Low Visibility
Earlier today I enjoyed lunch with an old boating buddy of mine. Naturally, we covered a lot of boating topics, from repowering to fireworks display viewing experiences.
I was fortunate in that, on July 3rd, the bad weather cleared during the late afternoon, and stayed that way, for the evening display., resulting in good night-time visibility. On the other hand, he was unfortunate in that the weather, specifically fog, became progressively thicker during the July 4th display creating poor visibility to return home in.
Being an experienced boatman, he used his limited electronics and charts to pick up the main direction into port and watched the paths selected by larger vessels with extensive electronics.
Net, in almost the same location and time of day, conditions differed markedly in a way which could be very dangerous. So, check the marine forecast, your electronics, and your charts and compass, before heading out, especially at night. You’ll be glad you did.
