Sunday Morning Fog
November 6, 2011

To a commercial mariner or a vessel underway, fog is usually not a good thing. A new set of rules cover vessels underway in the fog. Life slows down to a crawl and those not having to be some place should heave to,anchor or stay at the slip. We have had more than a few chances to be underway in the fog, some thick and some that materialized and went while we were moving. One such time came into view in my feeble mind this morning when I stumbled out on the deck to see dense fog for just a few moments. Still more than half asleep, I was back at the wheel leaving Houma, Louisiana in the very early February morning departure in 2010. We did have radar which is a necessity if underway and it was working. Fortunately, the smart traffic was all nudged into the banks waiting for a better time to move. Bear was topside with me as she always is when she senses the end is near. It was cold yet the fog seemed to wrap around and slightly warm the soul. Or was it the fact that knowing there were 1,200 feet tows out on the same waterway that kept the old blood pressure high enough to make it seem warm? Bligh, are you insane? Anyway, we combined that departure fog with darkness since we left the security of the docks before first light. Being an old instrument rated pilot, I was comfortable with navigation with a chart plotter and radar, sort of. The old saying that one must "trust the instruments" kept rattling around in my noodle. It is during the thickest of the fog, barring any audible warnings such as those required by the rules, that one is definitely alone. Sounds of all sorts can travel for miles. The imagination reels with thoughts of what it must be like to roll under the bow of an oncomming barge. In our case, the one is we. Proceeding "dead slow" and making all the right noises, we left Houma that morning and we also left an indelible memory on our hard drives. During our present ordeal with the recovery from the medical issues, I call on those memories from time to time to simply be back aboard for a few moments. Then the drowsy wore off and reality eased out of that fog. The trees close by let me know I was not aboard but back in the Hill Country and today I must study for Masters and Sailing Endorsement tests for later this week, that is after a whole bunch of coffee.

The photo is of a boat at anchor near Dauphin Island .