Searching through fog with battlecruisers

In poor visibility, six fast battlecruisers try to form a line-abreast search formation. Their speed drops so lagging ships can catch up before the group moves forward again. The result is an improvised staggered V rather than the intended textbook line, while the enemy uses the fog bank to avoid detection. Visibility, formation keeping, scouting width, and speed control become parts of the same tactical problem.