First time in dense fog... Pucker factor of 9.5

[Zorba]

The day started out beautiful, Zero wind, and a great sunrise. A little haze but nothing to worry about.

About 8:30 we head to breakfast and by the time we walked out of the restaurant this had rolled in.

By 11:30 or so the fog had lifted and looked like it was going to be a great day. We left Put In Bay and the weather was so great we decided to take the long way home. Rounded the southwest end of South Bass island and this was staring me square in the face...

We immediately came off of plane, I put my wife on rear lookout and focused my attention on the front as we were in the ferry channel. Visibility was zero so i was solely dependent on radar, and much to my surprise people were using their horns. This is what the next 20 minutes looked like.

I just replaced my wimpy sea ray duck horn, with another wimpy sea ray duck horn, so i was using this liberally.

Finally the bank lifted and we were able to get back on plane and safely back to our home port. I'm glad we went through this as it was a learning experience. Would i choose to go out in something like that again?Probably not.

 

[Chris Nowell]

Woah, scary I bet. It's a strange feeling putting all your trust in a radar screen for the first few times. Funny how fog makes sounds seem like they're coming from a different direction too. Glad ya made it safely. What setting was your radar on?

 

[Zorba]

I came up on the fog so quick, I didn't have time to mess with adjusting setting. It was on Auto mode, HBR, overlayed on the GPS chart.

 

[dpmulvey]

I just bought a Garmin setup to be installed on Saint Max for just that emergency in the hopes I never need it. Damnedest reason to spend money!

 

[dpmulvey]

Delete double post.

 

[fwebster]

We deal with sea fog in the winter, not every day, never forecasted, but when the humidity and temps are right, it can be a solid blanket or is spotty patches. Remember that speed is never your friend in docking or in rain and fog, as long as you know where you are (plotter, GPS and charts) and can 'see' in front of you (radar) and you keep your head in the game, you are safe and can get home on one piece. You and a properly equipped boat isn't where the risk is……..it is the crazy idiots on the water boring holes in the fog at planing speeds that will hurt you.

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Cool post.

If you have radar, use it some on every trip....yes, even on bright sunny days.
Theres an art to using it efficiently.
The time to learn how it works, isn't when you need it.....

 

[Zorba]

Cool post.

If you have radar, use it some on every trip....yes, even on bright sunny days.
Theres an art to using it efficiently.
The time to learn how it works, isn't when you need it.....

Great advice. I run my radar 100% of the time while cruising and fiddle with all of the settings and am comfortable with all of the features. In this instance I didn't want to adjust any settings as the auto configuration was working fine. I did get ample practice acquiring and tracking targets yesterday...

 

[jthatcher]

Guess it is time to pull my in motion sat and replace it with a radar. (Have been looking for a good reason to) :thumbsup:

 

[timemachine]

I never let the fog stop me. Some call me crazy when I head out in zero visibility but I always say "you won't learn to trust the radar if you don't use the radar". Using it on sunny days is nice but you need to use it in the dark and in fog. If you really want to test yourself throw a sheet over the window and navigate a river or Chanel. I personally enjoy using it. I am totally comfortable in fog or the dark and its a skill all boaters should master just like tying a knot. One other thing is on the foggy days they'res usually fewer boaters out and it's calm so you can actually make better time.

 

[CAMELLA]

My boat with full glass and tint I have 0% visibility at night I am all radar. When others are on the boat with me they just can't grasp the idea of not having head lights or seeing where you are going.
For those who have Isinglass you can still see depending on moon light and if you remove it but when its all glass good luck! I run radar anytime I am out, day or night. There are times during the day when a small boat is in the middle of the Bay and the radar picked him up when I didn't even see him.

 

[fwebster]

Another common sense trick I've learned is to turn tracks on as I pass in narrow channels. There are times when radar and plotter alone are not enough, like in a dredged area with spoils dumped on both sides leaving you will a 100 ft channel between markers that are several miles apart. Having a saved track line in those spots removes a lot of the pucker factor in limited visibility operation.

 

[DF470DA]

really good informative post ....and great feedback from the group....thanks....df

 

[Zorba]

Another common sense trick I've learned is to turn tracks on as I pass in narrow channels. There are times when radar and plotter alone are not enough, like in a dredged area with spoils dumped on both sides leaving you will a 100 ft channel between markers that are several miles apart. Having a saved track line in those spots removes a lot of the pucker factor in limited visibility operation.

Yep! That's how we got home. I run day to day with them off so I learn the lake and know my way using charts, but in instances like this it's always nice to have the tracks at my disposal. Great feedback all.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I'm another who doesn't let the fog keep me in the slip. I think radar is the second best thing on a boat....the first is your brain. You have to know how to interpret what the radar screen is showing you and be smart enough to slow down.

 

[Bryank]

We were out on that with you, Zorba. Though we waited until about noon to leave Put In Bay, so it wasn't quite as bad. Crazy stuff!

 

[play dough]

I was engulfed in fog in early August in the Straits of Mackinac while salmon trolling with friends. Fog so think that passing under the bridge, the bridge deck was a mere shadow. I am totally comfortable with operation of the boat and instruments in limited visibility, but security calls from a couple freighters, a working dredge, and the half dozen passenger ferries that ply the Straits convinced me there were better places for me to be and better days ahead to be on the lake. In my book, fog eliminates much of the joy in boating anyway that requires total concentration to the operation of the boat, so why take all the extra risk involved with the limited visibility? I agree with the OP that the stress level increases regardless of your confidence in instrumentation.