If you have no compass and are in any doubt as to how you are heading, drop your sails and anchor at once, or if you can reach a buoy, moor to that until the fog lifts.
There is nothing much more perilous than sailing about blindly in a fog, for you are liable to sail in a circle, or far off your course, and when the fog lifts, if you haven’t run aground or into another vessel, you may find yourself out of sight of land or many miles from your destination.
Always have a foghorn when sailing in localities where fogs occur and if for any reason you have no horn, shout halloo or beat on a bucket or a tin pan at intervals to warn other vessels of your presence.
Sometimes, if you climb to the masthead, you may be able to see above the fog or through it, for fogs are often thin a few feet above the water, and if you find this is the case your companion may be able to stay aloft and direct you, or you may be able to locate some landmark and to discover in which direction to proceed. If you see that the water is visible for quite a distance about and yet the fog is thick, you may be able to see a long way by leaning over the boat’s side and peering ahead close to the surface of the sea, while if there are whistling or bell buoys in the vicinity these may serve to guide you.
Always proceed slowly and cautiously in a fog, for a reef or a vessel is likely to loom up close aboard at any moment and you must be ever alert and have your boat under perfect control ready for any emergency. If there is someone with you, have him stand in the bow and report anything which he sees and above all sound fog signals of some sort at intervals of not more than a minute and if you hear another vessel’s signals veer off and be sure you understand whether she is on the port or the starboard tack or is running before the wind.
Effect of Waves on Stability
Sailing in heavy weather or in large seas is very different from sailing in smooth water and no one should attempt sailing a boat in strong winds or heavy seas unless thoroughly expert in handling a boat, or unless compelled to do so by necessity.
More accidents happen when running in a seaway than under any other conditions, for a boat which may be perfectly safe and stable in an ordinary sea, may capsize quickly if not handled with the utmost care and skill in large waves.
The effect of waves upon a boat’s stability is seldom realized even by fairly competent sailors. This may be better understood by the accompanying diagram which represents a boat in waves as viewed in section and supposedly sailing with a beam wind in a sea running broadside on, A. If she is heeled to an angle of fifteen degrees, as shown, she would be perfectly safe, provided the surface of the water remained constant, but if a wave came from the leeward, or right, as indicated by the dotted line B, the angle would be suddenly increased to thirty degrees in relation to the waves’ surface. Under normal conditions she might recover herself and swing back to fifteen degrees, or until her mast assumed the position shown by the vertical line, but long before she could so recover herself among the waves she probably would be swamped.