On Jul 21, 4:40*pm, Wayne B wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:28:42 -0700 (PDT), North Star





wrote:
On Jul 21, 3:02*pm, Wayne B wrote:
Cruising the New England coast in the sumertime has a lot of
attractions: *Good harbors, quaint little towns with much charm, fresh
sea food restaurants, decent fishing at times, fresh lobster, etc.

It also has something called fog. * When the fog rolls in like a thick
heavy blanket everything changes in a minute. *A crisp clear day with
blue sunny skies is almost instantly transformed into a cool white
cloud which surrounds everything, sometimes even obscuring boats that
are anchored nearby. *It takes some getting used to, especially if you
are caught underway. *Suddenly your entire frame of reference is
erased *- *landmarks, navigational buoys, channel marks, nearby boats
- everything. *It can be very unsettling if you've never experienced
it before or are unprepared. * *

Radar, if you have it, suddenly becomes your best friend. * It can
help to restore some sense of orientation and alert you to nearby
hazzards. *It can also give you distances and bearings. * In
conjunction with a good chart plotter, your radar and sense of hearing
tell you almost everthing you need to know. * The loud horn that you
hear in the distance can be identified as either a fixed navigation
mark or a boat underway. * If a boat underway, you can tell if the
relative bearing angle from your bow is increasing, decreasing, or
staying the same. * If the bearing is constant you are on a collision
course with what ever is out there. *It's time to go into high gear,
sound the fog horn, listen for a reply, attempt contact on VHF radio,
and remember all of those lessons on the Rules of the Road. *It can be
nerve wracking but also challenging and exciting with all of your
senses racing along as you sort out the situation and determine a
course of action.

The good news is that there are only two locations in New England that
experience foggy weather. *The first is north of Cape Cod and the
second is south of Cape Cod. * We're south today in Edgartown Harbor
on the island of Martha's Vineyard. * Our boat is securely tied to one
of the town moorings so navigation is not an issue as the fog comes
and goes, and the town disappears and reappears. * It's all part of
the cruising New England experience.

Welcome to our world in the Maritimes.
August isn't usually as bad as June/July.

Yes, been there, done that. * But you only get fog at two different
times of the summer: *Before the first day of August and after the
last day of July.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Seems that way some years... but it can be heaven on earth for the
8-10 weeks we call summer/early fall.