Don White wrote:

We have to be careful here also, although the ships do slow down a bit
once in the harbour. (Halifax) ... I always brought my handheld VHF along
and tried to monitor traffic,
over his stereo and boisterous crew.

A few years back I entered Halifax for the first time, and unfortunately it
was a real "thick-o-fog." I could not see the dink I was towing.

It was roughly 0300 and I had been in contact with Halifax Traffic and
learned that a commercial ship was outbound and that we would meet in a
rather narrow stretch about 2 or 3 miles in from the mouth of the harbor.
Frankly I was a bit spooked.

In any case I used radar, my eyes, my ears, my GPS(s), and a few assorted
pieces of electronics and miscellaneous body parts to proceed into harbor.
At the appointed time I could both hear and feel the ship's horn off to
starboard and close aboard. I eventually made it into the Northwest Arm and
grabbed a RNSYS mooring I could barely see to calm myself down and get some
rest.

I am not sure what point I was trying for when I started this post, other
than to say that even the best-prepared boats will at some point be severely
tested.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare