Tactics for Fog

In an unprecedented gesture of generosity ? or the need for more business ? my client's dealer allowed him to take the new boat he wanted to buy for a three-day cruise along Florida's Gulf Coast. We had a delightful time exploring the barrier islands and keys south of Venice, and on the return trip to Tarpon Springs, we decided to anchor and spend a few hours exploring Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. This turned out to be a bad idea. Within an hour of dropping the hook, fog, which had not been forecast, rolled in out of the Gulf. Think coastal fog and New England comes to mind for many of us, but the west coast of Florida in midwinter gets its pea soup, too, and it hangs out a lot longer.

When that murk rolled in, I went right into fog mode ? which meant keeping the boat where it was until the murk went away. This is proper procedure about 99 percent of the time, even when your boat is outfitted with a good radar and chart plotter. Since our boat was equipped with only a compass, VHF, handheld GPS and depth sounder, the survival tactic was essential.

The next morning, conditions remained the same and NOAA predicted the fog would not disperse until a 40-knot nor'easter roared in at nightfall. Egmont Key was about to become a nasty lee shore.

The impending storm brought me out of the aforementioned fog mode and into a "need-to-go" mindset. It was time for our crew to do the best with what we had ? and do it quickly. Using paper charts and my handheld GPS, I plotted the course we would have to take to safety. It was a 5-nautical-mile run from our anchorage to the nearest inlet, the Pass-A-Grille Channel, which would lead us out of the Gulf and into protected and marina-lined Boca Ciega Bay. But that shoal-lined entrance would not be doable without good visibility, so I plugged in the waypoint of the sea buoy, figuring that if I could see the channel markers when we got there, I would go for it. Then I set the waypoint for the sea buoy at Clearwater Pass, 23 miles up the coast. This is a wide, deep, all-weather inlet that's easy to enter.

First, we had to get out of Tampa Bay, which meant crossing the always-busy Tampa ship channel and an outlying shoal area north of it. Going back to my trusty GPS, I plugged in the waypoints for the buoys on either side of the channel where I intended to cross, and then I graphed out a depth contour line along the coast. This would serve as a backup to the GPS and paper chart.

Just before raising anchor, I called for a period of silence from the crew and we all did some serious listening. We knew there could be a clueless boater out there, tearing around blindly, regardless of the consequences. Sure enough, we heard someone. I waited for things to quiet down, and then assigned the client's young son to the ship's horn. On a slow bell, off we went.

Abeam of the outlying ship channel buoy (we never saw it but heard its bell), we shut down again and listened. I then placed a security call on channels 13 and 16. I gave our position, the current conditions (50-foot visibility) and our intention to cross the channel. When we didn't get an answer, we zipped across. Upon reaching the Pass-A-Grille sea buoy, the visibility was still too poor to attempt an entrance, so off we went to Clearwater Pass.

Three miles south of Clearwater, we motored into bright sunshine and unlimited visibility. When we tied up, they looked at us like we were crazy when we said we had been fogbound for almost two days.

What we practiced on that run north was basic fog procedure when waiting it out is not an option. We made frequent stops and we continuously updated our exact position.

If you're stuck in fog, you want to shut down so you can hear something other than your own boat. What you're listening for is not just fog signals and the rumble of nearby engines ? determining the range and bearing of either is difficult in fog. I once heard the swooshing noise of a hull going through the water and the voices of that boat's crew, yet I never heard the engines. It's easier to determine the direction and distance of high-pitched noises than low-pitched sounds. So, in addition to your fog signal, blow a whistle. A nearby vessel could hear it and may respond in kind.

We didn't have proper instrumentation on board our boat the day we anchored at Egmont Key, but even if we had, sitting tight would still have been the best option. Electronics do not ensure safety when cruising in poor visibility. You can do everything right and still be slammed by a careless driver. If that nor'easter had not been on the way in, we would've broken out the cards that night. By the time the fog cleared, I would've owned that boat.