In a fog.

[Stump]

Went sailing Monday. Got down to the Sound and found that they had removed the dock. Kind of threw me for a loop until I remembered that I could still launch due to the shallow keel. :roll:

Then there was the fog. Never been out in fog before. Took a couple of readings off my compass and away I went. That was totally cool, slight breeze to move me along. Fog horns from the ferries. Nothing seen out side of 5 feet in any directions usually, with pockets of visiblity up to 100 feet. Sun just a white ball. Me and my boat in the great big world. Got back just before darkish. It was a little cool but a fine time was had by all...me!

[capt jake]

Sounds like fun except

Fog horns from the ferries.

!! Not being able to see them is one thing, but I know them buggars move pretty quick and I wouldn't want to be in their way!!! :shock:

Which dock was removed? The one we launched at on Alki??

Glad you had fun, tell us more. No lost keys this time??

[Barry Pyeatt]

Not a good plan Stan! :shock: Fog is dangerous time on the water regardless of ferry fog horns. To be legal I believe you need to have one too. And sound it regularly. There be lots of other things out there besides ferry boats and a lot of them are just as dangerous, if not more so. Nuff lecture, glad you had a good time anyway.

[Stump]

You know what they say Barry, God looks after fools..... and yes, you must make a sound every couple of minutes. I used a whistle. I also was up in your neck of the woods and stayed well south of the ferry lanes/dock. Don't think I'd try it off Seattle. Also, since I'm not totally crazy, only mostly, I could frequently see the bottom. which leads me to believe I was fairly close to shore...actually, I know I was close to shore. The east shore with the Railroad embankment. Where the sand flats are. Planned it that way you see :wink: It is amazing what you can do with a chart and a compass and a watch. Along with some thinning on occasion.

The seal did seem supprised to see me however, had to swim around me a couple of times. 8)

Only other thing out there except for the ferries was a tugboat that went by southbound, in mid-channel...a long way from where I was at.

You know what they also say, no guts, no glory. :twisted: :roll:

Of course they also say, There are bold sailers and old sailers. But there are no old and bold sailers...er, except maybe one or two.

capt jake, nope not Alki, Muckawhatever. Dang, I never could spell that town. :oops: :cry: The "key" was safely in my pocket and on a float. Didn't feel like spending another hundred getting another one made on site.

[MikeStevenson]

Sounds like a cool sail. And it sounds also like you took reasonable precautions too. Nice images of ghosting along int he fog...

[Greg Luckett]

Stump, weren't tug or ferry generated waves a big problem that close to the shore or where it is shallow? The ship generated waves on Galveston Bay used to drive me nuts at times. In those thick fogs they could not be seen until they were right under the boat and even in good weather there was little time to react.

[Stump]

Compaired to what the wake problem is usually up there it was nothing. Plus, I was far enough south of the ferry lanes that the lifting motion was smooth and not abrupt. Really, they only run about every half an hour and since they were the only thing out there, besides me and that one other boat way out in the middle I didn't have any problem at all.

Even on the worst days with wakes I find that the Weekender rides over the top without any problem. 8) It might slow down my progress if the wind is light but...