Wrecks

One of the least pleasant things that can happen to you while sailing is to have your keel, rudder, propeller and shaft, etc. find a wreck.  If you are able to avoid damaging your boat, you will be lucky.  At the very least, you will have a real fright.

Another of the least pleasant things that can happen is to anchor your boat on top of a wreck.  The anchor will surely get entangled.  And, unless the wreck is fairly close to the surface (you can dive down and retrieve the anchor – a potentially dangerous activity in itself), you will probably lose the anchor, it’s chain, and some of the anchor rope.

Both of these are bad enough if you are on your own boat.  They are doubly bad if you are on a bareboat charter.

Fortunately, NOAA in the book known as Chart 1 has included a whole list of symbols that represent wrecks that you might see on one of the NOAA nautical charts.  Below is a photo of that page from Chart 1.  As you look over the symbols, notice that there are several very different ways to portray a wreck.  “WK” is often seen next to the symbol… but not always.  If you have ever used NOAA Chart 18421 - - the chart we usually use while sailing in the San Juan Islands - - you might have seen in the Drayton Harbor enlargement (upper right part of the chart) that there is a symbol showing about half a sailboat at about 48 degrees 58 minutes north latitude and 122 degrees 46.5 minutes west longitude.  There is another half sailboat wreck symbol just a little SW from Blaine.  Those symbols certainly is marking a wreck showing a portion of the hull above chart datum.

As you look over the symbols, notice that several of the symbols are for “large scale charts”.  Large scale charts are typically for use in harbors and bays where greater detail is called for.  These large scale charts generally have a scale of 1:5,000 or greater.  Also notice that there is a difference in the symbol of a wreck showing a portion of the hull above the chart datum and a wreck showing only the masts above chart datum.  I’d say that lines 26, 27, and 28 are the most dangerous wrecks.

Make sure that you know how the depth (soundings) is measured.  There is a huge difference between 5 feet and 5 fathoms…… AND, know how much water your boat draws.  Determine the safe depth in different wave conditions.

All depths indicated on nautical charts are reckoned from a selected level of the water called the sounding datum (sometimes referred to as the reference plane).  

So, rocks, reefs and other obstructions are to be avoided… So too should wrecks be avoided.  Check your chart while you are planning your routes.  Check your chart while underway.  Fetching up on a wreck will surely ruin your day.

barnaclebillholcomb@gmail.com

Fog

Fog

Sailing in and around fog is sometimes beautiful.  Sometimes not.  It’s always a time to be cautious and pay attention to everything that you can see and hear.

One of the first rules to learn when sailing in fog is that you should control your boat’s speed so that you can stop your boat in half the distance of your visibility.  If you can see 200 feet clearly, then control your speed so that you can easily stop your boat in 100 feet.  For Snickerdoodle, that is four times her overall length.  Controlling speed may mean that you have to douse the jib.  It may mean that you have to douse both main and jib; and start the engine.

The second thing to learn is what are the proper fog signals to sound.  Different boats have different fog horn signals.  And, in fact, if you are anchored a fog horn is not the answer…… the ship’s bell is the sound that you should be ringing every two minutes.  Here’s the fog horn signals that most of us need to know:

Make the following fog horn signal every two minutes –

Sailboat, fishing boat, tug boat (with tow)  --  1 long blast followed by 2 short blasts

Powerboat while underway (this includes sailboats that are motoring) --  1 long blast 

Powerboat stopped with engine on  --  2 long blasts

Vessel being towed (including the tugboat’s tow)  --  1 long blast followed by three short blasts
 Deep draft vessels  --  1 long blast followed by 2 short blasts
   

If you are sailing, you will need to make a decision as to whether to start your engine.  One consideration is maneuverability.  Another consideration is whether the sound of the engine running makes it difficult to hear noises from within the fog.  A third consideration is whether you should make a two-way radio transmission with your VHF radio.  And if you decide to use the VHF radio, what should you say???

If you decide to broadcast with the VHF radio, it should probably be a “Security – Security – Security” broadcast on Channel 16.  Key up your radio’s mike and say, “Security – Security – Security.  This is sailing vessel Snickerdoodle, sailing in thick fog.  Then your location, course and speed.”  This broadcast will alert all vessels listening to their VHF of your situation, position, course, and speed.

Knowing your location is – of course – a key item.  Before you sail into a fog bank, plot and record your position, course and speed on the chart.  Then keep a dead reckoning plot on the chart to keep track of where you are and where you are headed.  The new DR fix should be recorded on the chart and probably in a DR log every 15 minutes at the very least.  Remember that if you are sailing at five knots,  only a five degree deviation from the course you think you are on will result in you being 3,000 feet (half a nautical mile) off course.  That’s an error of 750 feet every fifteen minutes…… two and a quarter football fields…… every fifteen minutes……  Keep a good DR plot on the chart - - one of the worse sounds in the fog is the sound of your keel striking a submerged rock………  AND, plot a fixed position with known aids to navigation and/or known landmarks as often as you can.

Contact - - barnaclebillholcomb@gmail.com