Tips for Boating in Fog
Photo/BoatingLocal, Tom Richardson.
The Sea Tow Foundation and the Coast Guard offer the following tips for boating safely in fog or other limited visibility situations.
It is rare to encounter heavy seas with fog, but it can happen. When it does, the rolling of the vessel combined with reduced visibility can cause the operator to become disoriented. Fog brings the greatest risk of collision with an obstacle or another boat, so do the following before your visibility becomes seriously reduced:
- Fix your position on a chart or mark it on an electronic plotter.
- Reduce your speed to the point where you can stop your vessel in half the visible distance.
- Turn on your navigation lights.
- Instruct any passengers to help you keep watch—by sight and hearing—preferably in the bow.
- Begin sounding 1 long blast on your horn (4 to 6 seconds) every 2 minutes while under way and 2 long blasts every 2 minutes when stopped.
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About the Author
Gail Kulp is the executive director of the Sea Tow Foundation, a non-profit organization working to promote safe boating practices in order to reduce boating-related accidents and fatalities. Before coming to work for the Sea Tow Foundation, Kulp served as the director of education and standards for the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, from 2005 to 2010.
