This week I found myself on a yacht (length less than 12 metres), with no radar, at sea in the middle of Fog. Visibility was down to about 25 metres, it was cold and extremely eerie and the wind had dropped. We had to get back to our home port, had a couple of miles to run and it was about 3 hours to sunset. Would you know what to do?
In these days of GPS things are a lot easier, however, that doesn’t take away the risk of having a collision at sea.
So this is what we did (Top Sailing Tips):
• Started our engine
• Put our Navigation Lights on.
• Dropped and stowed our sails.
• Listened in on VHF Channel 16
• Posted a Lookout up on the foredeck who had a lifejacket (as we all did) and made sure they were clipped on the fore and aft safety line.
• Brought our hand held compressed air canister Horn on deck. If none held on board then a whistle should do.
• Sounded one prolonged blast (lasting 4 to 6 seconds) every 2 minutes.
These simple precautions prevented us having several collisions and ensured our safe passage back to port, which was a welcome sight indeed. So make sure you are prepared for Fog at sea, especially in these summer months.
That’s all for this week
Martin
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