Last night I was tracking a Granville (heading SSW away from the Shetlands probably making for Edinburgh or somewhere) at extreme range on the surface,it was late morning,weather was clear with a slight wind.I consulted my watch officer and we were 0ver 8000m away (just visible through the binos) and moving parallel to its course.At regular intervals as we started to draw level I adjusted our course away then back on course to keep us roughly at the same distance apart.After around 30mins we drew level and I started to get a fix on his speed,when I noticed the Granville had started to zig zag,evident that we had been sighted!.This is not a problem,as we will pull off into the distance out of sight and continue with our interception knowing that he should return to his original course after an hr or so as he thinks the threat has passed.I plan to darken his days in 2 hours time.
Now I dont have a problem with being detected at such extreme range as it will allow me to adjust my game to conpensate for this forcing me to track at even greater range in daylight or even going decks awash,I just wondered if it would appear NORMAL for him to spot us at that range with such a low profile,this was not a military vessel with dedicated lookouts and radar capability.
This very rarely happens and may just be one of those 'lucky' moments,for him that is.
