TECH AS TOOLS

I was gazing at all of this 21st-century tech, and I was reminded of how far we’ve come in a short period of time.

The 50-foot sport-fishing boat i crew aboard has received major technology upgrades recently. Its owner refitted all of the helm’s electronics, including the black-box system, radar array, multifunction displays and more. It looks like a NASA-level setup. The depth sounder shows what’s below with pinpoint accuracy, and the radar displays targets and their potential threat levels, which is useful because we fish tournaments and often run in the dark. He added FLIR thermal imaging too. This piece of gear gives us a level of situational awareness that was previously left to reading the radar and the running lights of nearby vessels. ¶ That said, the one thing that remains vital is the human element. We still have three people at the helm when operating in the pitch-black. One person keeps an eye on the screens, and a lookout is to starboard. Another to port. And the helmsman eyeballs what’s ahead. The information this technology provides is missioncritical, but you also need to know how to interpret the data and manage the vessel to stay safe. It’s common sense, but according to the US Coast Guard, there were 1,379 collisions with other vessels and 542 collisions with a fixed object in 2020. The top three accident causes were operator inattention, operator inexperience and improper lookout. ¶ During a trip last summer, I was gazing at all of this 21st-century tech, and I was reminded of how far we’ve come in a short period of time. ¶ Growing up, we didn’t have radar or MFDs or thermal imaging. We had a horn. We had eyes and ears. I recall trips on my dad’s boat where fog would unexpectedly roll into the fishing grounds (we also didn’t have great weather forecasting), and we’d stay silent, listening intently for the direction of the motor that was getting louder as our vessel’s horn announced our location. Sometimes, the fog would lift, and we’d discover neighbors we never knew we had. Many years ago, on a tech-deprived 25-footer my brother and I owned, we got stuck in can’t-see-the-bow fog and used the sound of cars crossing a bridge to find a place to tie up until it cleared. ¶ For many boaters, those days are over. Technology is affordable, so you can get a handheld lowlight or thermalimaging cameras. Powerful radar comes in domes or arrays, and there is more. ¶ But never forget that these are tools. All boats still require a vigilant pair of low-tech eyes and ears.