[Paddlewise] Sea fog

G'day,

Some unusually foggy conditions here a few days ago, with a 20 knot north
east sea breeze forecast for about midday turning to a strong southerly in
the evening as a front moved in. 

We set off along the coast bearing northeast along the cliffs and hoping to
sail back with the wind. There was a dense sea fog, varying between about 50
metres to 100 metres visibility and mainly extending along the coast. It
didn't clear until about 2pm. Unusual for Sydney. The fog was formed by the
gentle, warm north east wind blowing over the cooler waters and the sea
breeze didn't rise much above 5 knots. 

We guessed that the lack of wind was caused by the fog reflecting sunlight
so the land didn't get a chance to warm. Does that sound plausible? I was a
bit surprised because I don't think the fog extended much more than ten or
so kilometres and wouldn't have expected such a small area to have so great
an effect.

We missed the chance for a good sail but well worth the trip for the
exercise of tracking along the coast and across headlands without much in
the way of visual cues. Quite tricky crossing from North Head to South Head
at flood tide as we didn't want to be pushed too far into the harbour with
all its holiday traffic.

All the best. PeterO
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