Jeff Morris wrote:
"otnmbrd" wrote in message news:y9GWa.1579

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.....


Much to be learned ... The radar is a 4 year old Ray SL 72 on default settings, auto gain.
The range was 3/4 mile because I was using it more for navigation - finding the buoys and
ranging the islands. I was also more concerned with what might be out in the main ship
channel that lay ahead than what was immediately in front of me in the side channel. At
that range, the three pairs of channel buoys were all fairly tight on the screen - I
really should have been at 1/2 or 1/4 mile range in the channel, and doing a knot less so
there'd be time to actually analyze the screen.

Always try to use the longest range that gives you the best picture, but
doesn't cause you to lose in close targets (especially in the sea
return) or blend them ... kind of a personal call .... what works best
for you and your equipment.
Another habit to get into, especially at night and in fog, is to scan
between the various ranges, at times, to confirm no close in or farther
out targets.

Also, working some of the time distance, 10 minutes earlier there was no fog, 5 minutes
later it was patchy, then within about 2 minutes it went to 1/4 mile. It was only when I
realized how close the CG boat had come before I identify them clearly that I realized it
was down below 200 yards. It that point, I reduced the range and would have picked up
the second boat but heard its engine first.

The fog stayed thick as I rather nervously crossed the main channel. Another reminder -
its exceptionally difficult to hold a course when there are no landmarks at all. I should
have used the autopilot so I could focus more on the radar while my wife was the visual
lookout. In about 10 minutes we were closer to the airport in shallower (warmer) water so
the fog thinned a bit - 1/4 mile visibility seems easy after a whiteout! I had the time
now to play with the radar - with the flat seas I could have had the gain higher than
"auto"

Steering by compass alone is no problem, but trying to do that and also
watch your radar, can and does create a problem, especially when you are
not blessed with extra hands to fill in. The auto pilot can come in
handy (although the courts and CG frown upon it's use in fog) especially
if you can easily change course while using it.

BTW, the flood tide had started about an hour earlier - is that what brought the fog in,
or was it just due to the rain stopping? The spot where this occured was right at the
entrance to the harbor. Perhaps a coincidence - on several other occasions over the years
the fog has clamped down on us quickly in the same area - always with interesting results!

Advection fog ..... if the rain you'd had was still in the area and the
air was warmer and still moist,(coming from the West) the incoming tide
could have brought in colder water ....presto chango.

otn