Re: [Paddlewise] Crossings in Fog

     I paddle the Maine coast for the most part which is often fog-bound 
but does not have current as severe as your river crossings would 
encounter normally. Though I am familiar enough with much of the 
coastline and associated islands which I paddle to regain my bearings in 
the fog, I do get thoroughly lost on occassion. Last summer I did a 
midnight launch from Stonington Deer Isle with the intention of doing 
some dawn photography out on the islands. Daybreak came to dense fog 
which, since my deck compass does not light meant that I was several 
miles out among four dozen or so islands which look remarkably similar in 
the fog. The fog gave no indication of lifting as the morning progressed 
so I continued paddling and dodging commercial boating traffic. About 
midmorning I finally encountered a daymarker on an offshore shoal which I 
was able to identify on my chart. For the heck of it, I spent several 
hours running bearings from one island to the next in the fog to see what 
kind of error I would encounter. While many of the crossings were just 
several hundred yards, a couple were in excess of one mile. I was happy 
to find that landfalls were reasonable on target though if I had not been 
familiar with the area, it would have been harder to find my way I'm 
sure. All considered, it was an interesting experience.
                                                               mark
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************