Foggy... but out and about

I was up early and out while it was still dark. Joan and Izzy stayed home. I took Wild Blue to the fuel dock and put in $100 of fuel. It was kinda foggy - no sunrise to be had. But, it felt great to be back on the boat.

When I came to the Port Isabel Turning Basin, the visibility was about 1/2 mile and all the small bay shrimpers were working there. That’s unusual - they’re generally in the ship channel. Before I got to the ship channel, the reason became very apparent: the fog was so thick there, you couldn’t see either side of the channel.

I turned on the radar and headed east. The radar showed that there were no other boats in the area. I figured this was a good time to check out all the equipment and get me back up to speed on running with the radar.

Some people relate boating in the fog with flying in IFR conditions. I don’t see that. The only thing they have in common is a lack of visibility. In the air, you have Air Traffic Control providing separation of traffic; that doesn’t exist on the water... anybody with a boat could be out there. You are on your own to stay out of each others' way. With the boat, you can pull the throttle back and take a few minutes to sort things out... you can’t do that in the air. Three axis of movement in the air vs two axis on the water... unless your boat is sinking. On the boat, you are supposed to travel very slowly in low visibility - so you can stop if the situation dictates that... no stopping an airplane in the air.

But, it was a great time out on the water. Using the radar and the chartplotter, I made my way through the jetties and out into the Gulf. I didn’t stay out there long... not much to see when the visibility is about 200 yards.

I came back in, through the jetties, and north in the Laguna. At one point, you cross under powerlines that extend over the water... I couldn’t see the power poles until I was between them... and then just a glimpse for a few seconds.

I ran the boat to the causeway, then puttered around until just before the hour so I could come in through the Long Island Swing Bridge. Once through the bridge, the visibility began to improve again. In three hours, I saw one small boat (besides the small bay shrimpers), and he was tied to some pilings by the causeway.

Back at our dock, I tied off Wild Blue and rinsed her off. Joan was making a late breakfast for me. After that, I soaked in the jacuzzi tub, then cleaned up. All before 11:00.

Yeah, it’s nice to be back in the Tropical Tip.

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Can't see much...

There's supposed to be a BIG bridge out there...

A closer look at the chartplotter and radar...

There it is!