A scary cat, why we love AIS

Call me a scaredy cat, but I vividly remember a morning watch motoring in thick fog toward Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, knowing that a sister ship to this ferry would soon overtake us at high speed, fog be damned. I was aboard a 42’ sloop with a dinky 12” radar scanner and a questionable radar reflector (they all are), and I was picturing one of those bows piercing something other than waves! That was maybe six years ago, and I don’t think I’d even heard of AIS yet. If I’d been out there this morning—instead of simulating a voyage using The Capn and live AIS targets (note the CPA graphic)—look at all the information I could have had! Panbo already has a prodigious collection of AIS entries, but there’s lots happening, so brace yourselves for a few more.