"The aids to navigation depicted on charts comprise a system of fixed and floating aids with varying degrees of reliability. Therefore, prudent mariners will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly a floating aid." So begins a common warning on the Coast Guard's Notice to Mariners and other publications. Sailors tend to keep track of where they are by a variety of means. Perhaps the most familiar are the paper charts issued by NOAA, but with the increasing functionality and decreasing prices of GPS chart plotters, some mariners rely on it exclusively. Of course, there are still the old salts who use an eyeball, compass, and log to get from Point A to Point B. What is your principal means of navigation? Do you have a backup plan? Do you take to heart the Coast Guard warning about not relying on only one form of navaid? Have you ever had any problems with the navigation means you rely on? Just how reliable are those navaids anyway? Tell us how you navigate and then take the Quick Quiz on the homepage. (Discussion topic and quiz by Warren Milberg)
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I Love My Chartplotter
Ironically, because of my chart plotter, I have become very dependant on it. I do keep a full compliment of charts on board which I reference quite frequently. I have maintained my course plotting practice. But, now, I find that I seldom use the compass because it is part of the plotter and seems to be more accurate. This summer I had a prime example of solely using the plotter. My friend in Maine has the same plotter as I do and he keeps his chips updated. We were in pea soup fog on the Maine coast utilizing the plotter and RADAR. Our friend, who was following us, radioed and said that the nun we were looking for (it marked a ledge) was just to our starboard. We were confused since we had no idea that it was there because it was neither on the paper chart OR the electronic chart. On RADAR, we thought it was the exposed ledge and we were standing off of it in deep water. Our friend had it on his updated electronic chart (he had a different make/model/chip of chart plotter). Moral: NEVER reply solely on anything being updated.
Ironically, because of my chart plotter, I have become very dependant on it. I do keep a full compliment of charts on board which I reference quite frequently. I have maintained my course plotting practice. But, now, I find that I seldom use the compass because it is part of the plotter and seems to be more accurate. This summer I had a prime example of solely using the plotter. My friend in Maine has the same plotter as I do and he keeps his chips updated. We were in pea soup fog on the Maine coast utilizing the plotter and RADAR. Our friend, who was following us, radioed and said that the nun we were looking for (it marked a ledge) was just to our starboard. We were confused since we had no idea that it was there because it was neither on the paper chart OR the electronic chart. On RADAR, we thought it was the exposed ledge and we were standing off of it in deep water. Our friend had it on his updated electronic chart (he had a different make/model/chip of chart plotter). Moral: NEVER reply solely on anything being updated.
A mixed bag
I generally rely on my handheld GPS (just the basic, not color or mapping) as well as old fashioned charts. We keep to a fairly limited cruising area, and I know the area well, so I do a lot of eyeballing. I have several significant waypoints recorded on the GPS, such as the entry to our channel, several favorite anchorages, several gas rigs and oyster reefs, etc. When we leave our home area, I rely on the GPS and paper charts.
I generally rely on my handheld GPS (just the basic, not color or mapping) as well as old fashioned charts. We keep to a fairly limited cruising area, and I know the area well, so I do a lot of eyeballing. I have several significant waypoints recorded on the GPS, such as the entry to our channel, several favorite anchorages, several gas rigs and oyster reefs, etc. When we leave our home area, I rely on the GPS and paper charts.
GPS/Laptop/The Cap'n
Yes, I use my eyes. I have paper charts for backup, but I have never had to use them because I have never been misled by the Cap'n. I have even customized some of my electronic charts to provide additional information that isn't on the paper charts. On a trip of more than 300 miles I had to alter course to avoid hitting the sea bouy at the entrance of the destination pass. Wanna try that with your sextant? Oh, by the way, it was raining or at least overcast for the entire trip. Nothing can cure stupid, but GPS charting sure gets close.
Yes, I use my eyes. I have paper charts for backup, but I have never had to use them because I have never been misled by the Cap'n. I have even customized some of my electronic charts to provide additional information that isn't on the paper charts. On a trip of more than 300 miles I had to alter course to avoid hitting the sea bouy at the entrance of the destination pass. Wanna try that with your sextant? Oh, by the way, it was raining or at least overcast for the entire trip. Nothing can cure stupid, but GPS charting sure gets close.
Speaking of stupid,
that is my greatest fear. Of doing something stupid that is. If I crash with this setup I can't ever show my face again!
that is my greatest fear. Of doing something stupid that is. If I crash with this setup I can't ever show my face again!
They're out in the cockpit.
And I'm looking a plotters. Also have a redundant laptop. Oh, and local knowledge.
And I'm looking a plotters. Also have a redundant laptop. Oh, and local knowledge.
I tend to us...
... a variety of navigation means. If I'm out for a daysail, I can mostly eyeball where I'm going. I hardly ever use, or need, a chart in those cases. When I'm off on a cruise, I use the charts and a GPS. In a fog or reduced visibility, the GPS in my principal nav tools. I'd love to have a chart plotter, but the budget can't take the hit right now. The Coasties are right about not relying on only one form of navaid. If you pick your waypoints off a chart, for example, don't be surprised to find they are not quite where you think they are when you are on the water looking for them. Mother Nature and the USCG do in fact move these suckers around....
... a variety of navigation means. If I'm out for a daysail, I can mostly eyeball where I'm going. I hardly ever use, or need, a chart in those cases. When I'm off on a cruise, I use the charts and a GPS. In a fog or reduced visibility, the GPS in my principal nav tools. I'd love to have a chart plotter, but the budget can't take the hit right now. The Coasties are right about not relying on only one form of navaid. If you pick your waypoints off a chart, for example, don't be surprised to find they are not quite where you think they are when you are on the water looking for them. Mother Nature and the USCG do in fact move these suckers around....
Eyeballs and charts
Eyeballs and NOAA charts are enough for me and my little daysailor. Large lakes, Cape Cod Bay, Long Island Sound... As I don't do wide open sailing, charts are all I need. I would add to the list of high and low tech aids, the following: Local knowledge - getting to know the area from the "natives" is very helpful. You get not only info on the waters, but also the "street smarts" regarding anchorages, currents, traffic - and don't forget, restaurants! ;-)
Eyeballs and NOAA charts are enough for me and my little daysailor. Large lakes, Cape Cod Bay, Long Island Sound... As I don't do wide open sailing, charts are all I need. I would add to the list of high and low tech aids, the following: Local knowledge - getting to know the area from the "natives" is very helpful. You get not only info on the waters, but also the "street smarts" regarding anchorages, currents, traffic - and don't forget, restaurants! ;-)
When the Battery is dead !!
As a long time instructor in near coastal navigation (marine weather and celestial navigaton too, if anyone is really interested), the first question asked of me in each new class is: "why do we need to know how to use paper charts ?" Of course, the questioner is almost always a new user of GPS or Loran and does not realize that these "tried and true" (?) electronic methodologies are dumb devices as neither keeps watch or lookout nor do they look under the water. My response simply is: "what will you do when your battery dies ?" and: "try following the GPS plotted course line from Quincy Bay to Provincetown without running aground as you attempt to cross over dry land in Allerton"
As a long time instructor in near coastal navigation (marine weather and celestial navigaton too, if anyone is really interested), the first question asked of me in each new class is: "why do we need to know how to use paper charts ?" Of course, the questioner is almost always a new user of GPS or Loran and does not realize that these "tried and true" (?) electronic methodologies are dumb devices as neither keeps watch or lookout nor do they look under the water. My response simply is: "what will you do when your battery dies ?" and: "try following the GPS plotted course line from Quincy Bay to Provincetown without running aground as you attempt to cross over dry land in Allerton"
When I can see something besides water,
it's mostly "seaman's eye" and I check the GPS occasionally to make sure we pretty much agree. If I can't see where I'm going I get my heading from a GPS waypoint, check against the chart for agreement and we're off. Always have to have the chart in my hand when entering a strange harbor. Even without all the electronics I bet Fred knows where he is almost all the time just by lookin' around.
it's mostly "seaman's eye" and I check the GPS occasionally to make sure we pretty much agree. If I can't see where I'm going I get my heading from a GPS waypoint, check against the chart for agreement and we're off. Always have to have the chart in my hand when entering a strange harbor. Even without all the electronics I bet Fred knows where he is almost all the time just by lookin' around.
Chartplotter Solely, No
Have seen Islands and canal entrances move throught the years mostly as a result of storms where sand is picked up from one place and deposited on another one. Depth readings also change. Some of these movements occur faster than charts are updated. In the Bahamas charted islands could be off by hundreds of yards. Be cautious in unfamiliar waters with low visibility. Chartplotters are great when combined with local knowledge and or tested waypoints. Under other conditions run checks with alternative navigartion method. Nevertheless these water resistant chartplotters out in the cockpit where you need them are a blessing.
Have seen Islands and canal entrances move throught the years mostly as a result of storms where sand is picked up from one place and deposited on another one. Depth readings also change. Some of these movements occur faster than charts are updated. In the Bahamas charted islands could be off by hundreds of yards. Be cautious in unfamiliar waters with low visibility. Chartplotters are great when combined with local knowledge and or tested waypoints. Under other conditions run checks with alternative navigartion method. Nevertheless these water resistant chartplotters out in the cockpit where you need them are a blessing.
IF IT RUNS ON ELECTRONS - IT WILL FAIL!,
So ... have a set of paper charts and know how to use them in concert with your compass. Pay attention to where you are at all times and how you got there. From personal experience; we were racing on Monterey Bay when the fog dropped hard and visibility went to near zero, AND it was dusk.. no problem .. reverse course on the gps and go home .. WRONG !! the gps memory battery chose this moment to fail.. the GPS showed us 3000 miles away from the harbor, on course with an estimated arrival sometime next month!! It could not aquire satellites. Of 6 people on board (all experienced sailors and racers) only I knew where we were in relation to the harbor and what course to take home. It took a forceful argument and my conviction of where we were to convince the crew that I was right. After several hours of motoring in dark fog, the harbor foghorn and light appeared ... about 1/4 mile to port. I had payed attention to our outbound course, speed, time and distant landmarks and was able to dead-recon our course home. (A pile of luck thrown in) I now have backup gps as well as hand-held bearing compass and charts charts charts.....dont leave home without them!
So ... have a set of paper charts and know how to use them in concert with your compass. Pay attention to where you are at all times and how you got there. From personal experience; we were racing on Monterey Bay when the fog dropped hard and visibility went to near zero, AND it was dusk.. no problem .. reverse course on the gps and go home .. WRONG !! the gps memory battery chose this moment to fail.. the GPS showed us 3000 miles away from the harbor, on course with an estimated arrival sometime next month!! It could not aquire satellites. Of 6 people on board (all experienced sailors and racers) only I knew where we were in relation to the harbor and what course to take home. It took a forceful argument and my conviction of where we were to convince the crew that I was right. After several hours of motoring in dark fog, the harbor foghorn and light appeared ... about 1/4 mile to port. I had payed attention to our outbound course, speed, time and distant landmarks and was able to dead-recon our course home. (A pile of luck thrown in) I now have backup gps as well as hand-held bearing compass and charts charts charts.....dont leave home without them!
IF IT RUNS ON NUERONS IT TOO WILL FAIL
How many hairbrained things have you seen another human being do ! Many of us need Electrons backing up their Nuerons.
How many hairbrained things have you seen another human being do ! Many of us need Electrons backing up their Nuerons.
As a matter of course
The Chart Plotter, VHF (on CH16), and the depth finder are always on when we are underway. I will admit to liberal use of the squelch, but I will hear you if you hail me from close by. On day sails, I may never look at the chart plotter, but it is there (with my exact possition) if I need it. Yes I have a back-up, hand held, and extra batteries. Mirage is also equiped with a nice Furuno Radar system that has been of great comfort on dark nights and foggy mornings. On any voyage long enough to require watches, we plot our course, in pencil, on a paper chart. New mark every two or three hours depending on watch changes or Tacks. Remmember Lecky's Wrinkles: "There is nothing so distressing as running ashore, unless there is also doubt as to which continent the shore belongs"
The Chart Plotter, VHF (on CH16), and the depth finder are always on when we are underway. I will admit to liberal use of the squelch, but I will hear you if you hail me from close by. On day sails, I may never look at the chart plotter, but it is there (with my exact possition) if I need it. Yes I have a back-up, hand held, and extra batteries. Mirage is also equiped with a nice Furuno Radar system that has been of great comfort on dark nights and foggy mornings. On any voyage long enough to require watches, we plot our course, in pencil, on a paper chart. New mark every two or three hours depending on watch changes or Tacks. Remmember Lecky's Wrinkles: "There is nothing so distressing as running ashore, unless there is also doubt as to which continent the shore belongs"
paper trail...
I carry a couple of GPS sets, but still get my courses from paper charts. At the pretty much average speed of six knots around Seattle, time is not a problem. It is a minor inconvenience. The Coast Guard is now going to all eloctronic charts, with no paper backup, but it would make me nervous. On a related subject, I notice a tendency of folks using plotters a tendency to not look around when underway. Many years ago, in aviation, I was taught to not place too much reliance on one instrument. That's worked well.
I carry a couple of GPS sets, but still get my courses from paper charts. At the pretty much average speed of six knots around Seattle, time is not a problem. It is a minor inconvenience. The Coast Guard is now going to all eloctronic charts, with no paper backup, but it would make me nervous. On a related subject, I notice a tendency of folks using plotters a tendency to not look around when underway. Many years ago, in aviation, I was taught to not place too much reliance on one instrument. That's worked well.
Redundancy is the key to safety
It is trite knowledge that equipment redundancy is the key to safe navigation. Yet, it cannot be overemphasized. I carry paper charts and use a charplotter; but I continuously make a mental note, based on the compass, of the heading to follow to a safe place along the coast, should the charplotter breakdown in fog or at night. I double-check charplotter readings against depthmeter readings and chart soundings. BUT, THE THING I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE MOST (when and if I can afford it) is good radar, since most of our cruising on our Beneteau 323 is within 10 to 15 miles from the coast, sometimes in congested areas I also carry a laptop on board loaded with raster charts, since I can't get enough detailed paper charts to cover all the areas we pass by. We do, though, have more general (larger scale) paper charts for the waters we cross. Another must, is a detailed paper logbook in which to record every 15 minutes or so, the time, position, speed, drift and heading of our Beneteau. Dead reckoning is always something to revert to when all electronics fail. Also on my list of future additions, is a battery operated GPS that doesn't depend on the sailboat's electrical system. Does anyone now why the good old Direction Finder radio which could lock on to any known shore radio station is no longer in vogue and with which one could obtain a fix with cross-bearings? Steve
It is trite knowledge that equipment redundancy is the key to safe navigation. Yet, it cannot be overemphasized. I carry paper charts and use a charplotter; but I continuously make a mental note, based on the compass, of the heading to follow to a safe place along the coast, should the charplotter breakdown in fog or at night. I double-check charplotter readings against depthmeter readings and chart soundings. BUT, THE THING I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE MOST (when and if I can afford it) is good radar, since most of our cruising on our Beneteau 323 is within 10 to 15 miles from the coast, sometimes in congested areas I also carry a laptop on board loaded with raster charts, since I can't get enough detailed paper charts to cover all the areas we pass by. We do, though, have more general (larger scale) paper charts for the waters we cross. Another must, is a detailed paper logbook in which to record every 15 minutes or so, the time, position, speed, drift and heading of our Beneteau. Dead reckoning is always something to revert to when all electronics fail. Also on my list of future additions, is a battery operated GPS that doesn't depend on the sailboat's electrical system. Does anyone now why the good old Direction Finder radio which could lock on to any known shore radio station is no longer in vogue and with which one could obtain a fix with cross-bearings? Steve
I'm utilizing my "Gifts."
Like most of my fellow sailors, I use my compass for navigation more than any single device. But my son gifted me with a Navman Chart Plotter and it has been a wonderful tool! I love it! Bill on STARGAZER
Like most of my fellow sailors, I use my compass for navigation more than any single device. But my son gifted me with a Navman Chart Plotter and it has been a wonderful tool! I love it! Bill on STARGAZER
Why not an ADF?
Steve, I would suspect that the old ADF locking onto a commercial radio station is not sexy enough anymore. What with LORAN and GPS providing instant positioning, ADF has become a relic. Homing in on a dedicated ADF beacon is one thing, but listening to country and western music for 30 minutes before a station identifies itself is a treat unto its own. Further, the reliability of the station access got to be pretty dicey down at the low end of the frequency range, as I recall. Regardless, it would work just fine for anyone doing 6 and 7 knots. Bob PS I've got an old Bendix sitting on a shelf in my hanger that will go cheap if you're interested! Good luck and good winds. Rgh
Steve, I would suspect that the old ADF locking onto a commercial radio station is not sexy enough anymore. What with LORAN and GPS providing instant positioning, ADF has become a relic. Homing in on a dedicated ADF beacon is one thing, but listening to country and western music for 30 minutes before a station identifies itself is a treat unto its own. Further, the reliability of the station access got to be pretty dicey down at the low end of the frequency range, as I recall. Regardless, it would work just fine for anyone doing 6 and 7 knots. Bob PS I've got an old Bendix sitting on a shelf in my hanger that will go cheap if you're interested! Good luck and good winds. Rgh
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