A Powerboat Is Underway In The Fog. What Sound Signal Should You Hear?

If a powerboat is moving through dense and thick fog, then the correct procedure that they should follow is sounding one prolonged blast on their fog horn every two minutes. This procedure is correct when a powerboat is moving through the water, whether they are with or without propulsion.

• Other fog situations.

As stated above, the one prolonged blast method is correct when a powerboat is moving forwards through water. If the powerboat is underway but still not making way i.e. It is drifting but not grounded, then the correct procedure to follow is two prolonged blasts on the fog horn every two minutes.

If you need to lower your anchor and stop when you are in fog then you are not exempt from the rule of sounding your horn to warn others that you are there. When you are anchored in fog then you must sound a quick and rapid ringing of your vessel's bell for five seconds every minute. In this situation it is good to have someone standing with the bell at all times.

• Exceptions.

If you can hear another boat approaching your vessel through the fog but you cannot yet see it and they have not sounded their fog horn then you should still continue to sound yours, but you are free to sound it more frequently than once every two minutes.

• Hearing another vessel's horn.

If you are moving through fog and you hear another vessel in front of you sound one prolonged blast and then two short blasts, then you need to be very careful when moving up ahead. That signal means that the vessel ahead has some kind of handicap for example, a broken engine, or it could mean that they are unable to maneuver because of the work they are doing i.e. Fishing.