Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Because it might mean that school will be starting an hour or two late, there might be some kids who enjoy waking up to a foggy morning, but I can’t say that I’ve ever heard a boater peep a kind word about it. In one way or another, rain, sleet, ice, and even strong winds can sometimes be beneficial to man, but when it comes to fog - there really doesn’t seem to be any good that comes of it. Overall, fog is just a big and potentially dangerous “imposition” to our activities and nothing defines “spring at the beach” like a good helping of the damp white stuff.
The reason coastal residents are subject to so much fog in the early season lies just off the beach - this time of the year the ocean waters are still cold, and when warm humid air travels over the cooler water the moisture condenses to form fog. This is why springtime fog is more prevalent in areas close to the ocean, since the land tends to warm-up more quickly than the ocean, it’s not as likely to produce fog like very large bodies of water will.
Fog can form for other reasons as well and there are names for the different types. The fog that forms when warm air passes over a cooler surface (like the ocean) is known as “advection” fog. Obviously, advection fog is the type that most early season fishermen and boaters have to deal with. Anglers often head out on foggy mornings with the assumption that as the day progresses the sun will eventually “burn-off” the fog. Unfortunately, this type of fog does not go away just because the day warms up, it takes a steady breeze to come along and mix the air at the earth’s surface to dissipate advection fog. This explains why anglers will often experience days when they have to endure the fog from the time they leave the dock until they return.
No one should head offshore in the fog unless their vessel is equipped with good and reliable radar, even then, some boaters will maintain that for safety reasons radar should be used to bring you home in the fog – not take you out in it. An unfortunate down-side to the precise navigation afforded by GPS units these days is that a lot of boaters who don’t have radar (usually small boat owners) are willing to head out in the fog figuring that even though they can’t see more than 30-yards, they can still navigate to and from the fishing grounds. Of course the problem is that even though some GPS units can be pre-programmed to show obstacles such as docks, buoys, jetties, and land masses, there’s none on the market that show other boats, and you had better believe that even on a foggy day there is going to be a gang of other boats out there!
Boaters have told me they’ll run without radar in the fog because they figure other boats will be equipped with it and avoid them. Unfortunately what many (without radar) don’t realize is that, depending upon how a radar is tuned, small boats may or may not show up on the screen. This is particularly the case on choppy days when small boats tend to blend in with the swells. Even if they are spotted on someone else’s radar it might be impossible for the other boat to maneuver in time to avoid a collision particularly if that vessel is a large merchant ship or a tugboat with a barge.
Many boaters are also unaware that during times of restricted visibility (like in the fog) they are required by maritime law to produce an appropriate sound signal. A powerboat traveling or “making way” is required to produce one “prolonged” (4-6 second) blast on its whistle (horn) every two minutes or less. When not making way (drifting) a powerboat will produce two prolonged blasts. Vessels over 12-meters (40-feet) while at anchor in the fog must rapidly ring a bell for five seconds every minute. Even though boats less than 12-meters aren’t required to carry a bell they must still be able to make some type of sound signal every minute.
So what I’m saying is that, by the rules, anytime we’re out in the fog we’re also supposed to be blowing our horns or ringing our bells. Do we all do this? No, of course not. Is anyone going to be fined or sighted for not using the appropriate signals? Not likely UNLESS of course there is an incident (like a collision) and then you can bet that anyone who was not making the proper signals will be looking at some charges. At the very least, boaters should know what proper fog signals are so that when they hear someone using them out on the water they’ll have some idea what’s going on.
By the way, vessels are also required to have their navigation or “running” lights on (red and green sidelights, white masthead and stern light) during times of restricted visibility. It seems like most boaters do this but there’s always some that don’t. And while running lights don’t project very far in the fog, they’re the first thing that becomes visible when you get close to another boat, particularly if that boat is all white so the extra visibility they afford can be the difference between a near miss or being run into - turn your lights on!
Even in our back bay waters skippers need to take the necessary precautions in the fog, in fact, probably even more so considering most boats won’t have radar, there’s not as much room for everyone to spread out and avoid each other, and many will be operating with limited boating experience. Fog is nothing for boaters to take lightly, often it unexpectedly descends upon us and we have no choice but to deal with it, other times we can make a simple and safe decision not to venture out in it. Even the best captain in the world, doing all the right things, can end up in trouble if some ding-dong plows into them while running too fast in zero visibility. The best a boater can do to avoid catastrophe is to have at least some understanding of fog, follow the rules, slow down, and always err on the side of caution. §
