On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:04:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:12:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:47:22 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
On Sep 28, 7:06 pm, Jeff wrote:

I've long been a fan of radar and feel its required to cruise Maine,
and
usefuOne problem now is that while in the "old
days" (before low cost radar and loran/gps) the only fools out in the
pea soup were being ultra cautious, tooting horns, going slow etc,
nowadays every rich bozo thinks he can run his sportfish at 30 knots
because the radar and GPS will keep him safe. Almost every year I've
had a close call, the worst case happening a mile off of Cape
Elizabeth.
If you sail in fog, radar is needed now for defense.

An excellent point and a major factor in my decision to install radar
that I didn't mention. Because of this factor, I was finding the fog
routes I considered acceptably safe much more restricted when I
returned to sailing in the post GPS world.


Do you have an AIS receiver? That's something I've been thinking about
getting. For me, the issue is making sure we get out of the way as
necessary. I don't think transmitting would make much diff in the bay,
since
the really big stuff isn't going to be changing course.

When sailing in poor visibility, the greatest danger seems to be from
small recreational power boats zipping around in thick fog as if
visibility was 10 miles. The commercial boats do a pretty good job of
announcing their postion heading and speed, as well as sounding the
appropriate signals. I do the same. Listening intently for even the
slightest noises is probably as important as RADAR, although not a
substitute. You need to be alert in every way at your disposal.
Otherwise, you should stay in port. During the week when most of the
center console captains are at their day jobs, things are a lot safer,
although you can never let your guard down. We also wear PFD's and
clip on in low visibility, no matter how calm conditions might be. Too
many stories of people being thrown overboard and killed in
collisions.



I certainly agree that all tools available should be used. I find lots of
people with their head stuck in their gadget (radar, gps, ais, whatever)
rather than actually looking around and listening.


I don't think you can blame that on the equipment.


I don't and I didn't. I do offer some blame to those marketing the
equipment, since they want people to "rely" on their stuff, when one should
be relying on oneself.

Huh? You think there is some sort of conspiracy to make people not pay
attention when sailing? I rely on my navigation equipment the same
way I rely on my hull not to let the water in. That's what it is there
for.