Close encounter with a large tug- in fog

[nolatom]

I don't know the area, but in the abstract, it sounds (assuming he saw you) like he wanted your contact to be on, or stay on, his port bow, so he started coming to starboard to make sure it did. At the same time you had his contact off your starboard bow, and wanted to keep it there, so you turned to port to make sure it did.

This creates the classic "gull-wing" shape of converging tracklines in a radar-assisted very close-quarters situation. Ironically, in these situations, if in hindsight both skippers had just held their initial courses and speeds (and left the wheelhouse for ten minutes to get coffee), the vessels would've almost always have passed with an acceptable cpa. But of course we don't navigate that way, and in trying to avoid a close-quarters CPA, you instead create one.

[CharlieCobra]

That was the fog I was running from as it came off the Peninsula and charged across towards Fidalgo.

[jrd22]

nolatom- In hindsight, only two scenarios make any sense to me. As you stated he wanted to keep me off his port bow so that we would pass port to port, or he mistook me for a slow moving northbound target that he wanted to overtake on his port side. The strange thing is that after I changed course and we were again running parallel courses he would change course and aim directly at me with no sign that he was trying to leave adequate room between us to pass safely. It's a mystery, but if you ever see a green hulled sailboat making crazy radical turns for no apparent reason you'll know there must be a green and white tug in the vicinity :-)). I'm sure that this reaction will wear off in a couple of years or so. JD

[teshannon]

Great posts from both of you! Thanks for sharing with us, I've learned a lot here.

[TrueBlue]

Had a similar experience while enroute to Martha's Vineyard years ago, during a crossing of the entrance to Buzzard's Bay. Fog was very thick, there was a light drizzle and no wind, so we were motorsailing from the pilothouse where our CRT radar screen is located. We picked up an image about 30 degrees and, we guessed, a couple miles off the port bow.

I reduced throttle, until now hearing the vessel's engine, when the barely visible, ghostly image of a large tug suddenly appeared from the fog about 200 ft - dead ahead. I quickly threw the engine in reverse and nearly messed my shorts . . . had no idea it was that close, since we were still learning to read the new-to-us radar.

The radar looked clear, aside from some clutter and just as I began to procede, a thick steel cable lunged up from the ocean's surface, about 150 feet ahead of us. Quickly backed down hard just as the bow of a wide barge appeared to port. It was obviously carrying a full load, as evidenced by the low freeboard but for some reason, wasn't picked up on the screen until directly in front of us. I later learned that tow cables can be over a thousand feet in length.

Luckily our 90 hp diesel and 22" 3-blade prop, enabled a relatively quick stop and reverse. It was still way too close for comfort. I still dread the thought of what could have happened, if just a few more seconds had transpired.

[teshannon]

TB,
That scares the hell out of me just reading it! How many drinks did you have that night?

[TrueBlue]

The crew of three and I downed nearly a whole bottle of Gosling's Black Seal, once reaching Edgartown. After the ginger beer was gone - we drank it straight-up . . . far from how we were standing afterwards.

That happened in '04 and I believe it greatly contributed to my wife's subsequent fear of sailing in fog - rightfully so, I suppose.

[KeelHaulin]

In terms of John's situation; I'd say that the incorrect thing to do was to turn to Port. When you turned to Port you put the tug in a right-of-way scenario; and he was exercising his right to go in front of you.

Don't forget if you are a vessel under power the "rules" change and there is no such thing as right-of-way over power boats and "starboard tack"; you are give-way if the approaching vessel is on YOUR starboard. If you are under sail in the fog consider yourself a power boat and be ready to give way to any approaching boat on your starboard. They may see you on their radar but they won't know you are under sail until it's too late to turn away.

If you accelerate to get out of the way of something in the fog you are going faster into reduced visibility; this drastically increases the chance of collision! The best thing to do is slow to an idle speed, hold course and wait for the oncoming boat to make a course change to go around you. Blowing your horn 5 blasts should get a helm response by them, but you won't see it on your radar if you are also turning.

He must have known you were there; probably just trying to teach you the lesson that if you are going to alter course you should do it to starboard so that YOU have the right of way not him. I don't -think- he would have run you down; but I'm sure that it was frightening seeing a tug coming at you out of the fog!

[Rockter]

A bad one. The situation builds slowly and it is nerve-wracking.
Only twice have I been caught in fog, and both times we were alone.... once without radar, and later with.
It is disconcerting... everything looks different and uncertain.
I hated it, with or without radar.
On the first occasion we stopped in very shallow water, and waited it out.
On the second, the harbour master helped guide me in.

[TrueBlue]

I agree with the comments regarding trying to outrun the vessel in fog on a port heading - although judging distance and making decisions of this sort are difficult when the fog is this thick:



Not to hijack the thread, but I took that pic earlier on the day of my incident. With fog nearly as thick as pea soup, the best action is to slow to a crawl when indications exist, other vessels are in the vicinity.