I had to be down South Monday morning. When I planned the trip the forecast was good but going to sleep Sunday it was calling for Fog. At 7 AM it was Foggy with 1/4 mile and 200'. JAX was calling it 100'. Saint Augustine was clear so I knew I had a good alternate if I could get out. And yes, under part 91, legally I could depart in this weather.
I took my time and ended up at the airport at 8:00. At the house it was foggy but heading up the highway it was clear until I got near the airport and then it was foggy. The fog often clears quickly so after snapping a few pictures, I started getting the plane ready.
We got a slight breeze about 8:20 and parts of the field started clearing, I also heard a few departures. At 8:24 it was clear at my hangar but not the runways and after being able to see the golf course, it had once again become hidden in a blanket of fog.
While I had a strong desire to get going, I reminded myself that the NTSB will most likely investigate your fog based accident under blue clear skies. I took a short walk down the taxiway to better assess the conditions and stretch my legs. After watching a bit I saw that the North West side of the field was possibly worse but that like my hangar, runway 23 was clear.
Satisfied I had a way out, I fired up, grabbed my clearance and requested a 23 departure. Winds were 320 at 4 so it was a bit of a crosswind but not really. Lining up for departure, there was a wall of fog at the departure end of 32. Ahead of me I had better than 6 miles visibility and no clouds. I had a clear runway I could return to just in case as well.
On departure I could see the fog bank covering the from the end of 32 to the river. It was not thick and likely on departure would have been in the fog only 10-15 seconds. Though I had a VMC departure, enroute, I did get to cloud surf a bit until the skies cleared South of Saint Augustine. I was a few minutes behind schedule but I was happy with my decisions.
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