Fog forms when moist warm air flows over much cooler water and that happens every summer in some of America’s best cruising grounds. Even if you have been cruising in foggy regions your whole life, navigating blind is still a challenge. Radar and AIS certainly give you the eyes you need to pierce those white walls of fog, but even with these tools it is easy to get disoriented. In our experience, the key to navigating in fog with radar and AIS is to trust them the way a pilot has to when flying on instruments alone. We rely on the autopilot to steer a steady course to take the human element, prone to confusion without visual references, out of the equation. And, we keep the VHF handy so we can hail boats near us as shown by the radar and AIS. The real danger, albeit small, is small boats that don’t have AIS and don’t show up well on radar. So, sailing in fog is entirely doable with modern nav aids as long as you are prudent and alert. We certainly have come a long way since the days on the foggy Maine coast when, as the saying goes, sailing craft carried a bucket of potatoes and a dog. The potatoes were hurled forward every minute or so and if you didn’t hear one splash it was time to tack. And, the dog would hear breaking waves on a shoreline or reef before humans and sound the alarm. Quaint, but I’ll take radar and AIS every time.
