Solo Sailor - AIS - V60B Thoughts?

[Seven Spades]

Last summer we crossed from Camaret to Helford in thick fog. There was no poing in being on deck as you could not see further than the bow. We used both the AIS and radar and every vessel we picked up was broadcasting AIS except one stealthy fishing boat.

The previous year we crossed the Irish sea, Cork to Falmouth and when we left Cork we never saw another vessel on the AIS although we picked up beacons until we approached the shipping lanes and north of the Isles of Scilly. During the night We say a very feint red light, no AIS and did not pick it up on radar. The boat was not broadcasting AIS and it probably had one of those useless tube radar reflectors. At night in pitch blackness it is very difficult to detect distance, it passed within two boat lengths it was a very unnerving moment.

Consequently I woudl strongly recommend a transponder is fitted. We have fitted a Digital Yacht AIS unit, it has its own independent GPS mushroom and works really well.

My main complaint about AIS is with Raymarine. If you bring up a page of AIS targets it lists them in order of distance from the boat. I would also like to be able to sort the list to look at CPA's so that I can easily see any vessels I need to be concerned about.

 

[rotrax]

I find the above quite disconcerting.

Did you take no avoiding action so the passing distance was far greater than two boat lengths?

If you had visual with the Mk1 eyeball of its red nav lamp, it must have been possible to judge the speed and distance of the other vessel. IMHO, of course.

Your last para, we use our 'old school' Raymarine E120 very simply, we dont use many of its functions.

The AIS Targets shown on screen, when clicked on, give all the info we need.

We quickly become aware of compromising situations regarding CPA and deal with them.

A list would be of absolutely no use to me as a list sounds like it is not 'real time'. Using screen targets it is easy to be aware of the changing situation. Or so we find after fifteen years of using Raymarine AIS equiped plotters.

We regularly do the passages you mention. The EW/WE shipping lanes crossing the channel can be very busy. Important to be 'on the ball' there.

Conversely, crossing from Cornwall/Scillies to Cork/Kilmore Quay/Baltimore is usually very quiet by comparison. Mostly fishing vessels, the odd commercial vessel and sometimes a ferry. We did have some contact with a Survey vessel who was towing an underwater array. The 'Securite' message and contact with their bridge by VHF soon had our course and speed changed so we did not compromise their work.