the Detroit River and felt confident enough to leave figuring it would be an hour or so before the fog would burn off. About 20 minutes after leaving the marina I lost the fix on the loran. Just my luck. I guessimated my location, checked the charts and plotted a compass course that should get me into the river's mouth where at least I could see each shoreline. Set sail, put on the autopilot and sailed for about an hour feeling pretty cocky and looking at charts in the cockpit when I hear someone yelling "Hey, watch out!" I was just about to run into a fishing pier. I disengaged the autopilot and sailed off the pier enough to still see it and dropped sails and the anchor. Maybe I should wait until the fog lifts. That wasn't the scariest part. After sitting for a couple of hours I hear the sound of a large power boat at full throttle getting louder and louder. I'm thinking his loran isn't working either and get out the canned horn. I am waiting while he gets closer and closer and he finally breaks out of the fog at about 200 ft. heading straight for me and I blow the horn. I don't which of us were more scared. He also slowed down and puttered off into the mist. I will never sail in fog again ( at least on purpose). I did end up having a very good time in Put-In-Bay.

 

[David Faulkner]

Caught in fog...You bet!

Sailing on Cape Cod and Buzzards Bays the fog is an ever-present threat. But sailing into the Gulf of Maine and through Penobscot bay was even more exciting because of the reefs and rocks. For the most part, on Cape Cod you run aground, in Maine you slap up against a rock!Anyway, I once sailed from Provincetown, MA to Monhegan Island, ME, in fog that was so thick I could not see the end of my Columbia Contender. (24'11")I use Loran and the friend sailing with me was amazed that after 30 hours of blind sailing we almost bumped into the bouy off Monhegan. His comment was "as far as he was concerened all he saw was the same 15 feet of water for 30 hours". For is a challenge, but sailing in it can be pleasurable if you are cautious and alert, have good stobes on your masthead and good (and precise) navigational tools such as GPS, Loran or even the old RDF that I first used back and forth from Cape Cod to Maine.

 

[James]

Illwaco in the Fog

If you are traveling in the fog you must be under power and not sail. If the fog is down to duck soup there is usually no wind. In 1976 my son and I were coming back to Illwaco, Wa. from Tillimook, Oregon. About halfway the fog set in. We could not see our bow. I may be crazy but I do like traveling in the fog it seems like I am going down hill all the time. and it is an erie feeling. At anyrate all I have on board is good coastal charts, a depth finder and a very good compass.We had traveled until I thought we were probably past the Columbia River inlet And so I told my Son that we were going to stop for a bit because acording to the depth finder we were just a little past the bar.We sat for maybe 10 minutes and finally a little hole in the fog cleared up high and to our right. And sure enough there was North Head light house. So we made an 180 and headed back. I still could not see the bow of my boat for the fog. I traveled according to the charts and depth finder and stopped. Knowing that we had to be in the channel. But not exactilly where.A very large fishing dragger passed by our stern and I hollered up at a deck hand and asked him where we were. He must have thought I was crazy because just 10 feet in front of my bow was the green bouy at the end of the South jetty. If I would not have stopped when I did I would have nailed it dead on. From there on we followed the bouy's in.I still travel in the fog with my charts, depth finder and good compass. But I have added a GPS, just in case there isn't a big troller or dragger near by.

 

[Karl]

correction

Don't you mean: "temperature dropped TO the dew point"?

 

[Karl]

Sailboats and Motorcycles

Sailing a small boat in the fog is analogous to riding a motorcycle in traffic. You can wear a helmet if you wish and full leathers too. But if the Big Buick doesn't see you you're toast!Where I sail, we contend with nuclear Submarines and Ferry and commercial traffic, but the biggest risk is the yahoo powerboater that is unaware or unconcerned of the risk he/she? poses by going too fast in fog conditions and/or may not possess radar or be monitoring a VHF. So what to do? The best bet is to evade the situation by getting out of a commercial seaway and anchoring while following colregs for fog till the fog lifts. If that can't be done, mitigate yourself as a target as best you can, and PRAY!

 

[Mark]

Fogbound

Last year, while helping a friend move his boat from Green Bay to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, we ran into solid fog on the last leg from Port Washington, WI to the GLNTC. There was zero wind and so we were motoring in what was, basically, a 100 yard diameter bubble. We had never been in solid fog before and it was a new and, somewhat, exciting experience. We had a GPS and charts so we knew our position, we were flying a radar reflector, sounding our bell and our motoring speed was 5-6 kts. so we felt relatively secure. We were 2 to 3 miles offshore and would occasionally encounter fishing boats that would materialize and disappear as we motored by. At our speed it was easy to avoid them, even with an estimated 50 yards of forward visibility.As we neared the GLNTC, we heard a very loud, very deep (and very close) fog horn. Due to the acoustical nature of low bass sounds, it was nearly impossible to tell which direction the sound was coming from. We slowed to a stop and both scanned our "bubble" of visibility. Just briefly, I caught a view of the broad stern of a tow boat that had crossed out bow, unheard and unseen by either of us until she sounded her horn.That was the first time either of us felt worried. We later found that the towboat was pushing a 300' dredge and the whole rig had crossed directly in front of us unseen and unheard by either of us. Whether or not she saw us on radar, I can only speculate, but what I do know is that she was less than 50 yards off our bow when I saw her and if we had been going a fraction of a knot faster, we could have easily been off her bow rather than vice-versa.I have just moved radar up significantly on the list of "must haves" for my boat.

 

[Jay Ailworth]

Fog Bound in Northern California

In September of 2003 I was supposed to take a trip from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas aboard the schooner, R Tucker Thompson. The trip was cancelled due to the hurricane that blasted the Baja the week I was to have left. So instead of wasting my vacation time I decided to take a trip to Santa Cruz in our boat, the Strange Bird, a Catalina 42 MkII. My wife was working so I decided to go solo. She wanted me to take my time and stop in Half Moon Bay on my way down. I would have preferred to make the trip in one shot but decided that if she felt more comfortable with me stopping I would. I had had the radar on the boat for almost two years at that point and had not really had a chance to use it much and since the wind was on the nose, what there was of it, I decided to use the radar while I was running the engine. I got in a full day of practice changing ranges, marking bearing lines and generally getting comfortable with what the radar was telling me compared with what I was seeing with my own eyes. The most remarkable event of the day was as I left the Gate. I had three ships behind me that all crossed under the bridge at the same time. Never saw that before. I put into Pillar Pt. Around 1600 and got a slip from the harbormaster. By the time I had the boat cleaned up and went out for dinner a dense fog had buried the harbor.It was no better when I left the next morning at ‘oh dark stupid’. I could not have found my way out of the harbor without the radar. Even with it I left moving at a crawl until I could actually see I was between the jetties on my way out. I was glad I had spent the time the day before getting reacquainted with the radar. As the sun came up the fog burned off and I had a fairly nice day until just past Davenport.As often happens there was a major fog line just south of Davenport. It took about 10 minutes to go from almost unlimited visibility to less than a quarter mile. I have my radar display on my binnacle but my GPS chartplotter and paper charts are all at the navigation station down below. After I knew I had rounded the corner I went below and plugged in my waypoint for the mile buoy off Santa Cruz harbor and fixed my position on my paper chart and plotted a course to the buoy. I also plotted the course from the buoy to the entrance jetties.I had never seen Santa Cruz on radar before so the returns were not real clear to me. The pier didn’t seem to stick out as far as it should and the harbor entrance did not show a clear break. What is actually the slough with the radio tower looked like it should be the harbor entrance on the scope. Time and space in the fog truly do seem to belong in the Twilight Zone. It felt as if I should have picked up the buoy by now on the radar. The GPS said I was close. The radar could not confirm or deny. It was only 1330 and I could not see more than a couple of hundred yards if that. I used to sail in and around Santa Cruz quite a bit so I thought I could feel my way in. Yeah right. But I made the turn toward shore anyway figuring I would spot the light at the entrance.The first thing I saw was a white line on the water up ahead. I was still in 30 feet of water but I knew that had to be the surf line. I looked off to my right and became dimly aware of a dark shape lurking over that way. Sure enough I had missed the entrance by about 200 yards to the left. To top it all off, the green light at the top of the new lighthouse at the end of the jetty was out. This story is almost over but it does not end in Santa Cruz. On my way back home a couple of days later the fog was still in with visibility around the quarter mile range. I was tracking a boat up ahead and off my port side for more than an hour before I passed him without ever seeing him. The radar had us at about a quarter mile apart. There was also an intermittent blip that seemed to be there but wasn't. Changing the range on the radar would make it go away. I kept looking but finally chalked it up to a funny sea return. Getting up the coast proved to be fairly easy and the fog had cleared to a very heavy haze by the time I was approaching the Gate. It is a good thing I am familiar with the approach from the south into the bay. For some reason the radar was showing several very strong returns in the water just off the Cliff House extending to almost a mile offshore. On the screen it looked like the coast made a sharp jut to seaward. I know there is nothing there. Tell that to the radar. If it had still been foggy and I had not been familiar with the coast I almost certainly would have turned the boat out to sea to get around ‘the point’ on the radar. Then if I had consulted my charts or my GPS I could very well have been confused or even thought I was lost.The whole point of this story is that nothing on the ocean is certain. You have to use every navigation aid you have and you have to trust your instruments up to a point. Blind trust could get you killed. You have to use your judgment based on all the information at hand. Fatigue and its effect on the decision making process is probably the most likely thing to impair good judgment when you are trying to navigate in uncertain circumstances.