Got Fog? - 9/20/2012

We wake to a different sunrise, with the red ball of fire seen already rising high into the sky through a streak of clouds.

Will it be sunny today for the trip back to Anacortes?

Leaving at 8:50A we are in sunshine, but see fog all around us in the distance.  It is thick toward Sidney Channel and against Sidney Spit.

The Coast Guard directs listeners to switch from 16 to 22 Alpha for a low visibility report, and we hear there is fog in the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, and Guemes Channel.  Yep, it is everywhere.

The sun is filtering through a thin layer over us, and as we go by Sidney Spit, we look for Pat and Patty's crab pots -- but no luck.  Guess they haven't been returned yet.

Our course takes us inside Forrest Island, where we see a marker on a beautifully carved rock, and in the distance we see through the fog the ghost of a ship crossing our path to port.  We will safely go astern.

She is Lorraine, 600 ft long by 100 ft wide, and cruising at 20 knots.





"Is the fog lifting?" we ask, as we pass the yellow buoy near Gooch Island, and a favorite haven for the birds.

We can see well enough to cross the shipping lanes in Haro Strait, and to see the kayaks on our port.  There are five and they go astern.

The fog seems to be still in the distance, but visibility OK where we are, which is now in Spieden Channel, north of San Juan Island.

Atlas, who lives at Cap Sante Boat Haven, comes close enough to give us a nice view, and we watch for and stay out of the way of many ferries.  We hear the Yakima call Traffic to dock at Ship Harbor in Anacortes.  

Atlas

We go through Wasp Passage and Harney Channel and head toward Thatcher Pass.  Water is flat.  

The fog lifts a bit near the south end of Blakely Island, and we see the  ferry Hyak coming out of the Pass; Yakima has gone in, and with Hyak out, it will not be too crowded in the Pass.

With fog a bit heavier now, Herb calls Traffic to cross the shipping lanes of Rosario Strait and is told the only vessel is Pacific Mariner II, southbound, and he finds her on AIS.  We will come within .8 mile of her at our intersecting paths.  Visibility is now 800 ft.

Mt. Baker in the Fog

Safely across, we see the fog lift.  It is totally clear in Guemes Channel.   As we pass Bellingham Channel, we see thick, thick fog to the north, but we are 'home free.'

Ah, the Water!

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Thursday, September 20, 2012