[Paddlewise] Paddling in fog

Dave Krugers' request for experiences of paddling in fog certainly got me
recalling a few trips.
I'm not sure just when you decide you have paddled in fog but I certainly
know when my navigation has to be 100%. Here in Jersey, British Channel
Isles we have a few offshore reefs with huts on them at 6 miles, 12 miles
plus, other islands and the coast of France. I have paddled to all at some
stage over 4-5 knot cross currents in poor or very poor visability.

Two years ago we were on the French coast (24 nautical miles back to home)
and woke with thick fog. Weather forecast said it would lift soon so we
went. 2 knot current setting at 90 degrees to our course. For the next five
hours we saw nothing until we popped out the fog by the car park where we
had left our cars.
If it did one thing then it was to confirm that I was probably getting my
chart work about right.

The most important thing for us on this was that we had taken the time to
sort out our navigation before we left. Around here we tend to constantly
stress the need for paddlers to do some chart work and not just relie on
the leader to have done it. One very experienced paddler I know did not do
this and ended up missing the 100metre long islet of Les Ecrehous (7 miles
offshore) at night- and in poor vis- and spent a total of 7 hours on the
water. Half of the group subsequently signed up for the navigation class
our club ran last winter! This was a classic case of familiarity leading to
poor preparation and planning.

I often find I navigate much better in poor visibility and at night. I work
on getting to within 5 degrees or less with the compass on average. In poor
vis I tend to trust my navigation far more and not start going off course
just because I seem to be getting near my destination.  
Also, good teamwork helps a lot. In poor vis we often talk our ideas
through more before making them. On one trip we could hear car sounds so
Tony reckoned we were being pushed too far south. A bit of discussion made
us realise that for the previous thre hours we had been happy to trust our
planned route. So why change things because of a hunch. We kept to our
course and were bang on target. Had we started finding other indicators
such as Lobster pot bouys with  the current running different to the
expected then we would have been more likely to revise our plans. Unless I
am getting lots of contidictory information about where I am paddling then
I try to keep to my planned route. I am also constantly working on dead
reckoning (I do this whenever I am paddling offshore in whatever vis) so
have got a reasonable idea of my speed and am used to estimating my
position. Also, if fog comes down then at least I have got a rough
guess/estimate of where I am. My compass is deck mounted and I carry a
chart.On the back or written somewhere on a bit of white sticky plastic on
the kayak is current direction and flow.
  
Paddling in fog or at night is not a thing I rushed out to do. It was
something  I gradually built up to with plenty of practice doing chartwork
and starting in familiar waters. What a great practice one writer did of
trying to paddle in his bay hitting various marks.

I tend to nowadays carry my VHF in my bouyancy aid switched on when in fog
or at night.

One Irish coach -Mike McClure- does some great exercises where he drapes a
sheet over you  so you then paddle blind, but are still able to read your
compass and chart. Its a bit like having a poncho on but without your head
sticking through.
 Another idea is to get paddlers to estimate by dead reckoning where they
are on the chart and check by Gps. Or you can get paddlers to estimate how
long/far they are from a headland and get them to give eta. Its a good way
to practice assessing your speed and distance. 
 
Another time armed with a Gps we headed for the Ecrehous in thick fog to
test how good these gadgets were. Yes they do mean we do things we might
have been less inclined to try in the past. We only hit the islet because
of it.
 But I do not relie on GPS. Last time we travelled at night to Les Ecrehous
( 4-5knot cross currents, 37 foot tide) the batteries died due to my
forgetfulness! But I had still done all the chart work so it was not a
major problem and it simply served to validate what we already thought.
Other craft... I assume they have not seen me and I am not going to start
blasting an air horn or white flares in the hope they will change course.
In some of our waters this may be impossible due to the surrounding
reefs.Yes, the risks may be small if you think about the potential size and
'impact' area, but if the area is a popular boating and shipping zone then
you could well be putting yourself and other larger craft at risk. Nor is
it good for my stress levels. There are shipping lanes and times of day
when even in daylight and good vis I am very very cautious and check ferry
timetables.. It is no fun to have a 35 knot wavepiercer /seacat rounding
the headland just as you are halfway across a quarter mile shipping
channel. These craft also have a habit of being quite hard to hear when
downwind of you. One paddler who got onto the bridge was informed that they
have a half mile blind spot anyway and at the time no one was looking
out.They were all watching the instrumentation.
Yes I could tell of a few  more foggy stories.    
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