Granted I'm dating myself with this title, however, it's the most accurate way to describe what we experienced this weekend sailing. We planned to head down the coast and spend a couple of days in Newport Harbor. The weather through the week was perfect, sunny with clear skies. We were all anxious to get away on a mini-vacation and enjoy Newport's harbor, beach, and restaurants. We headed out early Friday afternoon and made great time down the coast. The wind blowing at 20 knots on a fast broad reach. All was well until we approached Huntington Beach pier.
We noticed on our approach what we hoped was low hanging clouds. As we got closer and look further it appeared to be this sailor's, and many others, worst fear...fog. It laid on the water like smoke; thick, dark and eerie!
While we still had good visibility we verified our GPS and radar were functioning and accurate. Both were. I set them to be viewed in 'Overlay mode' so I could see both chart and radar objects overlayed in the same view. I also verified that our radar reflector was deployed. Being seen by other boats is just as important as seeing other boats.
I checked that our radar's MARPA system was functional. MARPA provides the ability to acquire and track a radar target. Once acquired the system will provide display a directional vector as well as speed and heading information. If the object is on course for a close encounter the system will sound a warning alarm. With GPS, radar and MARPA all functional I felt confident we could navigate safely, albeit cautiously, through this fog bank.
Fog is just eerie. I don't care if you are on land or water, fog is just eerie. However, on the water fog takes on a whole new level of eeriness.
Pictures don't do fog justice. Seriously. I look at these pictures and they just don't convey the feeling that at any moment a large freighter could come out of nowhere and turn you into chum.
With our trusty electronics, spotters and reduced speed to stay within our visibility range we safely made it to Newport Harbor. We had a great time and returned to Long Beach safely through the same fog bank that apparently knew we'd be back the next day.
We noticed on our approach what we hoped was low hanging clouds. As we got closer and look further it appeared to be this sailor's, and many others, worst fear...fog. It laid on the water like smoke; thick, dark and eerie!
While we still had good visibility we verified our GPS and radar were functioning and accurate. Both were. I set them to be viewed in 'Overlay mode' so I could see both chart and radar objects overlayed in the same view. I also verified that our radar reflector was deployed. Being seen by other boats is just as important as seeing other boats.
I checked that our radar's MARPA system was functional. MARPA provides the ability to acquire and track a radar target. Once acquired the system will provide display a directional vector as well as speed and heading information. If the object is on course for a close encounter the system will sound a warning alarm. With GPS, radar and MARPA all functional I felt confident we could navigate safely, albeit cautiously, through this fog bank.
Fog is just eerie. I don't care if you are on land or water, fog is just eerie. However, on the water fog takes on a whole new level of eeriness.
Pictures don't do fog justice. Seriously. I look at these pictures and they just don't convey the feeling that at any moment a large freighter could come out of nowhere and turn you into chum.
With our trusty electronics, spotters and reduced speed to stay within our visibility range we safely made it to Newport Harbor. We had a great time and returned to Long Beach safely through the same fog bank that apparently knew we'd be back the next day.
2 comments:
You forgot to mention the very large swells on the return trip. They made the fog even creepier and my stomach turned into chum.
Great weekend even with the fog! To our fellow sailor friends I say, now it's your turn to take on the fog. You can do it.
first thought from the pictures was the scene from the first Pirates of the Caribbean when the Black Pearl Brings THE Dreaded FOG. looks like a blast!
Aye Matey, speak yer mind!