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Friday Night Sail - added comments about FOG

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/18/2006 : 11:09:42

I got off work at 3:30 and raced down to the boat. By 4:30 I was tacking out of the Mission Bay jetties, bound for the Marquesas. The course was 240 and I was making 3 knots in very light air. The seas were calm and my course was just north of a big red setting sun. My plan was to get 20 or 30 miles off the coast before going up spin and heading south. I couldn't wait to get back to the tropics!

As the immense sun dropped below an offshore fog bank, it started to get cold and damp. I could see the bank moving in. I changed into my foulies. Then I took the boat back from the autopilot and worked every puff of what was left of the evening breeze. I was heading just off the wind to maximize apparent winds. As the western sky remained light, I worked the boat offshore, only my bow and the Pacific ocean horizon in sight. Once I was in 200 feet of water, I knew I was safe from the constant threat of lobster traps. I put her back on AP and relaxed even more. I enjoyed sighting the first stars of night. There were no other boats on the water on this early Friday evening. Since I was not going back, the FM radio was off. I didn't need to worry about traffic reports or Tom Cruise's wedding plans.

Soon it was dark. Since there were no other people within miles and miles I thought about putting on my harness/lifejacket and personal strobe, but how far could I swim? The winds were really down, speed was in the 2 knot area. I decided I'd put it on if I had to go to the bow, plus tether to the jacklines too. The deck was wet with dew. I lit my oil lamp in the cabin and had a light dinner of beef jerky, dried fruit, and my last beer.

The boat was warm, the seas comfortable, the western horizon still just visible. I gybed us around and tried to find Mission Bay among the vast clutter of shore lights. Soon we were locked on course for the flashing green light. I flipped on the radio and enjoyed my favorite jazz station, just in time to get the last traffic report of the day.

Maybe next time.

Indiscipline 1978 FK SR #398

Edited by - JimB517 on 11/20/2006 19:50:19

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2006 : 11:13:51

"...bound for the Marquesas."

Ah yes, Friday night dreamin'...
Don't forget to provision 50 gallons of water before departure. :>)

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 11/18/2006 : 16:27:46

Hey Jim and all other southern sailors, keep the stories coming. My boat is locked in a bubbled slip and there it will stay until spring. I'll have to be sailin' through you guys. Cheers.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/19/2006 : 13:08:50

"Got out of town on a boat for the southern islands
Sailing a reach before a following sea
She was makin' for the trades on the outside
and the downhill run to Papeete
Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas
We got eighty feet of waterline
Nicely making way
In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you
But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away..."

Southern Cross - Crosby Stills Nash & Young

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 11/20/2006 : 17:25:32

This weekend led to a very nice sailing day Sunday - temps in the 80s, winds 10, seas 1. I beat 5 to 10 miles up to La Jolla so I guess I could have pretended I was homeward bound from the southern seas. So I was pretty far from home when I saw a HUGE fog bank offshore, moving in fast. This was a wall of fog 1000 feet high and 20 miles long (as far as I could see). It looked to be moving 10 to 15 miles per hour.

I turned and headed for home, not in a panic, I didn't think it would be really bad.

I saw it envelop Point Loma to the south and La Jolla to the north but Mission Bay is in a little bight, we were still clear.

About 2 miles from the jetty it hit me. I could see about 50 feet (in bright sunshine). I turned off my FM radio so I could hear but was still sailing mostly dead downwind for the jetties. I could hear fog horns around but the big horn on the north Mission Bay jetty was not blowing.

Out of the fog to windward loomed a sailboat I never saw coming. He motored up to me and asked if I had a GPS (yes) and could he follow me in (yes). I got my jib sail in and decided to motor because if I saw the jetties and was on the beach side I didn't want to have to try to gybe with 50 feet visibility.

I motored very slowly to the waypoint, blowing my foghorn every minute. I could see NOTHING. There were foghorns all around. It was still bright and sunny (I had sun glasses on) and, if anything, now less than 50 feet visibility. I put on my lifejacket/harness.

Several big motor boats came blasting by at high speed (10+ knots). I guess they had radar but it still seemed insane. I followed the wake of one of them, figuring I could avoid his wreck. My companion was still just behind me. He stayed close like his life depended on it (which it did). I was really close (less than 0.10 mile per GPS) but could not see the jetties, hear the fog horn, hear surf, or anything. Thank goodness I had my fish finder and I know the area very well. Depth contour was more important then GPS in these conditions. I reset my GPS to goto my home slip and hoped the fog did not extend that far. If I couldn't find the rocks how could I ever get down my fairway and into the slip? I prepared to anchor in Mariner's Basin, which I felt I could find by depth and dead reckoning alone - IF I found the jetty.

I saw the Mission Bay lifeguard boat, I presumed they were sitting in the middle of the jetties. They had lights on and were blowing their foghorn.

Following the depth, I turned in and trusted I would see the north jetty rocks in time. Another motor boat came by on plane. There were some guys sitting anchored and fishing in a little skiff. I saw the rocks and I was on the correct side. I was in.

As before with the intense fog, my plan was to follow the rock jetty, staying about 10 feet off - no one is going to hit me from that side. They got the big foghorn on the jetty going (now behind me).

I motored out of the fog into a sunny afternoon, furled the main, dried off (everything was dripping wet), tried to tell a couple of other boats NOT to head out. I got the boat tied up, put away, talked with friends and was home by 5 PM lucky to be in. Amazing what a close call this was and how deadly it could have been. I've been in worse fog only once (I had radar that time).

I learned today the airport was closed for many hours.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.