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