On 6/1/2018 7:28 AM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jun 2018 05:14:27 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/31/2018 9:58 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
We left Cape May, New Jersey this morning in fog so dense we couldn't
see either breakwater on the way out of the inlet, couldn't have done
it without RADAR. The expectation was that the fog would lift by
mid-morning and we'd have clear sailing up the Jersey coast into the
NYC area. It didn't happen. If anything the fog got worse as the day
went on and we never saw anything for the entire 113 nautical miles
until anchoring in Atlantic Highlands late in the evening. It was
instrument flying all the way on RADAR, GPS chart plotter, compass and
AIS for the entire trip. There's a nice sense of accomplishment in
doing that but it's also very stressful and hardly a pleasant day on
the water. We'd have waited for clear weather but there's a 3 day
nor'easter in the forecast and we have family obligations in NY next
week.

More dots for 'Airree:

http://tinyurl.com/waynebspottrack



Yuck.

For well experienced boating people like yourself navigating in
heavy fog is stressful but safe. I was never comfortable
in fog and avoided traveling in it if at all possible.

We were leaving Montauk, Long Island in the morning but I put
off getting underway for a couple of hours until the fog
had a chance to burn off. It didn't. Got underway and was
slowly making my way down the long waterway filled with boats
towards the inlet/exit. Couldn't see a thing other than
watching radar. I chickened out, turned around and went
back to the dock. Waited another couple of hours until it
started to clear.


===

Navigating with RADAR takes practice, enough practice that you have
the confidence to believe what you're seeing, and know how to
interpret it. When we bought the boat 14 years ago I splurged a bit
on a commercial quality Furuno unit that doubes as a chart plotter and
depth sounder. It's the most reliable piece of equipment on the boat
and I've never regretted the decision.



No question. The Navigator I had was equipped with RayMarine radar and
an excellent chart plotter. It was shortly after the division was
created and the gear was based on Raytheon's commercial gear. The Egg
had Furuno gear that was also excellent.

Still, like the experience in Montauk when I could barely see the bow
pulpit handrails and was in a crowded harbor area, I chickened out. :-)

My experience with heavy thick fog was a number of years ago on my buddies Mirage 33. We were sailing out of Halifax Harbour to a small harbour just down the coast. As soon as we got to the mouth we entered a fog bank. Without radar or a chart plotter, we went on dead reckoning using a compass, paper chart and listening to the waves smash agaiint the granite cliffs in the distance. Did pretty good...heard the sound of the buoy we were looking for and then the compass to set a new course. Once we got into the small harbour the fog lifted and we were happy to see land. Now....even with my handheld Garmin loaded with Blue Chart, I avoid fog like the plague.

On 6/1/2018 9:29 AM, True North wrote:

My experience with heavy thick fog was a number of years ago on my buddies Mirage 33. We were sailing out of Halifax Harbour to a small harbour just down the coast. As soon as we got to the mouth we entered a fog bank. Without radar or a chart plotter, we went on dead reckoning using a compass, paper chart and listening to the waves smash agaiint the granite cliffs in the distance. Did pretty good...heard the sound of the buoy we were looking for and then the compass to set a new course. Once we got into the small harbour the fog lifted and we were happy to see land. Now....even with my handheld Garmin loaded with Blue Chart, I avoid fog like the plague.



The problem I've noticed with really heavy fog is that it can be
difficult to determine from what direction sounds are coming from.

As a kid my friend and I were in the areas outside of Boston Harbor
in a small boat. We were (illegally) camping on a small island called
Rainsford Island. Early in the morning we decided to cruise over to
George's Island about a mile away. Heavy, heavy fog developed and
we could hear the fog horn on an approaching big ferry but had no
idea from what direction the sound was coming from. Missed us, fortunately.

On Friday, 1 June 2018 10:56:35 UTC-3, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 6/1/2018 9:29 AM, True North wrote:

My experience with heavy thick fog was a number of years ago on my buddies Mirage 33. We were sailing out of Halifax Harbour to a small harbour just down the coast. As soon as we got to the mouth we entered a fog bank. Without radar or a chart plotter, we went on dead reckoning using a compass, paper chart and listening to the waves smash agaiint the granite cliffs in the distance. Did pretty good...heard the sound of the buoy we were looking for and then the compass to set a new course. Once we got into the small harbour the fog lifted and we were happy to see land. Now....even with my handheld Garmin loaded with Blue Chart, I avoid fog like the plague.



The problem I've noticed with really heavy fog is that it can be
difficult to determine from what direction sounds are coming from.

As a kid my friend and I were in the areas outside of Boston Harbor
in a small boat. We were (illegally) camping on a small island called
Rainsford Island. Early in the morning we decided to cruise over to
George's Island about a mile away. Heavy, heavy fog developed and
we could hear the fog horn on an approaching big ferry but had no
idea from what direction the sound was coming from. Missed us, fortunately.

Much larger traffic is always my concern in a harbour like Halifax. I guess the smart thing for us to do was to contact Harbour Traffic on channel 12 VHS and ask them if anything was on a collision course with us. After our Explosion in 1917 they tend to keep a careful eye on anything coming and going. It's not super busy but lots of very large ocean going container ships, Navy ships etc seem to be around.

On Fri, 01 Jun 2018 07:44:56 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 31 May 2018 22:35:53 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 31 May 2018 21:58:10 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

We left Cape May, New Jersey this morning in fog so dense we couldn't
see either breakwater on the way out of the inlet, couldn't have done
it without RADAR. The expectation was that the fog would lift by
mid-morning and we'd have clear sailing up the Jersey coast into the
NYC area. It didn't happen. If anything the fog got worse as the day
went on and we never saw anything for the entire 113 nautical miles
until anchoring in Atlantic Highlands late in the evening. It was
instrument flying all the way on RADAR, GPS chart plotter, compass and
AIS for the entire trip. There's a nice sense of accomplishment in
doing that but it's also very stressful and hardly a pleasant day on
the water. We'd have waited for clear weather but there's a 3 day
nor'easter in the forecast and we have family obligations in NY next
week.

More dots for 'Airree:

http://tinyurl.com/waynebspottrack

Sounds exciting. Thank god for RADAR and hope you don't hit a
submerged shipping container huh?

===

Fortunately submerged containers are fairly rare. Partly submerged
logs are fairly common however, and are a very real hazard to your
running gear. We dinged a couple yesterday but fortunately they don't
seem to have damaged anything. By the time you see them it's
generally too late to steer around. If lucky, I'll have time to
throttle back and shift into neutral. They don't show up on RADAR at
all so no advance warning until they pop up in front of you.

Yup most things like that are invisible to RADAR, they just disappear
in the grass at the waterline. One of our friends says a pallet got
him one night in the gulf. It was slick calm with unlimited
visibility, RADAR on and "thump". Wheels and struts. Fortunately he
was able to limp back to the yard but it was still expensive. He was
going about 30 tho in a big sport fish.

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 6/1/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 21:58:10 -0400, Wayne.B wrote:

We left Cape May, New Jersey this morning in fog so dense we couldn't
see either breakwater on the way out of the inlet, couldn't have done
it without RADAR. The expectation was that the fog would lift by
mid-morning and we'd have clear sailing up the Jersey coast into the
NYC area. It didn't happen. If anything the fog got worse as the day
went on and we never saw anything for the entire 113 nautical miles
until anchoring in Atlantic Highlands late in the evening. It was
instrument flying all the way on RADAR, GPS chart plotter, compass and
AIS for the entire trip. There's a nice sense of accomplishment in
doing that but it's also very stressful and hardly a pleasant day on
the water. We'd have waited for clear weather but there's a 3 day
nor'easter in the forecast and we have family obligations in NY next
week.

More dots for 'Airree:

http://tinyurl.com/waynebspottrack

Scary even thinking about it. I'd have probably turned right back
around. Glad all went well.



I don't mind fog that reduces visibility to about 25-30 yards or so but
when it's so thick that you can barely see the handrails on the
bow pulpit where the anchor sits it gets hairy especially in congested
areas in a harbor. That's what it was like when we left Montauk harbor.




We have lots of fog here at certain times of the year. What scares me is
idiots going fast in the fog. Years ago, we were navigating down the
Sacramento River Delta via compass and going from Marker Light to Marker
Light, days before GPS, and here bass boats running flat out. Visibility
of maybe 10 yards. I can remember as a kid, coming back from the Farallon
Islands via compass and a portable radio as a direction finder. KGO tower
was in line with the Golden Gate Bridge.

On Fri, 1 Jun 2018 07:50:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 6/1/2018 7:25 AM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 31 May 2018 21:58:10 -0400, Wayne.B wrote:

We left Cape May, New Jersey this morning in fog so dense we couldn't
see either breakwater on the way out of the inlet, couldn't have done
it without RADAR. The expectation was that the fog would lift by
mid-morning and we'd have clear sailing up the Jersey coast into the
NYC area. It didn't happen. If anything the fog got worse as the day
went on and we never saw anything for the entire 113 nautical miles
until anchoring in Atlantic Highlands late in the evening. It was
instrument flying all the way on RADAR, GPS chart plotter, compass and
AIS for the entire trip. There's a nice sense of accomplishment in
doing that but it's also very stressful and hardly a pleasant day on
the water. We'd have waited for clear weather but there's a 3 day
nor'easter in the forecast and we have family obligations in NY next
week.

More dots for 'Airree:

http://tinyurl.com/waynebspottrack

Scary even thinking about it. I'd have probably turned right back around. Glad all went well.



I don't mind fog that reduces visibility to about 25-30 yards or so but
when it's so thick that you can barely see the handrails on the
bow pulpit where the anchor sits it gets hairy especially in congested
areas in a harbor. That's what it was like when we left Montauk harbor.


We got in fog like that in the Estero bay once. We were coming back
from Matanzas pass, running the East side and it dropped on us like a
blanket. I got out my aerial photos and picked our way through the
mangroves just by matching up the shapes and using the compass.
When we finally got into the river, my wife wanted to go back, she
said it was so cool. I told her we should quit while we were ahead.

On 6/1/2018 1:36 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jun 2018 07:44:56 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 31 May 2018 22:35:53 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 31 May 2018 21:58:10 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

We left Cape May, New Jersey this morning in fog so dense we couldn't
see either breakwater on the way out of the inlet, couldn't have done
it without RADAR. The expectation was that the fog would lift by
mid-morning and we'd have clear sailing up the Jersey coast into the
NYC area. It didn't happen. If anything the fog got worse as the day
went on and we never saw anything for the entire 113 nautical miles
until anchoring in Atlantic Highlands late in the evening. It was
instrument flying all the way on RADAR, GPS chart plotter, compass and
AIS for the entire trip. There's a nice sense of accomplishment in
doing that but it's also very stressful and hardly a pleasant day on
the water. We'd have waited for clear weather but there's a 3 day
nor'easter in the forecast and we have family obligations in NY next
week.

More dots for 'Airree:

http://tinyurl.com/waynebspottrack

Sounds exciting. Thank god for RADAR and hope you don't hit a
submerged shipping container huh?

===

Fortunately submerged containers are fairly rare. Partly submerged
logs are fairly common however, and are a very real hazard to your
running gear. We dinged a couple yesterday but fortunately they don't
seem to have damaged anything. By the time you see them it's
generally too late to steer around. If lucky, I'll have time to
throttle back and shift into neutral. They don't show up on RADAR at
all so no advance warning until they pop up in front of you.

Yup most things like that are invisible to RADAR, they just disappear
in the grass at the waterline. One of our friends says a pallet got
him one night in the gulf. It was slick calm with unlimited
visibility, RADAR on and "thump". Wheels and struts. Fortunately he
was able to limp back to the yard but it was still expensive. He was
going about 30 tho in a big sport fish.


Submerged logs or those floating just at the waterline are pretty much
impossible to see on radar however both the Raymarine and Furuno systems
I had were both capable of detecting and displaying lobster trap buoys.
They don't sit very high over the water surface.