Emelita is now back from her travels transiting from Vlissingen to Nieuwpoort to Dover to Calais.  As with all sailing, and particularly with long passages getting the tides and weather correct is important.  However, just occasionally you can experience the unexpected as Emelita did on Thursday crossing the Channel. We left Nieuwpoort in sunshine and a gentle to moderate breeze.  As we approached the channel to take us towards Dunkerque East the wind dropped enough to need to put the engine on.  We were missing the all important fair tide that would take us to Calais before crossing the Channel.  As we got closer to Calais it was time to start listening to Channel VTS, not least to find out any slow moving vessels contained by their draft that we needed to be aware off – there were non.  However VTS were reporting some fog in the Dover Straights but that was not an issue we felt because they were reporting poor visibility but still 2 nm. Emelita is fitted with both AIS transponder and receiver as well as radar.  The radar is generally turned off because it draws a lot of power.  The AIS allows us to see vessels that also have a transponder and this applies to all ships transiting the lanes in the Dover Straights but not necessarily small pleasure craft.  Looking at the details of AIS targets you can also see how close you are likely to be and how long before tracks cross by looking at the closest position of approach.  Radar needs more interpretation. As we turned at Calais to head at right angles across the shipping lanes we were still in sunshine and the visibility was still being reported as 2nm in most areas and 1 NM in a couple of places to the North of the straights so we saw no reason not to proceed as planned. Just as we got to the edge of the NE going lane the visibility became very poor;at most about 1 ca.  Time to enhance what we could see by turning on the radar.  We were looking for those yachts that were not on AIS, the tiny purple blip on the screen which meant the radar had picked something up.  It could be a boat or it could be a wave or wash from a boat – it depended on how long it showed. In that level of fog the concentration is intense looking intently out of the boat for something that may suddenly appear but also keeping a very close look on the chart plotter for that potential unidentified target.   We made it safely across – it was a long 4 hours.  To give a clearer idea of the density of the fog when Emelita was 2nm from Dover we radioed Dover VTS as required.  We were told to radio again when we could see the harbour wall at the western entrance.  The only trouble was we could see it.  We could just about make the port control lights out – which were red as we approached so we weren’t clear to enter but no way cold we make out the harbour walls.  VTS changed the lights when we radioed to say we could see them and the VTS officer then had to tell us where the entrance was so we knew where to come in. We use AIS regularly, particularly when negotiating around larger vessels but this was the first time we have ever needed to use the radar in earnest.  Talking later on the way home we both agreed both radar and AIS has it uses.  Crossing the Channel is probably easier than being caught in fog in the Solent.  The traffic has a prescribed direction so you know what you are dealing with and are only looking for the pleasure boat that may not be on AIS.  In the Solent traffic can be coming at you in all directions in many shapes and sizes and there is a lot which is not on AIS so you really are looking for that radar target,which could be boat or a buoy or just a larger wave. As an after thought would you want to be a swimmer in dense fog – or the support kayak and boat in that situation.  The next morning the fog was still present and visibility was very poor.  There was a cross channel swim taking place.
Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer