3. Visibility:
4. AIS:
To enhance safety in fog, make your boat as visible as possible. Switch on your running lights and any other bright lights on deck because they could show up through the fog much better that the boat itself, especially at night. A radar reflector gives you a much better chance of being seen by other vessels’ radar.
Automatic Identification System, or AIS, shows you the course and speed of the targets it sees, and even the name of the ship, so it can help to identify other shipping targets. More important, though, other ships can identify you. Find the best AIS equipment you can afford (Class A being the commercial grade). Class B is acceptable but doesn’t have the priority levels of the Class A units. All ships over 300 tons should have a working AIS, but there are no guarantees that small boats have it: Don’t assume that the AIS targets you see on the screen are the only targets out there.
but not make assumptions from scanty radar information. in restricted visibility.
your destination and then you will know which way to turn to find it. Try to choose a point that is easily recognizable so that you know it when you see it. I have seen locals on board who said they knew every inch of the coast. That was fine except they didn’t recognize it in thick fog, and we could not find the harbor entrance. I went back offshore, ran along the coast, and then tried another landfall, but still there was no recognizable point. We could see lights on shore so we landed with the tender and had to ask in a pub where we were. the wave patterns as you approach. Of course, try to choose a landfall point where there are no off-lying dangers that can make life difficult.
Forecasting fog is not easy because fog comes down when there may be only subtle differences in temperature and moisture content. It can be quite local and it can be patchy or it can cover vast areas. On the East Coast, north of Nantucket, you can get fog for hundreds of miles where the cold Labrador Current meets the Gulf Stream. There are two main types of fog as the table (facing page) shows and knowing which you are experiencing will help you to forecast when it may clear. If you are snug in harbor, you can delay departures until the fog clears, but out at sea you have to cope with what comes along. I hope these tips will assist you in times of pea soup.
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