THE HARBOR COLUMN:Boating in weather

Ahoy.

If you plan to cruise the ocean this weekend, keep an eye to the north as good-sized swells are rolling down the Pacific coast and the ocean can be a little bumpy with a mixed set. I would not suggest a trip to Point Conception this weekend; however, locally, I am predicting 3- to 4-foot swells with a slight breeze off our coast. And once the fog burns off we will have sunshine. Those seeking to drop a hook in the ocean should be cautious heading to the outer waters.

Speaking of fog, do you know the law for how fast you can go in fog and what fog signals to sound while boating? I have heard urban legends like you must be able to stop your boat in half the distance you can see.

Many of you may remember a speed boat race held years ago out of Dana Point Harbor, and it was really foggy. At the time, I was delivering a mega-yacht in the area, and I could hear these muscle machines flying past while my radar screen was peppered with targets. Oh, did I mention the dense fog?

Then my boat’s radio broke silence as pleasure boaters started to radio the Coast Guard about very fast boats extremely close to their boats, but hidden in the fog. A few boaters reported that racers were stopping to ask their location since these race boats are not equipped with radar. This is an example of bad seamanship and not adhering to maritime law.

How fast can you go in your boat while in inclement conditions — and by inclement conditions I mean fog, rain, snow storm, or any condition where visibility is restricted? You can only cruise at a safe speed that will allow you to stop in time to avoid a collision. It is up to the skipper to determine safe speed for the conditions at the time especially when traveling inside Newport Harbor. When underway in fog, the whistle signal is one prolonged blast every two minutes, and if anchored outside an anchorage then rapid ringing of the ships bell for five seconds every minute. Who knows the fog signal for a vessel that is aground in the fog?

This week a question comes via e-mail: “Why do some boats have registration numbers on the bow and other boats have the boat’s name displayed?” Good question — and many boaters are unaware of two methods to register a vessel.

Almost all watercraft — whether a boat, vessel, ship, raft, dinghy, etc. — must be registered with the U.S. Coast Guard or the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. The few exceptions that do not require licensing are, for example, a small sabot sailboat without an engine attached, a canoe-type vessel powered only by oars and some tender vessels to ships.

Vessels with the numbers displayed on the bow are typically boats under 40 feet and are used solely for recreational cruising within U.S. waters. In California, we call these vessels CF’d registration — CF meaning California.

Larger boats, ships and all commercial vessels are typically documented with the Coast Guard and do not typically display any numbers. These boats have a documentation number, and use the vessel’s name and hailing port for identification.

So when do you document versus CF? If your vessel is over five gross tons (internal size calculations not the actual vessel weight), used for commercial purposes or travel internationally, documentation is for you. If you only sail in Newport Harbor, then CF is just fine. It is common to have your 65-foot yacht documented with the Coast Guard, and the dinghy carried onboard will be CF’d with the state.

Tune in to “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on KLAA-AM (830) from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Safe voyages.