they aren't looking at anything when they are fishing, and are otherwise usually keeping a good lookout underway. I'm concerned about ships. These are required by law to have both AIS and radar. The only ships that have consistently responded to me on VHF have been cruise ships. Others sometimes, sometimes not. From some of the responses, my guess is that there may be no one on the bridge that speaks English, even if they hear my call.

In congested areas, I try to keep a good lookout. The two most congested so far have happened to be in the middle of the night: rounding Cape Sable, NS, and the Northwest Providence channel, Bahamas. Maybe 10 - 15 ships going all directions in sight at any moment. I can reliably see ships on my radar, and on my AIS receiver (for those with AIS - most of them). In less congested areas, most small crews really can't keep a vigilant lookout 24/7. You are then depending on electronic aids and the Large Ocean theory. While the radar can be used to ID and track targets when actively operated, in my experience it cannot be relied upon in bad weather for its automated collision avoidance (comic book alarm) features. It also takes significant power. The AIS is much more reliable, provided the other vessel has an operating one.

Assuming the ship's watch is like me, the AIS has become the go to device. That's why I am upgrading from a receiver to a Class B transponder. However if the ship's watch is still depending primarily on radar, there is no doubt at all that a transponder provides a larger, more reliable return than a passive reflector (which sometimes is worse than nothing). Tests done after the Ouzo was lost in the English Channel by the MAIB proved that a small sailboat can easily be invisible to ship's radar until collision is unavoidable.

"Finally, it is essential for yachtsmen to be aware that, notwithstanding the type of radar reflector fitted, in certain circumstances their craft may still not be readily visible on ships’ radars and thus they should always navigate with caution." - MAIB test report

Other interesting tidbits from the report:

"It is recommended that poorly performing radar reflectors are not fitted as it is possible that the user could be lulled into a false sense of security believing that their chances of detection has been enhanced."

"The Sea-Me is the recommended product if power is available"

When I installed my SeaMe, it was only available in X band, even though it was known that big ships rely more on S band away from shore. Since X band is what yachts and fishing boats have, that covers them as well. Now that dual band transponders are available, that is the obvious choice for offshore. But the question remains: in the last couple of years, what does the ship's watch look at in practice?