Re: [Paddlewise] Crossings in Fog

At 04:27 AM 4/10/98 -0700, dkruger_at_seasurf.com wrote:
>I'm interested in anecdotal descriptions of crossings kayakers have
>attempted under poor visibility (fog, mist, scudding clouds on the deck,
>poor lighting, etc.).  I've read and digested "theoretical" approaches
>to such crossings and have a fair grasp of how to attempt one:  figure
>out the heading for the route, estimate the deflectingeffect of
>current/wind, run the hull speed/current speed triangle to get the
>actual heading I would need to make the desired course over ground in
>the direction I want, and estimate the crossing time.
>
>But, I'd like to know of the experiences of others on the water who have
>used those techniques to make actual crossings.  
>

While I have made a few heavy fog crossings in the past, I now avoid them
when the visibility is less than a few hundred feet. With the popularity of
GPS, I have been nearly run over by small power boats, that were at planing
speed in heavy fog. Most of my fog crossings have been in visibility of 150
feet +, and I have relied on dead reckoning combined with knowledge of the
currents and a crossing distance of 2-4 miles with a huge target. The only
truly "bad" crossing I have had was when a friend of mine was leading a trip
(and had the only working compass - mine fell overboard the night before).
We were attempting a 4+ mile crossing in no breeze, no waves, conditions
with about 6-10 feet of visibility (you had a hard time seeing the end of
your kayak). My unamed friend, kept having us correct our course by a few
degrees (he had worked as a climbing guide on Mt Rainier in the past, so we
trusted his skills - too much), and after the 7 or 8th correction I was very
uneasy (I usually hold a very straight line). We determined that we really
didn't know where we were going and could possibly be heading down the
strait and parrallel to both shores. After about 30-40 minutes of uneasy
paddling I saw the outline of some land mass, and knew we couldn't have
finished our crossing. We landed on a small Island only 100 yards from where
we started. The group wanted to try again, but I convinced them to paddle
over to a nearby island with ferry service and ride the "big boat" through
the fog.

-Saul
Saul Kinderis     saul_at_isomedia.com          tel:(425)402-3426

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