Grand Banks of Newfoundland get the following definition in the Admirality Sailing Directions for Newfoundland and Labrador: "The Grand Banks of Newfoundland and its adjacent waters has the destinction of being one of the largest and most persistent areas for sea fog in the world. The fog is often dense and frequently extends over large areas in summer. Most of the fogs in the area are sea fogs and are caused by warm moist air from the Gulf Stream moving North and condensing as it passes over the cold Labrador Current. The combination of dense fog and icebergs within this area is especially dangerous for shipping. May and June are the peak months for icebergs when the retreating pack ice releases many of those carried South by the Labrador Current, but icebergs can be present in any month of the year."
Icebergs indeed. The place where Titanic sank is not far from the Grand Banks. If Titanic had headed straight with the bow first towards the iceberg instead of trying to avoid it and that way exposing her vulnerable side to it the whole tragedy could have been avoided. Lower speed in waters known for icebergs would not have been a bad idea either. Esperanza has a massive steel bow and is an ice class A1 vessel but I would still rather not like to see her against an iceberg. Therefore we are keeping a close watch for anything unusual in the water as long as we are in an area known for navigational hazards such as ice. There has actually been one sighting of ice this week. Although the growler (as a small floating piece of ice is called) was not that big the situation was nevertheless taken seriously. The only problem with keeping an eye out for ice is poor visibility caused by - surprise - the Grand Banks fog.
It has been several mornings this week that the whole crew has woken up to a blank whiteness outside. Sometimes the fog has come in patches, other times it has surrounded us the whole night. When sailing in darkness with the visibility down to "I can't see the forward mast" the radar becomes a valuable tool. To an unexperienced radar observer such as myself the false echoes and the disturbance on the screen make it look like a blur one should not attempt to navigate through in close to zero visibility. Was that an iceberg? Do whales show in the radar? Why does that spot show on this radar but not the other one? A more experienced sailor is able to filter out the fishing vessels lined up along the edge of the Grand Banks. The fog is also present daytime, and whenever the rays of the sun penetrate the drizzly moist air the sea gets a magnificient azure colour. And there come the dolphins hopping on the surface, the spray of the humpback whale and the steady movement of a flock of pilot whales moving past the Esperanza, maybe looking for a tasty lunch in the waters of the Grand Banks.
