We took some friends out for a motor tonight to cool off after a very
hot day and encountered cold wind and fog so we ran back up through
the bridge to the inner harbor and anchored for dinner.

As we motored back after eating and celebrating our new boat, the fog
settled in thicker than I can remember seeing so far up a river.
Visibility was soon down to about 50 feet and not very good even at
that distance. We were picking our way along the shoals and banks at
the edge of a busy harbor with no courses or position and I didn't
even have a chart out for the quarter mile trip to the marina. I was
soundly kicking myself for being a real duffer. Even the kids on the
bow were getting a little indistinct.

I recently converted to full time glasses after years of half reading
glasses only. I looked down at the compass and noticed something as I
looked up. I took off my glasses and the visibility suddenly went up
to about 300 yards! Getting back after that was relatively uneventful.
I've got to add a rag in the pocket to my sailing kit.

--

Roger Long