Boating in fog

[jelunga]

It can be very disorientating can it not particularly on the wider waters.

 

We once got caught out on the broads - we had to set off to get under Ludham Bridge - patchy mist odd dense patch was the most we encountered until we moved onto Barton Broad - within what seemed like seconds we were consumed by a real pea souper - with nothing to orientate ourselves with I could see us running aground PDQ.

 

Luckily a local was ploughing across in a much smaller boat and once I'd established he too was going the same way as us we followed him across……

 

Was a bit panicky for a few secs.

 

I took a really great photo of a foggy river near Ludham Bridge, with a few swans swimming emerging from the fog. One of my favorite photos. Unfortunatley, as I was putting my tripod away one of the legs fell off into the river. Managed to retrieve the leg, but not the fixing. Never mind,

[mykaskin]

From my dim and distant childhood I remember a fog on the River Hull. We were on a 30 foot boat, and could only just see the bow... just to give you some idea how bad it was, the boat was steered from the front like an old Shropshire Union boat - we had to just follow one of the banks, not being able to see both at the same time!

 

Mike

Edited January 24, 2011 by mykaskin

[Keeping Up]

We had an interesting experience on the Llangollen near Ellesmere early one morning, when the mist rose up and totally obscured both banks as well as hiding our hull, but the cabin top was in perfect visibility. We had to guess where the banks were.

[eightpot]

Fog, with the aroma of coffee.

[lifeaquatic]

No brainer really... DON'T it's dangerous for you and other canal users!! I find it frustrating when I come across people who ignore the obvious common sense answer to simple problems and risk endangering themselves and, more importantly, others by their failure to think.

[the grinch]

done it loads of times, but the best boating in fog is crossing ponty aqueduct the fog is below you and its like floating on a cloud!!

[canaldrifter]

Follow the dog...

 

 

 

Tone

Edited February 19, 2011 by canaldrifter

[Chertsey]

No brainer really... DON'T it's dangerous for you and other canal users!! I find it frustrating when I come across people who ignore the obvious common sense answer to simple problems and risk endangering themselves and, more importantly, others by their failure to think.

Could you expand on how it's dangerous, perhaps? Do you never drive your car in fog?

[FadeToScarlet]

No brainer really... DON'T it's dangerous for you and other canal users!! I find it frustrating when I come across people who ignore the obvious common sense answer to simple problems and risk endangering themselves and, more importantly, others by their failure to think.

 

Going along a canal normally is dangerous. Going boating at night is dangerous, yet I do that, most often steering a 60' rowing boat doing about 18 kph within inches of the bank and other rowing boats. Incredibly dangerous, on paper, but very few accidents at all.

 

Of course it's more dangerous to move a boat in fog, just the same as it's more dangerous to travel when the water's particularly cold and locksides icy, or at night. But if you choose to pbe only a fair-weather boater, then you can't learn how to deal with bad conditions. If you never go boating at night, or when it's windy, or foggy, or on a flooding and fast-flowing river, or singlehand in icy conditions, then you'll never be able to deal with them if you find yourself in that situation. I was glad of having handled boats in fast flows when I found that BW hadn't displayed relevant info at a lock and I found myself on the red-boarded Thames. I'm always happy that darkness isn't a barrier to cruising.

 

Edit to add: I think that people should be able to make decisions for themselves, bearing in mind their own capabilities and experience. To assess their own risks, and decide what they want to do. By all means stay moored up if you want to when it's foggy, but I'll probably still be boating. Yes, at a slow speed, with a lookout in the bows and nav lights, but gaining useful experience. If I feel that it is too unsafe, because I didn't know the navigation, for example, or I was putting myself or others at risk, I'd moor up. But I think the only person who can make that call is the steerer themselves- rather than a "common sense" blanket prohibition.

 

Riddle of the Sands, not to mention Swallows and Amazons, would have been so boring with a blanket ban on boating in fog!

Edited February 19, 2011 by FadeToScarlet

[Amduck]

whosat

 

M*A*S*H is on one of the satellite channels regularly - check it out!

[canaldrifter]

One of my most bizarre encounters with fog was in Wast Hill Tunnel one Christmas. It was clear as a bell outside the tunnel, but inside was thick with an eerie white fog, so dense that steering could only be by braille.

 

When we emerged, clouds of fog were pouring out of the tunnel mouth behind us.

 

Weird.

 

Tone

[Tam & Di]

No brainer really... DON'T it's dangerous for you and other canal users!! I find it frustrating when I come across people who ignore the obvious common sense answer to simple problems and risk endangering themselves and, more importantly, others by their failure to think.

 

Pomposity alert!

 

Anyway, surely the "other canal users" are being good children and staying at home in bed like you're telling them.

[Pluto]

Old boatmen up here on the L&LC told me just to get a bucket of small coal and keep chucking pieces in front of the bow. You then follow the splashes.

[Laurie Booth]

I can't see where this thread is going.

[Tiny]

The worst fog I have had has been in tunnels. Once I drove into Shrewley at speed and a few feet in lost the front of the boat in the fog. As it was 5am I kept the speed on and went through dead centre blind as I figured nothing would be coming the other way. Coming out I met a boat heading in about 30 feet from the entrance who obviously though as I had diving in dead centre once passed us. Now if I had been him and just seen me...

 

The other plcae was Wast Hill where just once the visibility (caused by engine fumes by the smell) was about 10 yards beyond the front of the boat. You could hear other boats so we slowed and crawled down the wall for about an hour meeting 10 going the other way. At least two were running slowly in the centre and had to to waved across while some of the others (maybe doing their ring) were at speed but (happily) on the wall.

 

Strangely in the fog they seemed much more willing than many we meet in clear air tunnels where steerers think being 5' from the wall leaving us a 2' gap to fit through is the norm. The last one we met like this actually stopped facing us and the wife on the front of us (also stopped) asked politely if the chap at the front would tell the chap at the back to move over. The respose was that they were not speeking and she should tell him herself when we got there!

Edited February 20, 2011 by Tiny

[Tam & Di]

The worst fog I have had has been in tunnels.

 

I'd forgotten how nice it is (well, sometimes) not to have a wheelhouse. I often find I motor into a tunnel and when I'm about two lengths in all the windows get covered in condensation, which is a bit of a bummer. If it's not the temperature change that does it, then Di decides that as there is nothing for her to do for a while she'll boil up some chicken bones to make soup!

[colinjw]

Old boatmen up here on the L&LC told me just to get a bucket of small coal and keep chucking pieces in front of the bow. You then follow the splashes.

That was the idea of things in a very early "Vital Spark" episode but being Scotsmen, they used small stones instead of coal.

[Pete of Ebor]

When I went out to work this morning it was foggy and got me thinking.

What is the procedure when boating in fog.

Is it best to just moor up and wait for it to clear ?

If you are moving do you put the tunnel light on.

Only really been in this situation once although it was more of a mist than full scale fog.

Going over the aqueduct at Chirk and we decided to play it safe by putting the tunnel light on

 

Only ever been caught once by fog, well not so much fog as thick patchy mist banks. On the Oxford near Duke's Cut where it widens a bit at the junction, we went into a fog bank. It was only for about 30 secs but during those seconds, I could not see the front of the boat or either bank.. it was the longest 30 secs I've ever spent on the tiller !

[by'eck]

We once left a marina at the top end of the navigable part of a river in Normandy at 3am to catch the tide. The fog was so thick we couldn't see either bank although the river wasn't that wide. The first obstacle was a lock with the gates fortunately illuminated with a red light that appeared out of the murk just in time to stop. We managed to wake the lock keeper, after which we proceeded following reciprocal of a track we had recorded on a hand held GPS on the way in. Radar on minimum range illuminated the river banks until we emerged into the open shallow river entrance, loosing guidance from returns of river bank. Fortunately perch poles marking the deep channel showed up as huge blurred blobs on radar although no more than twigs, so we were able to proceed until daybreak shortly after, when we at least got some visual reference.

 

The whole event was scary but it all came together.

Edited June 7, 2011 by richardhula

[WotEver]

:::looks at Wot Ever, working out where to fit radar dome:::

[shugie]

Not much help but I cannot resist posting this well known sailing anecdote.

 

Scene: A sailing barge tacking down the Thames at half tide in a 'pea-souper'.

Time: Probably dawn, 19th C.

Crew - two: Cap'n and Cabin Boy (Jimmy).

Jimmy is posted in the bow as lookout.

 

Cap'n: "What can you see Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Seagulls Cap'n"!

Cap'n: "What are they doing Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Swimmin' Cap'n".

 

. . .

 

Cap'n: "What can you see Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Seaqulls Cap'n"!

Cap'n: "What are they doing Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Swimmin' Cap'n".

 

. . .

 

Cap'n: "What can you see Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Seagulls Cap'n"!

Cap'n: "What are they doing Jimmy"?

Jimmy: "Walkin' Cap'n".

 

. . .

 

Cap'n: "Ready-about"!

 

But seagulls have a very naughty sense of humour, sometimes they sit down on a sandbank and only stand up when you get close to them.

 

Sailing in fog is worrying if you don't take a position before the fog arrives, although GPS has made it rather less nerve-racking if you haven't or are not in view of any marks. I like to find shallower water, then I can use the echo sounder to help with navigation, and be sure the ships can't get me.

[Radiomariner]

Thanks for the reminder of M*A*S*H "Suicide is Painless" I remember my daughter aged about 5 singing "Suicide is Dangerous" I figure her version was better

 

Being a deep sea sailor for many years I have many tales to tell of dense fog. However, my tales are as boring as,.....as...... why FOG.

Edited November 2, 2011 by Radiomariner

[Radiomariner]

Actually radar is effected by fog, and it's effectiveness and sensitivity is vastly reduced.

 

Mike

 

Not true. Technically there is a relatively insignificant loss in sensitivity , but nowhere near as bothersome as rain particularly on X band radar

In actuality, when there is dense fog, the sea is generally calm and there is less sea clutter litterally improving effectiveness considerably.

S band radar penetrates rain (and fog) better than X band.

 

but of interest

I have heard it quoted that if the Titanic had Radar it would still not have helped, as Icebergs generally do not make a good reflective target. However I do remember being shown how in North Atlantic waters to maximise the sea clutter. Icebergs could then be seen as an area where clutter is absent.

For those unfamiliar, Sea Clutter, is multiple echo's caused by reflections from the oblique angles of the waves which for a vessel with a high radar mast can extend out as far as 12 miles. It has a habit of obscuring echo's from small yachts etc, There ways of eliminating clutter electronically without hopefully eliminating smaller targets.

 

Edited to add: - With afterthought: It may be possible that a very cheap, radar, improperly tuned may suffer some further deterioration of performance in precipitation

Edited November 4, 2011 by Radiomariner