Sunday, November 14, 2010

Judging Distance

Here's a photo of ChrisHana (a Hunter 29.5) motoring toward an anchorage in Ellisport Bay on Lake Pend Oreille.  Can you tell how far away she is?  Or how far away the shore in the background is?  Here are some tips if you have average eyesight:
50 yards away - Faces appear blurred but plainly recognizable.
100 yards away - Faces reduced to dots for eyes and mouth.  Primary boat details identifiable, store names may be legible.
200 yards away - Faces seen as pale blurs, roof shingles distinguishable, lap-strake boat planking visible in good light.
400 yards away - Movement of figures detectable, oars on row-boats visible, faces invisible, main rigging just visible in good light.
500 yards away - Human figure seen as a small dash.  Crossbars on windows and window shape just visible.
1 mile away - Large bouy shapes identifiable; big ship's portholes and house windows still have shape.  Human figures if seen at all become dots.
2 miles away - Windows become dots, small buoys not seen and large ones lose their shape.  Human figures not seen.
3 miles away - Big ship bow wave visible from average cockpit height, also waves breaking on a beach are visible.
4 miles away - Trees, hedges, etc. are blurred shapes and all colors become greyish.  Bow waves and shore waves not seen from the average cockpit.

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