first time in fog

[stow it]

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead (all be it at 8kts). My guess is that you would have had just as much agita from turning around as going ahead.
Best to get used to working your radar and gps in favorable conditions so that you're more comfortable when the weather closes in. You can't always sail in clear weather.
I went fishing one day that was foggy and it wasn 't socked in when I left the dock but once I hid the first channel marker I couldn't see a thing. Perhaps I should have gone back to the dock because we had low visibility for 60 miles to the fishing grounds, the entire time we were fishing and then the return trip; all the way back to the dock.

 

[CaptRodriguez]

You were extremely lucky. I happen to be the local TowBoat US diver, and I would not have left the dock. Was this an emergency? An operators first job is risk management, second job is communications, and third job is vessel operation.

If you can't do the first two, you shouldn't do the third. If in doubt, don't go out. If you had others aboard, you were putting them at risk. What could to wrong?


Consider the what if's:

Someone with you same experience coming the other way.

Someone using only a plotter going fast.

A local crabber on step because they have local knowledge.

 

[Begorrah]

If the fog was as thick as described, tie up at the guest dock in LaConner or at the LaConner Pub and Tavern and wait it out. Have a nice lunch or breakfast. pretty hard to run into something on dry land.

 

[denniskeith]

Interesting to hear your story. Reminds me of many times heading down the Mississippi out into the gulf and back. Sounds like you handled the situation very well. I did want to pass on a few things that some salty work boat captains taught me about their experiences in the gulf and up and down the river in the fog every day. Here’s what they taught me besides all the normal protocols. One always operate with your radar that way you’ll be used to matching what’s out there and what it shows also be sure it shows everything. Two when you’re running familiar routes create a track when you’re in good weather and follow it when you’re in bad weather, Never trust the Chart Plotter completely. Three Broadcast on a frequency appropriate to the location where you are and where you’re going. For example on the Mississippi it’s channel 68 and monitor 16. Hope this adds a few ideas. Operating in the fog will certainly make you focus.

 

[OldDan1943]

You were extremely lucky. I happen to be the local TowBoat US diver, and I would not have left the dock. Was this an emergency? An operators first job is risk management, second job is communications, and third job is vessel operation.

If you can't do the first two, you shouldn't do the third. If in doubt, don't go out. If you had others aboard, you were putting them at risk. What could to wrong?


Consider the what if's:

Someone with you same experience coming the other way.

Someone using only a plotter going fast.

A local crabber on step because they have local knowledge.

Might want to add in the real possibility of the weather behind you maybe bad or worse. You are the captain and you must learn to live or die by your decisions.
Perhaps, you can get some guidance from calling on 16? Yea yea, I know, not supposed to CQ on VHF but, some time, daymn the rules.

 

[saboga]

I had my first experience navigating in fog as well a few weeks ago coming up the Hood canal to Pt. Townsend. The comments about how hard it is to steer a course in fog by hand are absolutely correct.

If you are constantly looking at the compass to hold course, you aren't looking at the radar or chartplotter. You end up steering a wandering course as your attention goes back and forth from the radar to the chartplotter to the compass and back. The autopilot is an must in a channel or other narrow area

Passing under the Hood Canal bridge in the fog was a little nerve-wracking, as I couldn't see the bridge until I was right on it.

 

[smith6]

I would check the weather channel listen to the weather channel they will tell you if the channel is clear or not and waited out. too narrow of a channel too many inexperienced boaters out there that could hit you unless you're in a big rush stay the dock let the fog lift

 

[Pathfinder]

Get a FogMate Automatic Horn Controller. Simple to wire in between your horn and switch and it takes over in fog sounding the horn every 2 minutes +- and random number of seconds so you're not always blasting the same second as an approaching vessel. One of the best little devices I ever installed!

 

[Alisske]

I did the Straight of Juan de Fuca once in soup like that. I have full class B AIS, know my radar, slowed down and used fog horns. Still had a 50'+ boat planning hull on plan towing a dignghy without AIS go across my bow. Had intermittent radar contact on her but still never again. I can wait.

Spot on. You'll get away with it 99.9% of the time. Its the .01% that makes me wait if i can.

 

[thataway]

I suspect it was exciting for planes and boats when during the gulf war, the govt shut down GPS without warning.

There was no widespread commercial or recreational use of GPS during the Gulf War (August 1990 to Feb 1991). The government did not shut down GPS, they shut down the Selective Averaging, which made the GPS less accurate, because there were a very limited number of military units. Some military being deployed were able to get one of the few portable GPS units which were just being made for recreational boating. Having SA off allowed these units to be as accurate as the military grade GPS.

I was going to Australia to sail along the Eastern coast and my friend had an "in" with Micrologic. They had just released their first recreational boat fixed GPS unit (only 19 satellites up then--14 when the Gulf War started). I picked up the unit about a week before we were to fly down. By the day I left they had updated the unit to software 6, and I hooked it up to my car battery on the way to the airport to be sure it was working properly.

We did a couple of days experimenting. I was below with the GPS and a chart. The owner was on deck steering with his chart and compass, plus depth sounder and visual. I called the course, blind, and we ended up with in 100' of where I had predicted from the GPS. It was magic! I had used Loran C, A, Omega, VOR, Sat Nav (decent fix about every 6 hours on an average). None of these held a candle to the GPS!

Other ways of navigation before the modern era was using the lighthouse beacon and timing the electronic signal on long wave radio (302 khz), with the synchronized Fog horn to give distance off. The RDF gave you a bearing to the lighthouse, and the time delay gave you the distance off, by accounting for the speed of sound. In So. Calif. There were 4 light houses broadcasting on the same frequency, but they each broadcast their call letter in Morris Code so you could differentiate the light house. Pt Loma: _._. I, Los Angeles: ._ _ II etc

Another way of navigation was using the depth finder. For example Redando Canyon leads right into King Harbor. One would plot a series of depths, often crossed with RDF bearings of either the lighthouses or radio stations in S. Calif. on a paper chart to determine a line of position.

I did a lot of coastal sailing in fog. Sound was very important--and one of the advantages of a sail boat in the Los Angeles area. I always made certain I had a good and very loud air horn-- not a wimpy little can of compressed air.. One became skilled at knowing the sound made by fishing seiners from the water taxi or Catalina Steamers--vs a large merchant ship...no radar, no GPS..

The OP did the correct procedure to continue dead slow, using all of the sensory input and electric equipment which he had available.

 

[adornato]

i took the same trip in the La Connor straits in 2002 in my new then Albin 28. I had never used radar before. I was trying to get back to Bellingham from Whidbey Island in dense fog so I could catch my flight home.. classic case of get-home-itis. Got the radar working and found it useful to keep me in the channel, blowing my horn, and peering into the murk.. Then a commercial fishing boat passed me in the fog going 15 kts... i tucked in behind him and followed his wake out of the fog.. a day i will never forget

 

[magna 6882]

You were extremely lucky. I happen to be the local TowBoat US diver, and I would not have left the dock. Was this an emergency? An operators first job is risk management, second job is communications, and third job is vessel operation.

If you can't do the first two, you shouldn't do the third. If in doubt, don't go out. If you had others aboard, you were putting them at risk. What could to wrong?


Consider the what if's:

Someone with you same experience coming the other way.

Someone using only a plotter going fast.
given us the dew point.

A local crabber on step because they have local knowledge.

I dont use luck is assessing risk management. My wife and i are helicopter pilots and fully understand go no go decision making. Weather had the fog lifting and we checked a couple of sources . We were at the city dock overnight and had no reason to leave. The fog lifted and nice blue skys. Started seeing other boats taking off so we headed out. Either the fog came back in or was only clear from where we could see.We were both comfortable running off instruments and used the auto pilot to hold heading.We had three plotters going and the sounder and radar set close in . also used Doppler to see if anything was moving.
The errors we made was not determining the fog location region wide and not loading the weather station on one of the screens which would have

 

[captobie]

Lots of great advice here, the one thing I would add is to be cautious in following the chart in a place like the Swinomish Channel. Radar and depth sounder would be my focus, verifying what you see there against your chart plotter and AIS.

The most important thing though is slow down. That buys you time, which is the most valuable tool you have when in reduced visibiity.

 

[RoseLoper48]

Congratulations on your first experience in fog. While it is never easy your second experience will be more comfortable. Learn as you go and continue to network with others who have been there done that.

 

[Rwquixk]

Wow really good info, but as a rookie here
I would like to suggest that when posting
abbreviations or acronyms please give the
Definition at the end of the post so us
rookies can look it up!

For instance what does AIS stand for and
what is it !

 

[Beaverlake]

A great thread. Having been cruising in the PacNW with recent heavy fog I can attest to the following

-Slow down
-I prefer split screen to overlay (a change in tune from when we updraded electronics)
-Use sound signals, even if you need your phone to remind you of 2 minute intervals
-Use all the eyes and ears you have aboard
-If a pilothouse, open the door
-If you have a tablet or phone, use a nav app as “backup” or a sanity check
-When is the last time any of you had your compasses corrected?
-If your compasses are corrected can you use a correction table and paper charts?
-When was the last I ever you “set up” your radar to confirm that the “center line” for the heads up orientation is actually properly aligned fore and aft and the bow is really pointing to the object you see as dead ahead?

I can use a correction table and we have paper charts - but I realized that my compasses are really out of whack and have not been corrected since??? I also realized that our fore-and-aft radar orientation was slightly skewed (easy electronic fix with new radars). Personally, I find that radar overlays make it difficult to read radar and read the chart so I’ve gone split screen. I also have Navionics on my iPad linked to a Dual Bluetooth GPS unit and Navionics on my iPhone. And we have Class B AIS and an auto foghorn unit. When the PacNW gets into its foggy seasons you need to be comfortable transiting in the fog or you might get stuck at various locations for quite some time.

The OP did a number of things correctly including introducing this topic to the current set of TF threads. Thanks!

 

[OldDan1943]

Wow really good info, but as a rookie here
I would like to suggest that when posting
abbreviations or acronyms please give the
Definition at the end of the post so us
rookies can look it up!

For instance what does AIS stand for and
what is it !

The proper way is to define the term internally the first time it is used followed by the acronyms. From then on the acronym can be used freely.
I too have been stumped on occasion so off to the internet searching for the acronym. LOL

I guess the acronym and definitions could be listed at the end of the article as one would document footnotes. It would make it easier on those of us with short memories.

 

[Portage_Bay]

AIS is Automatic Information System. Or Automatic Identification System. I've seen both names for the same system. It's a transponder for marine use. Tells me where you are and you where I am. Also course, speed, and if programmed and your system is capable a whole lot more.


Here's a Youtube to help you get started

Wow really good info, but as a rookie here
I would like to suggest that when posting
abbreviations or acronyms please give the
Definition at the end of the post so us
rookies can look it up!

For instance what does AIS stand for and
what is it !

 

[ghost]

Very well written post that should read slowly to let you point sink is.
I was quite calm and was weighing my options by the minute. I think flying aircraft helps one kept there head in right. I was going with the current so the rinks of contacting debris were minimized which was the number one reason for not turning around and going up stream .I was reading the charts and not traveling where i would like to since that would likely find traffic. I kept the bow and stern thrustsers active so i could jump sideways in a hurry.
What i leaned was i need to do more research in verifying whats ahead. Perhaps a cell call to a business down stream.The weather reports were just saying the fog was going to lift.
I am glad this is resulting in an informative chat around the fire pit.pricless

Pilots frequently make good boaters, but right now might contribute to a period of over confidence.

Going with the current minimizing debris, not really in my experience. You either contact it with your prop or you don’t. This would not have impacted my decision to turn around. I’ve contacted an honest to goodness tree with my hull at 8 knots and other than soiling myself, no damage. Hit a chunk with the prop, get a haul out.

Thrusters being a device to move fast enough in any direction to avoid a collision, frankly I think that’s silly. If you are using your thrusters for anything other than right next to the dock I’d suggest rethinking that as there are almost always better tools for the job. Namely the rudder and your main engines which have massively more effect on your speed and direction.

 

[Olebird]

What is EMF pulse??

 

[Hippocampus]

Electromagnetic force pulse. Nuclear bombs emit strong enough ones that all your electronics will go down. We leave a hand hand gps in a metal cookie box with extra batteries. Our excuse is to create a faraday box in case of lightning not nuclear bombs. Btw your common rail engines will fail as well.
Have had the chart plotters go down. Then can follow a depth line to get to a harbor and your radar to get into it. Once sun comes up your Steiners and eyes finish the job.
Have done several Marion Bermuda on celestial. Even if you can only get lower limb of the moon and one primary star it’s not hard. Have a beautiful Plath from my wife’s father and a mechanical deck watch from my dad. But a plastic Davis and a timex is what’s on the boat as the fall back. Reality is if you time your landfalls for the morning that’s good enough. Being 50nm off when in the middle of the ocean doesn’t matter. As they say “it’s the hard edges that kill you”.

 

[Olebird]

Tnx Hip - just wanted to be sure we were on same wavelength - Worked a lot with NASA on both EMP (how to protect Space craft from it) as well as celestial nav problems - as in which way do I point his thing to go to the moon, mars, and other interesting places.



Also clock and compass in a Champ - how does one get lost at 45 mph?? (or 6 knts??) Taking a star shot at 27,000 mph is a different story!!