Parallax wrote:
In fog, or at least when I see it coming, I take a quick bearing so
I know where I am, note my course and get out of the channel if any
and put up the radar reflector ...

Armond Perretta wrote:
You cannot know where you _are_ with a single bearing. You can, however,
get a good idea of where you are _not_.

If you're right on the edge of amarked channel, an EP + depth + bearing would
give a pretty good fix. My question is, how can you rely on taking a useful
bearing in fog, or even if a fog is approaching?




I rarely see other traffic where I
sail but in fog I sound the horn and sit it out, sometimes for
hours ...

Sounding the horn while "sitting it out" is a violation of the COLREGS. Use
a bell at anchor, and a horn underway. Make sure you study the sound
signals that apply to your specific situation and to your particular vessel.

Two points, still in play




I still think Radar is just an expensive gadget for a small (28')
sailboat....

If you ask a fisherman's opinion about this, you may get an enlightening
perspective (isn't that what "Parallax" is about anyway?). Any person who
regularly operates a vessel without radar in situations of decreased
visibility (and I include rain and darkness in this category) is in essence
taking the position that "its up to the other guy to avoid me."

I can see his point, but really the question is not "is radar *just* an
expensive gadget" but rather would a radar be useful enough (in the context of
boat, location, and type of sailing) to warrant the expense & complication? In
New England, I'd say yes with no reservations. Too much traffic out there and
fog too often. Plus it is a very handy navigational tool.

In my own case, I mostly sail in the southeast where there is not as much
traffic, shores are low & soft, and fog is rare. Furthermore, I never had a boat
with radar until two years ago, and never sailed with anybody who had it who
knew enough about it to make it a useful tool under the circumstances. So I
didn't think radar was all that hot, either.

Having made a cruise this past fall in which we spent a good amount of time
learning to use our radar, and then going through several incidents that pointed
out how useful a tool it can be, I am convinced that it is a great thing to
have. It certainly expands the capabilities of the vessel & skipper, *if* the
time is spent learning to use it and make it reliable. To simply buy it and
assume that possession of it renders one bulletproof is stupid... same could be
said of any GPS.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King