Jeff Morris wrote:

As fate would have it, I came home this morning through some thick fog. This was not the
same as "Pea Soup" that we have talked about, and the wind was flat calm, but it was
interesting.

We had gone out last night knowing today was iffy, but the forecasters had been optimistic
about the morning. We wanted to take the dog and cats for a trip together to see how it
would work - it worked out though Molly did get a few scratches on her nose. We anchored
behind Long Island (in the middle of Boston Harbor) and had a nice, quiet night. About
7:30 AM a thick band of rain came through in advance of the warm front, and we decided to
split when it passed, at about 10AM.

Visibility was good, but the conditions "ripe" so the radar was warmed up and the GPS had
our standard route home programmed. We headed for Nubble Channel and 10 minutes later I
noticed Long Island was "fading out" as we entered the channel. Long I and Gallup's I,
about 1/4 mile on either side were not visible. From the first pair of buoys the second
pair was not visible - this meant about 200 yards to complete whiteout. I got a glimpse
of a bridge, tooted, and hugged the side of the channel - it turned out to be a Coast
Guard boat - I never picked it up on radar even though I knew it was there, and they never
signaled.

I would give someone serious thought as to why you never saw them on
radar.... wrong range? not tuned? blended in with the shoreline? Have a
feeling there's something to be learned here.....

As we exited Nubble Channel at about 5 knots (4 on the GPS) I heard another engine and
tooted, we got a reply and a small ferry (100 feet, 100 tons) emerged, about 150 yards to
our left, doing maybe 6-8 knots. For a few seconds I thought they would let us go ahead
(we were crossing from their right) but they held speed and turn to the port. We had no
choice but to use reverse and let them pass closely in front of us. From the time we
picked them up until they passed in front, 30 seconds had transpired.

You saw them but could they see you other than on radar. These can vary
and as you say, perspectives can vary .... main point....you both missed
(his turn to port makes me question his basic route intentions and train
of thought).

I wasn't pleased with their actions, though I'd guess they saw things a bit differently -
with the current and very close proximity of hazards they probably had no desire to do an
emergency stop. Maybe they had fallen in behind the CG boat when the fog clamped down 10
minutes earlier. The thing they really did wrong is that they should have lined up on
the channel straight on instead of approaching from the side.

Quite possibly was set up on this approach prior to fog and decided to
stay with it ....not always best decision.

otn
G any landing, docking, fog, you walk away from, is a good day......

For the smaller CG boat
this was not a risky maneuver, but the larger ferry was not able to do the turn without
using a lot of space. Because they approached alongside the island, we were blocked from
each other by the end of the island, and they had to take a 90 degree turn, completely
blocking the path of anyone exiting. However, because I was able to come to a complete
stop in a boat length, there was no great risk. The one thing I wish I had done was to
make a securite call in the narrow channel.

What if we had been under sail? Depending on the wind direction we might have been able
to do a donut, or ducked under their stern. Had we been doing more than 4-5 knots the
risk would have been a lot greater; at 8 knots there may well have been a collision. I'm
sure Neal will claim that this proves that powerboats are dangerous, but one must remember
that 10 minutes earlier there had been 3 miles visibility, and the powerboat was at a
speed the Neal has declared safe.



--
-jeff
"Constant Vigilance!" - Frances W. Wright