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fairbank56 · 03-06-2011, 09:50

Here's a taste of what it will be like as more and more recreational boaters add AIS transponders to there electronics suite. This is a sailboat race in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay off of Annapolis. Looks like flies on poop

And here's the live scene with tracks and headings from my live AIS monitoring station.

MarkJ · 03-06-2011, 10:24

I wonder if its a good racing strategy to tell the oposition how fast you are going and your course?

I think I would turn it off while iI plan a way to cheat to first place

aquarian · 03-06-2011, 10:29

LOL!! Your a hoot MarkJ! But you're right.

jackdale · 03-06-2011, 10:39

This may why I have recommendations for dedicated AIS receivers.

Unicorn Dreams · 03-06-2011, 15:48

What a mess to decipher if there's an accident...

**David M** · 03-06-2011, 16:02

Having AIS is no excuse for not looking out on the water...try that when you have too many contacts.

gcaptain · 03-06-2011, 21:45

Just wait until people start adopting AIS-SARTS and accidentally set them off. The Coast Guard says there are about 3000 false EPIRB alerts per year but few of them cause us cruisers any grief (we rarely even hear about them). But what happens when these false alarms start showing up on our nav consoles?

Bash · 03-06-2011, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I wonder if its a good racing strategy to tell the oposition how fast you are going and your course?

I think I would turn it off while iI plan a way to cheat to first place

Turning it off would not make much difference, these days. Even if you are not transponding AIS, I can select you as a MARPA target at the start line, and get your course and speed throughout the race via radar.

**Paul Elliott** · 03-06-2011, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcaptain

Just wait until people start adopting AIS-SARTS and accidentally set them off. The Coast Guard says there are about 3000 false EPIRB alerts per year but few of them cause us cruisers any grief (we rarely even hear about them). But what happens when these false alarms start showing up on our nav consoles?

It would sure be a shame to have to have to try to rescue someone who might possibly not need rescuing, right?

I just don't see the big problem here. If you're in close quarters with a bunch of other boats, AIS-transmitting or not, you use your eyeballs, ears, radar, AIS, whatever is appropriate. Besides, the AIS charts fairbank56 posted are zoomed out pretty far, and I think that anyone using AIS for collision-avoidance would be zoomed in.

What's a big ship supposed to do when there are a clump of sailboats ahead, their AIS positions cluttering the nav screen? It's going to do what it did before AIS: keep a lookout and give five blasts on the horn if any of them get too close. How is having them show up on AIS any worse than having them not show up?

As for false AIS SART alarms, don't you ever listen to your VHF? Every day there are requests for help, and occasional false alarms. When I hear these I respond or not depending on where I am and if other help is on the way. I don't think the occasional false alarm via AIS will be any different.

Am I being stupid?

fairbank56 · 04-06-2011, 19:19

I just realized after reading the paper this morning, that this AIS cluster was spectators and possibly some participants, at the start of the Annapolis to Newport race.

Eric

Donner74 · 23-06-2011, 09:05

This is such a great example of where filtering on an AIS display is key and why I love mine. Some units I looked at just show it all like the pictures you posted ... which is just a mess, but when you filter by the vessels that pose a collision risk, the picture's a lot clearer!

bbbbbguy · 11-07-2011, 09:28

Like all the electronics on my boat... they all have a purpose. My AIS 500 exists so I don't end up with my rigging hanging from a supertanker anchor. Know when to use a particular instrument. If you are in your home port, do you use your Imersat or your cell? They have two distinct purposes. I view my AIS as an addition for crew on watch. I don't know why the spectators would have their AIS active. My AIS is used for limited vis, near commercial trafic, or in open water. The rest of the time, its off.

**s/v Jedi** · 11-07-2011, 20:43

Panama Canal approach, Atlantic side... incoming! :-)

ps. here you see the software indicating the danger zone in red.

ciao!
Nick.

Catamount · 12-07-2011, 05:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbbbguy

I don't know why the spectators would have their AIS active. My AIS is used for limited vis, near commercial trafic, or in open water. The rest of the time, its off.

A lot of boats just leave their AIS transmitters on all the time, even when at anchor, on their mooring, or in their berth! Visit a place like Newport, RI -- or it the OP had zoomed in on the harbor area at Annapolis...

Other boats just routinely turn on their AIS transmitters whenever they get underway, regardless of the conditions or "necessity" of doing so.