I had a VERY creepy trip back to base few minutes ago... I play with sobers mod list and with real navigation. It was night (and heavy fog, but did not realize it then cause I could see the stars and the moon clearly). I was approaching my next course change and dropped to tc1. First I had this weird sensation on the bridge... I could hear seaguls and then spotted them flying near. Apparently I was near land, but could not see anything, and according to last fix, I've should have been far away of any shore. Watching through my binoculars and then I see something different in the wave patterns, like a ships tailwaves or something... And then suddenly I realize they are waves crashing to the shore, just in front of my boat. BACK EMERGENCY! Scared to death. Thought how on earth night is so dark I cannot see anything and how the navigator was so wrong with the fix. I still could see the moon and stars clearly.
OK, I continued near Kiel, but had to stop and wait till morning because still I could not see anything, I didn't dare to aproach too near the land. My watch crew updated me with contacts, but I could not see most of them...
Then at the morning the situation wasn't any better, fog was so thick I felt I could actually see less. Many times I was near to crash to the land and later to the concrete walls and other ships and it took about an hour to find my way through the port. That was hardest docking I've ever had on my shorty career.
But after reading these last posts I realized, that it was actually this fog that was causing the trouble at night. Thanks for the info very much.
And I have to say, that homecoming was AWESOME.
