International

Yacht
Training ®
W O R L D W I D E

Navigation Master

A R C T I C O C E A N
75°N
Ust-Olenek Barrow
Khatanga GREENLAND
Volochanka Alta Murmansk Antipayuta
Batagay Belaja Gora
Fort Yukon ICELAND Igarka
SWEDEN Vorkuta
Nome Port Radium NORWAY
Sangar Fairbanks Baker Lake Nuuk Archangelsk
Mirnyj Reykjavik FINLAND
RUSSIA Anchorage Rankin Inlet Torshavn Syktyvkar RUSSIA Nizhnevartovsk
Jakutsk
Magadan 60°N Oslo Helsinki
Vologda
Cordova Fort Chipewyan Churchill Novgorod Kirov
Juneau Inukjuak Stockholm ESTONIA Perm
Bodaybo Jaroslavl
Fort McMurray LATVIA Sverdlovsk
Krasnojarsk DENMARK Gorkiy
Dawson Creek Moscow Chelyabinsk
Bratsk LITHUANIA Ufa Omsk
Thompson U. K. Copenhagen Minsk Kazan
Grande Prairie Flin Flon Novosibirsk
Prince Rupert Dublin NETH. Orol Tol Yatti Rudnyy
Irkutsk Unalaska CANADA Labrador City Berlin POLAND
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskij Red Deer IRELAND London BELARUS Voronez Saratov Atbassar
Ulan Ude Saskatoon Moosonee Cork Warsaw
GERMANY Kiev
Calgary BELGIUM Lviv Qaraghandy
Vancouver Brandon LUX. CZECH Aktyubinsk
Khabarovsk Timmins Amos Paris SLOVAKIA
Hovd Ulaanbaatar Spokane UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN
Qiqihar Williston Nantes AUSTRIA Balqash
Altay Juzno Sachalinsk Seattle Duluth SWITZ. HUNGARY MOLDOVA Aralsk
Harbin
MONGOLIA Jixi
Butte Minneapolis 45°N Ottawa FRANCE SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA Krasnodar
Portland ITALY Bucharest Karamay
Dalandzadagad BOSNIA SERBIA

ATLANTIC
Sapporo Bayonne Toulouse Alma Ata
Hami Jilin Milwaukee Detroit
Twin Falls Boston MONTENEGRO BULGARIA UZBEKISTAN
Fuxin Scottsbluff Buffalo GEORGIA Bishkek
Benxi Omaha Chicago Porto Madrid MACEDONIA
Baotou Rome Tashkent KYRGYZSTAN Korla
Yumen Beijing NORTH KOREA Denver Philadelphia Barcelona Ankara ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
Reno Provo Kansas City Baltimore New York PORTUGAL GREECE Kashi
Yinchuan Pyongyang TURKMENISTAN
Washington D. C. Lisbon
SPAIN Izmir TURKEY TAJIKISTAN
Sendai Oakland St. Louis Ashgabat
Xining Taiyuan Seoul San Francisco U. S. A. Ponta Delgada Sevilla Tunis ALBANIA Athens Adana Qiemo
Taian SOUTH KOREA Las Vegas Norfolk Hotan
Golmud Lanzhou Kaifeng Gibraltar Algiers SYRIA Tehran
Qingdao TUNISIA

P A C I F I C
Xian Tokyo Albuquerque Charlotte CYPRUS IRAQ Kabul
Los Angeles
Memphis Rabat Bakhtaran IRAN CHINA
Xuzhou Atlanta Tripoli LEBANON
CHINA JAPAN Tucson Dallas Birmingham MOROCCO Ouargla Baghdad Esfahan AFGHANISTAN Islamabad
Mianyang Hefei San Diego ISRAEL
Basra
BHUTAN Chengdu Huangshi Shanghai Houston 30°N
New Orleans Jacksonville JORDAN
Zigong
Yueyang Ningbo Canary Islands ALGERIA LIBYA Cairo
Shiraz
Multan New Delhi
Shang Rao Tampa KUWAIT NEPAL
Guiyang Wenzhou Sabhah PAKISTAN
Reggane
BANGLADESH Dukou
Fuzhou EGYPT Jaipur Agra
THE BAHAMAS WESTERN Riyadh QATAR
Xiamen Al Jawf Allahabad
Dhaka MEXICO SAHARA
Nanning Shantou Havana Djanet Aswan Ahmadabad
U. A. E. Muscat Calcutta
TAIWAN SAUDI ARABIA
Hanoi
MYANMAR Victoria CUBA Mecca Surat
LAOS Mexico City DOM. REP. MAURITANIA Nagpur
Araouane Bilma
JAMAICA Nouakchott OMAN Bombay
Rangoon Pune Varanasi
Vientiane BELIZE HAITI MALI
VIETNAM NIGER Khartoum ERITREA YEMEN
THAILAND 15°N HONDURAS Praia SENEGAL
Dakar CHAD Asmara INDIA
Bangkok Manila Niamey Sanaa
PHILIPPINES GUATEMALA GAMBIA Bamako
SUDAN Madras
KAMPUCHEA EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA
Phnom Penh BURKINA N'Djamena DJIBOUTI
GUINEA BISSAU GUINEA NIGERIA
PANAMA GHANA BENIN Addis Abbaba
Ho Chi Minh City Caracas Conakry Abuja Cochin
COSTA RICA TOGO SRI
Freetown IVORY Waw
Davao VENEZUELA Georgetown SIERRA LEONE COAST Porto Novo CENTRAL ETHIOPIA LANKA
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
SOMALIA Colombo
Paramaribo
BRUNEI Bogota Monrovia Lome CAMEROON
GUYANA Accra

INDIAN
Kuala Lumpur FRENCH GUIANA LIBERIA Abidjan Bangui
MALAYSIA SURINAME UGANDA
COLOMBIA EQUATORIAL GUINEA Yaounde
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE Mogadishu
105°E
SINGAPORE 120°E 135°E 150°E 165°E 180° 165°W 150°W 135°W 120°W 105°W 90°W ECUADOR
75°W 60°W 45°W 30°W 15°W 0° 15°E ZAIRE Kampala
30°E KENYA 45°E 60°E 75°E
Libreville
Quito GABON Nairobi
RWANDA
Manaus Belem
Fortaleza CONGO
BURUNDI
PAPUA Talara Kinshasa
Jakarta
INDONESIA NEW GUINEA

Port Moresby
Trujillo Porto Velho Cachimbo
Sao Goncalo

Recife OCEAN Luanda

Kananga

Likasi
TANZANIA
Dar es Salaam

BRAZIL Barreiras ANGOLA

Lima
PERU Salvador Huambo
15°S ZAMBIA
Cuiaba Brasilia
La Paz Lusaka
Cairns
Broome FIJI BOLIVIA Goiania Harare
Antananarivo
Port Hedland
Tennant Creek Sucre NAMIBIA ZIMBABWE MALAWI
Mackay Belo Horizonte
Windhoek BOTSWANA MADAGASCAR
Learmonth Campinas Walvis Bay MOZAMBIQUE
Alice Springs PARAGUAY
NEW CALEDONIA Rio De Janeiro Gaborone

OCEAN
Antofagasta
Curitiba Sao Paulo
Carnarvon Asuncion Pretoria
AUSTRALIA Luderitz Maputo
Tolanaro
CHILE Mbabane
Brisbane
SWAZILAND
Geraldton Bourke 30°S ARGENTINA Porto Alegre
Bloemfontein
Kalgoorlie Cook
LESOTHO
SOUTH AFRICA
Perth Santiago Rosario Umtata
URUGUAY
Adelaide
Canberra
Melbourne
Sydney

Auckland
O C E A N Concepcion

Neuquen
Buenos Aires Montevideo
Cape Town Port Elizabeth

Valdivia

NEW ZEALAND Wellington

45°S
Dunedin Comodoro Rivadavia

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Port Stanley SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND

60°S

75°S

The Most Internationally Accepted Certificates In The World

16 Red Ensign Countries, United States Coastguard, Ireland, Marshall Islands, Bahamas & Lebanon

Partner Schools in United States, Ireland, Canada, Croatia, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Caribbean / The Netherlands, Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, Spain, U.K., Gibraltar, Norway, U.A.E, France.,
Egypt, Singapore, Austria, Estonia, Israel, Finland, Ukraine, Montenegro, Latvia, Belarus, Romania, Italy and Switzerland
 INTERNATIONAL YACHT TRAINING WORLDWIDE
TRAINING PROGRAMME

NAVIGATION MASTER

Tuition Notes published by International Yacht Training Worldwide, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval
system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, photocopied, recording
or otherwise, without the written consent of International Yacht Training Worldwide, Inc. .

This publication is for purposes of guidance and training. While every effort has been made to ensure
accuracy, International Yacht Training Worldwide, Inc. is not liable for the consequence of implementing
or attempting to implement any instructions or advice contained within these notes.

Copyright © International Yacht Training Worldwide 2009

 Contents

Pages

1. Introduction 5

2 Chart work instruments 7-8

3 Charts, latitude and longitude 9 - 22

4 Distance, speed, time and direction 23 - 24

5 The magnetic compass, variation and deviation 25 - 32

6 Position lines and position fixes 33 - 44

7 Dead reckoning and estimated positions 45 - 52

8 Tides 53 - 80

9 Currents 91 - 88

10 Course to steer to counteract a current 89 - 94

11 Pilotage 95 - 102

12 Passage Planning 103 - 106

Index 107 - 110



 Introduction

Ierrors
t is interesting to note that 90% of all accidents at sea are caused by human error. Generally these are attributed to
in navigation. It is important that the astute mariner has a full working knowledge and an understanding of the
importance of navigation when in charge of a vessel. It is always important to check and double check your course to
steer when allowing for such forces as tides, currents, wind speed and direction, visibility and other traffic. There is
no substitute for a strong working knowledge of navigation and its complexities.

Threemile Harbor entrance, Gardiners Bay, Long Island Sound, New York
Local time: 2006-02-15 10:38 AM EST



 1
Chart-work Instruments
F ive basic instruments are needed for chart work:
a pencil to draw lines,
an eraser to rub them out,
dividers to measure distances,
a ruler, and
a device, or “plotter”, for measuring angles.

Pencil
Chart work requires a fair amount of drawing and in order to facilitate rubbing out lines pencils with soft leads should
be used. The hardness or softness of a pencil lead is graded in letters and numbers, H for hard and B for soft. A 2B is
softer than a B and is generally considered the best lead for chart work. You can of course use wooden pencils but they
require constant sharpening which means constant searches for something to sharpen them with. After sharpening the
line left by the lead becomes thicker as the point wears down.
By far the best pencils for chart work are the clutch type which are
inexpensive and readily available. Clutch pencils contain spare
leads in the barrel and 2B leads can be bought as refills. Clutch
pencils are available to accept different lead diameters; 0.5mm is the
usual size but 0.7mm is perhaps better. As the diameter of the lead
is constant it does not need sharpening and simply pressing a button
on the pencil gives a new piece of lead when needed.

Dividers
A cheap pair of dividers will do but single handed dividers are nice
and are easy to use. Single handed dividers are so called because
their bow shape enables them to be opened and closed with only one
hand. They are usually made of brass with stainless steel inserts for
the points.
Single handed dividers
Plotters
Many instruments are produced to enable angles to be measured or transferred on the chart. Navigators on ships with
big stable chart tables favour either parallel or rolling rules but both need a totally smooth and steady platform and can
therefore be difficult or even impossible to use in a small boat at sea.

The simplest of all chart instruments is

perhaps the Douglas protractor which
was designed for use by navigators of
aeroplanes during the second world war.
A protractor is usually circular but the
Douglas protractor is square so that its
edges can be used as rulers. The Douglas

Rolling rules

Parallel rules


protractor is inexpensive and virtually indestructible when made of impact resistant
plastic and has no moving parts.

Lots of plotters of varying complexity have been designed specifically for use in
small boats and of these by far the best is the Breton plotter. Designed originally by
Capt. Yvonnick Gueret, from Brittany in northern France, the Breton has been copied,
‘improved’ and renamed by different people.

Square or Douglas
Protractor

The Breton plotter is tough, simple

and quick to use and is recommended
without hesitation for small boat chart
work and navigation. When buying
a Breton type plotter look for large
clear numbers on the protractor and
make sure it is tough and reasonably
flexible.

The Breton type plotter consists of a

rectangular base of transparent flexible
plastic about 14” in length with a
circular protractor mounted so that it
can be rotated about its centre. The
protractor is marked in one degree
increments from 0° to 360° and has a
series of vertical and horizontal grid
lines to facilitate accurate lining up of
the protractor.

Weems and Plath make a similar

plotting instrument called ‘bi-rola
Figure 1.1 Breton plotter
chart protractor’.

Some of the advantages of the Breton type of plotter are that:

• it can be used anywhere on a chart without requiring reference to a compass rose
• it can be used on uneven surfaces and surfaces which are far from horizontal
• it can even be used on a chart held on your knee in the cockpit
• it can be used to lift pilotage directions from chartlets and sailing directions
• it can be used to lift current directions from a current atlas
• it incorporates long straight edges for plotting.
• it is easy to read the bearing due to the large clear numbers on the protractor
• the bearing found or required remains clearly indicated on the protractor and can therefore be checked
when memory causes doubt or fails completely.


 2
Charts, Latitude and Longitude
C harts are maps of the sea bed including adjacent land and its coastline. Charts contain an enormous amount of
information necessary for navigation; this information is conveyed pictorially or in writing. In order to avoid the chart
becoming cluttered written information is often presented in an abbreviated form. You must be able to understand
most of the information presented by the chart and the significance of the abbreviations and symbols at a glance.
Most maritime countries have agencies which produce and maintain hydrographic data and information enabling the
publication of navigational charts. Many small countries do not have their own individual chart publication service but
may supply authoritative coastal and local information to hydrographic agencies of other nations. The International
Hydrographic Organisation is a body which promotes international co-operation between agencies involved in the
production of charts and related publications, thus allowing free circulation of data between countries and nations.
Information from mariners relating to charts, sailing directions and coast pilots is requested and always welcomed by
all hydrographic agencies.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) charts

U.S. charts are published at Washington, D.C., by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in
the Department of Commerce.

The main agencies involved in the production of US nautical charts of interest are:
The National Ocean Service (NOS) who produce charts of the U.S. and its possessions, and the Defense
Mapping Agency Hydrographic/Topographic Center (DMA or DMAHTC) who produce charts of the
oceans and areas other than U.S. territorial waters.

Chart catalogs are available from the publishers and stockists, for example NOS chart catalogs are available, free of
charge, as follows:

Nautical Chart Catalog 1 - the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Nautical Chart Catalog 2 - the Pacific Coast including Hawaii, Guam and Samoa Islands.

Nautical Chart Catalog 3 - Alaska including the Aleutian Islands

Nautical Chart Catalog 4 - the U.S. Great Lakes and Adjacent waterways.

These catalogs show, in pictorial form, the small craft charts, harbor charts, coast charts, general charts and sailing
charts available for the area covered together with their respective chart numbers. Written details are also given of the
title and scale of each chart.

The names, addresses and telephone numbers of US and foreign agents from whom the charts may be obtained are
included together with brief information on other publications such as marine weather services charts, Coast Pilots,
tidal current tables, tide tables and so on.

Other agencies, such as the DMA and National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), also produce charts, maps and
other publications.


British Admiralty charts
BA charts are published by the Hydrographic Office of the British Ministry of Defence and are available from approved
chart agents. BA chart agents will also supply, free of charge the, ‘Home Waters Catalogue’ (NP 109) which is a
catalog of BA north European charts from Denmark to Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast of France. NP109 also lists
other useful BA publications such as tidal stream atlases, pilot books, etc., for the area covered and includes names,
addresses and telephone numbers of chart agents in Ireland and the UK.

A full catalog of all BA charts called ‘Catalogue of Admiralty Charts and other Hydrographic Publications’ (NP 131) is
also available for viewing at every BA chart agent or may be purchased for about $40. Both are published annually.

Small craft charts

Charts intended specifically for use aboard small craft, often called ‘yachtsmen’s charts’ are produced by various chart
publishers. For example International Sailing Supply of Punta Gorda publish their chart #62 of New York Harbour
which is a reproduction of portions of NOAA chart #12327.

Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson Ltd of Cambridgeshire in England publish 48 Imray-Iolaire yachting charts of the
Caribbean Sea. These charts are based on information from British Admiralty charts and ‘other sources’ such as US,
French and Dutch charts together with survey information by Donald M Street Jnr. These charts carry a disclaimer
that “....no national hydrographic office has verified the information in this product and none accept liability for the
accuracy.......”

Yachting charts are generally made to fold into a convenient size and have discarded information which the publishers
do not consider of use to the small boat navigator. These charts may also use different colors to indicate land, sea,
drying areas and so on. Many of these charts are produced on waterproof and tearproof paper which has obvious
advantages but rubbing out pencil lines can be a problem. Yachting charts often include very useful ‘chartlets’ of
harbors and anchorages together with their approaches. Some may have also have useful information, such as pilotage/
buoyage notes printed on the reverse side.

DMA and NOS charts are not copyright and full size black and white photocopies of these charts on high quality paper
are available from sources such as Bluewater Books and Charts of Fort Lauderdale, FL. These copies are about half
the price of the originals but are not always as easy to use as the originals as they are in black and white only.

Suppliers
Charts are available from chart agents and nautical book stores; most chandlers shops can supply yacht charts for the
immediate area at least.

General information contained on a chart:

Area
The area which the chart covers, e.g. CHESAPEAKE BAY ENTRANCE

Projection
The construction or type of chart projection, e.g.: Mercator projection. This indicates what method was used to
represent the spherical surface of the earth on a flat paper surface.

Scale
The scale to which the chart is drawn. The practice chart scale is 1:80,000 which means that one unit of measurement
on the chart represents 80,000 units on the surface of the earth. Put another way one foot on this chart is equal to
80,000 feet on the earth’s surface. In general terms charts may be considered in three groups of scales: large scale
harbour plans, coastal charts covering perhaps 10 to 20 miles and small scale passage planning charts covering large
areas.

Horizontal datum
The horizontal datum used for the construction of this specific chart. Charts are constructed based on the radius from

10
the area covered by the chart to the center of the earth but the radius from the center of the earth can differ from one
place to another. Clearly there is an appreciable difference between the distance to the centre of the earth from the top
of Mount Everest compared to the distance to the centre of the earth from the Dead Sea. Furthermore the earth is not
actually a perfect sphere but is in fact an oblate spheroid (a bit squashed at the ends).

Always check carefully which horizontal datum is used when using electronic position fixing aids such as GPS. Most
GPS sets allow selection of one of hundreds of datums but usually use a default of WGS 84. On practice chart 12221
the datum is given as North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) with World Geodetic System 1984 in brackets. This
means that for practical purposes the chart can be used with a GPS set to WGS 84 datum without any changes required
when plotting the latitude and longitude read out from the GPS directly on to this chart. (But remember that practice
charts must not be used for navigation.)

Always check that your GPS is set to the same horizontal datum as the chart; if it cannot be set to the same datum
corrections will have to be applied to the lat/long indicated by the GPS before plotting the position on a chart. The
corrections required will be indicated somewhere in writing on the chart under the heading HORIZONTAL DATUM.
Often the correction is in fact too small to be of any real practical concern but in some cases the difference can be
considerable. Certainly if differential GPS is being used the changes should be taken into account.

Units of Measurement SOUNDINGS IN FEET

Most NOS charts use either fathoms or feet for soundings or measurement of depths on the chart (1 fathom = 6 feet).
Heights of objects above water such as lighthouses, bridges and overhead obstructions are then also given in feet.
The soundings on chart 12221 are in feet; therefore a figure of, say, 23 on the chart means that there are 23 feet of water
from the sea surface to the sea bed at this place on the chart. When the soundings are in fathoms depths of less than
1 fathom may be given as fractions of a fathom, thus: 1¼ (= 7’6”) ½ (= 3’) ¾ (= 4’6”) or as fathoms and feet, thus 32
(=3 fathoms 2 feet) but heights above sea level of lights and obstructions will still be in feet.

Always check very carefully what units of measurement are used on the chart and be careful when changing from one
chart to another.
Be extra careful when changing from a small scale passage chart with soundings in fathoms to a large scale inshore
chart with soundings in feet - there is a serious difference between 2 fathoms and 2 feet as there is between 2 meters
and 2 feet.

DMA charts, European charts and US charts based on foreign surveys for the most part use the metric unit of meters
and tenths of a meter for both depths and heights. DMA metric charts will carry the words SOUNDINGS IN METRES
in purple print on the upper and lower margins as well as in the title.
1 meter = 3 feet 3 inches or, as a rough guide, 2 meters = 1 fathom.

Datum of soundings:
Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW)
In areas effected by tides the actual depth of water at any place must change constantly as the tide rises and falls. It is
therefore necessary to establish a fixed level, or datum, from which all soundings on the chart are measured. It makes
sense to measure all soundings from the sea level at Low Water as then, for most of the time at least, the actual depth
of water at any place will be deeper than the sounding on the chart giving a ‘fail safe’ system.

Tides are mainly caused by the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun, but these bodies are constantly moving
in space relative to each other. Sometimes the forces combine to give very low tides and at other times the forces
counteract each other resulting in tides which are not as low. A glance at any tide tables will show that the sea level at
low water is different from day to day and often from one LW to the next successive LW.

The Datum used on chart 12221 is given as MEAN LOWER LOW WATER (MLLW).
‘Mean’ in this context means ‘average’, so

MLLW is the average of the lower of the two daily tides of each day.

11
The tide tables for a locality use the same plane of reference as the largest scale chart available for that area. This
datum (MLLW) is used for NOS tide tables and Reed’s Nautical Almanac tide tables headed U.S. DATUM. Therefore
in order to find the depth of water for any moment of time it is simply a matter of adding, algebraically, the height of
tide found from the tide table to the sounding on the chart for the area in question.

Therefore:
if the chart shows a sounding of 10 feet and the tide table gives 3.1 feet at that time the actual depth should be 10 +
3.1 = 13.1 feet,
if the chart shows a sounding of 10 feet and the tide table gives - 0.6 ft at that time
the actual depth should be 10 - 0.6 = 9.4 feet.

Canadian charts use Lowest Normal Tides (LNT) which is the average of the lowest low water from each year over a
19 year period.

British Admiralty charts use Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) which is the lowest tide that can be predicted due to the
tide raising forces of the heavenly bodies.

Charted Heights
The heights above sea level of charted objects such as mountains, lighthouses, powerlines, bridges and so on must also
be measured from a suitable datum. If MLLW were used as the datum it would mean that most of the time there would
be less actual clearance between an overhead obstruction and sea level than that shown on the chart.

The height of objects above sea level is taken from a datum referenced to High Water levels thus ensuring that there will
usually (but not always) be at least the charted height shown beneath the obstruction. The datum for heights on U.S.
charts is taken as being Mean High Water (MHW), unless noted otherwise. A box headed TIDAL INFORMATION,
such as the one on practice chart 12221 just beneath the chart name, will indicate the height of MHW above chart
datum.
TIDAL INFORMATION

Height referred to datum of soundings (MLLW)

Place
Mean Higher Mean Mean Low Extreme
High Water High Water Water Low Water

Name (LAT/LONG) feet feet feet feet

Great Machipango Inlet (37°24’N/75°34’W) 4.4 4.1 0.2 -2.5

Fisherman’s Island (37°06’N/75°59’W) 3.5 3.2 0.2 -2.5

Old Point Comfort (37°00’N/75°19’W) 2.8 2.6 0.1 -3.5

Figure 2.1

Chart Number
The reference number of the chart, e.g. 12221 on the Chesapeake Bay practice chart. These reference numbers are not
always consecutive for adjoining charts.

In the U.S. the chart numbers convey certain information. 5 digit chart numbers are used for charts which have a
scale of 1:2,000,000 or larger. This includes most charts used in yacht navigation. The first digit indicates that the
chart is in one of 9 regions of the world; region 1 includes most of the U.S. and Canada. Region 3 covers Greenland,
Iceland and some of Europe including the British Isles, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and the Atlantic coasts of France
and northern Spain. The next digit further narrows down the area of the chart to a sub region. For example the practice

12
chart of Chesapeake Bay is numbered 12 221 indicating that the chart is in world area 1 (U.S.) and in the sub region,
2, on the part of the east coast that includes Chesapeake Bay. The final three digits, 221, are used to number, in an
anti-clockwise direction, each of the charts of the sub region. The numbers are not necessarily consecutive as numbers
have been left unallocated to allow the insertion of new charts at a latter date.

Adjoining chart numbers are given in the top, bottom and left margins; i.e. chart no. 12207 is the next chart to the
south of 12221.

Source Diagram
Some charts may have a source diagram which gives details of the various sources and the years from which the
data on which the chart is based was compiled. Different areas of the chart will have been surveyed at various times
and a small inset diagram shows when the various areas were last surveyed. The source diagram is usually printed
somewhere on an area of land and is in the form of a small inset map of the whole chart area with the sea areas in white.
The white sea area is subdivided and each area has a lower case letter in it such as a, b, c, etc. These letters refer to
information printed at the head of the box.

The source diagram on NOS chart No. 11470 of Fort Lauderdale, for example, shows that the surveys on which the
chart is based were carried out by NOS, the Corps of Engineers and miscellaneous surveys between 1928 and 1995.
The practice chart 12221 does not have a source diagram.

In general it is reasonable to presume that areas which experience heavy concentrations of commercial shipping and
yachting are unlikely to have any undiscovered hazards. Surveys carried out at the beginning of this century, or earlier,
cannot have covered the area as comprehensively as would be expected of later surveys when electronic equipment
and modern methods were employed. Any areas of charts with widely spaced, or an absence of, soundings should be
treated with caution, particularly if the surrounding area is shallow or shoal.
Imray chart No. B4, Martinique to Trinidad, carries the caution that “....with a few exceptions, official surveys of the
islands of the Eastern Caribbean are of 19th century origin. Since then, topography above and below the water may
well have become altered....”.

A - U.S. Chart 11466.......................................1:80,000

(Ed. 1990) SOURCE DIAGRAM
B - U.S. Chart 11462.......................................1:80,000 c
f
(Ed. 1989)
f
C - U.S. Chart 11460......................................1:466,940
(Ed. 1992)
a
D - British Admiralty Chart 399....... ............1:318,800 i d
(Ed. 1976, Corr. to 1984 from British and U.S.
surveys to 1959 and a commercial survey in 1948)
E - British Admiralty Chart 1496....... ...........1:291,800
(Ed. 1907, Corr. to 1988 from British surveys from
1836 to 1842) g
F - U.S. Chart 26323.......................................1:75,000 e
(Ed. 1986) b
h
G - British Admiralty Chart 2077....... ...........1:292,800
(Ed. 1965, Corr. to 1989 from British surveys from
1836 to 1848)

Figure 2.2
Source Diagram from DMA Chart 26320
Northern Part of Straits of Florida and Northwest Providence Channel.

13
Edition and Date
The date of the first edition of the chart is printed at the top center margin and the date of the current edition is printed
in the left hand bottom margin of the chart just above the chart number. Practice chart 12221 was first published in
March of 1913 and this is the 60th edition produced on February 29th in 1992. As this is a practice chart not intended
for navigation there has been no need to publish a new edition since then.

New editions of charts intended for navigation are published when required by the amount and significance of the
changes in the area covered by the chart. Only the latest and most up to date charts should be carried aboard. Existing
charts on board should be kept up to date by reference to Notice to Mariners, which is published weekly.

Large scale charts

The large scale charts which are available within the area covered by the smaller scale chart in use may be shown in a
box which is usually printed somewhere on the land area. The sea areas within this box are colored white and magenta
colored rectangular boxes show the area covered by a particular large scale chart together with the respective chart
number. For example it can be seen from the box in the left hand bottom corner of chart 12221 that large scale chart
number 12241 will cover the entry to York River in greater detail.

Notes, Warnings, Cautions

Charts may carry Notes, Warnings and Cautions, all of which should be read carefully. The chart may have references
to these notes printed at various places on it; for example Note D on chart 12221 warns of anchoring in this area due
to the danger from mines on the bottom.

A note in the extreme left bottom corner of the chart warns of possible magnetic anomalies of up to 6° from 3 to 17
miles offshore from Cape Henry to Currituck Beach Light.

As this chart is produced solely for instructional purposes some features which do not really exist may have been
included and equally some features which do exist may have been omitted. Furthermore this chart has not been
corrected since February 29/1992.
Chart 12221 is for instructional purposes only and must not be used for navigation.

Charts, detailed information

Details of all the abbreviations, colors and chart symbols used on U.S. charts can be found in Chart No. 1, United States
of America, Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations, the latest edition of which should be aboard every boat.

· Printed on the bottom left hand corner of NOAA charts are the edition number and its date. The reference
numbers and date of any corrections made to the chart since it was printed should be entered here. When
using, or buying, any chart always check to see how old the edition is.
· A NOS chart shows land that is not covered with water in a yellow/gold color. Hills and mountains, if
shown, are indicated by contour lines, as on a map; the highest point is shown by a dot with the height
above MHW beside it.
· Buildings and objects on land, or landmarks, which may be of use to the navigator are depicted by various
symbols. For example a landmark when the charted position is accurate is shown on the chart by a circle
with a dot in the center. The dot represents the exact position of the mark. Words or abbreviations may be
used to describe the landmark such as MON (monument), TR (tower), FS (flagstaff), CHY (chimney) and
so on.
 CLOCK TOWER,  LOOK TR,  ABAND LT HO,
· The height of the landmark above MHW may also be included:  R TR 416ft.
· If the position shown on the chart is the approximate position rather than the exact position of the landmark
a smaller circle is used without the dot in the center. The upper case letters PA (position approximate) may
also be included.
 Sign PA,  Tr,  Chy 135ft.
· Other pictorial symbols may be used, a church spire for example could be depicted by a cross  ,
a windmill by as well as by WINDMILL .

14
· The type of lettering used on the chart is significant.
Details of features that are floating or submerged at HW are in italics, thus:
Willoughby Bank, G “9” Fl G 4s, Obstr, Subm Stake, Wreck
Features that remain above water at HW are given in upright letters, thus:
Willoughby Spit, CHESAPEAKE Gp Fl (2) 15s 117 ft 24M, Fl R 4s 5M “6”.
Note that care is needed when the letters are written at an angle to the horizontal, it is possible to mistake
upright letters for italics; see the two lights at Rudee Inlet on chart 12221 at approx. 36°50’N 75°58’W.
· Land is colored a buff or yellow/gold color on NOS charts and grey on DMA charts. Other chart publishers
may use different colors for land and drying areas.
· Areas which are covered and uncovered by the tide are colored green and may have underlined numbers
printed on them indicating how high the area dries above water level at Chart Datum. A figure of 22 on
a chart with soundings in fathoms would indicate that this place dries to a height of 2 fathoms 2 feet above
chart datum.
· The nature of the foreshore may also be given in writing, for example Little Inlet on Smith Island (37°10’N
75°50’W) is ‘Marsh’. Other descriptions which may be used are self explanatory such as ‘Mud’, ‘Sand’,
‘Coral’ and so on.
· The sea below Chart Datum is shown as white with shallow areas highlighted in blue, the density of the blue
shading may change at various depth contours, the density of the blue increasing as the depth decreases.
The terms shallow and deep are of course relative to the scale of the chart.
· On practice chart 12221 depth contour lines are shown by dotted lines at depths of 60 ft, 36 ft, 30 ft, 24 ft,
18 ft, 12 ft and 6 ft. Areas with depths greater than 30 ft are left white; areas inside the 30 ft contour have
depths less than 30 ft and these areas are colored pale blue to make it noticeable; areas inside the 24 ft
contour line have depths less than 24 ft and this area is filled with a darker blue to further draw attention to
the shallower water. Small scale charts of, say, 1:500,000 with ocean boundaries might have contour lines at
400, 300, 200, and 100 fathoms.
The depth along a contour line can normally be decided quickly by inspection on either side of the contour
but present day charts usually have contour lines in continuous lines with the contour value inserted at
intervals.
12
· Navigational buoys are shown in shapes and colors which indicate the way they should be used for pilot
age. Most of continental America uses the IALA B system, with which, on entering a channel from seaward
red buoys (even numbers,) are passed on your starboard side and green buoys (uneven numbers) are passed
on your port side. Port hand buoys used to be black but have mostly been replaced with green to conform
to IALA B standards. (Europe, Africa and Asia use IALA A in which the colors of the buoys are reversed,
i.e. red buoys are passed to port, green to starboard.)
· If buoys have a sound signal a bell usually indicates the starboard side of the channel and a gong marks the
port side, but check the sound signal and buoy on the chart. Buoys which are unlit and have no sound signal
are ‘nun’ buoys (shaped like a cone with the top cut off) on the right hand side of the channel and can buoys
on the left.
· The approximate position of the buoy is shown by the circle, or dot, which forms a part of the diamond
shaped symbol representing the buoy. The position must be deemed approximate due to many factors such
as scope of chain susceptibility to damage, difficulty in maintaining position surveillance, and so on. A red
starboard hand buoy will have a red diamond, a green port hand buoy will have a green diamond and a yel
low or red/white buoy will have an uncolored diamond. If the buoy is lit its light signature will be shown
beside it in abbreviated form. The color of a buoy is indicated by letters: G for green, R for red, B for black,
W for white and Y for yellow. If the buoy has a name or number it is printed somewhere beside it.

G “13” R “10” Y
RW “CB”
Fl G 2.5s GONG Fl R 4s N “C3”
Mo (A) WHIS

The R/W Mid Channel Aid above is spherical in shape with red and white vertical stripes and its light signa
ture is Morse A ( ). The yellow buoy is unlit and is a Nun buoy.

15
· Lighthouses are shown by a dot with magenta flash or by a five pointed star with a magenta flash; the exact
position of the lighthouse is at the dot or center of the star.

CHESAPEAKE Mo (U) 20 sec

Gp Fl (2) 15s 164ft 15M
117ft 24M Horn
· Details of a light are given in abbreviated form, for example Chesapeake light house above “Gp Fl (2) 15s
117ft 24M Horn” means the light gives a Group of 2 Flashes together repeated every 15 seconds, the light is
117 feet high, has a nominal range of 24 Miles, the light also has a fog signal in the form of a Horn. The
color of the light is only given if it is other than white, if the light in the example were green it would read
“Gp Fl (2) G 15s......”.
· The general direction of the tidal current may sometimes be shown by arrows, the arrow with the feathers on
the end represents the current during the flood stream, the arrow without feathers the current during the ebb
stream. The numbers give the general rate of the current, in knots.
2kn
.
· Tide rips and overfalls are areas where sea conditions can become rough, particularly when the wind and
tide are going in opposite directions, called ‘wind against tide’. Caused by headlands, shoal banks and
rough sea beds in areas where the tide runs strongly these areas are shown on the chart by squiggles on the
chart .
(The sea can also be rough in areas where there are no squiggles).
· Wrecks are shown as a depth inside a dotted circle with the letters Wk, or Wreck beside them.
· The vertical clearance beneath an overhead obstruction such as a bridge, powerline, etc., is measured from
the underneath of the obstruction to the sea surface at MHW (Mean High Water) and may be written as:

FIXED BRIDGE HOR CL 84 FT VERT CL 35 FT

OVHD PWR CBL AUTH CL 68 FEET

or may be shown thus: 20 , indicating a clearance of 20 feet at MHW.

Be very careful to allow sufficient clearance when passing under powerlines.

The figures for clearances beneath bridges are supplied by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers sup-
ply the clearances for cables. A clearance may be ‘as-built’ meaning that the clearance has been physically checked,
or ‘authorized’ meaning the clearance has been taken from the plans upon which issue of the construction permit was
based. The significance is that a bridge or cable marked ‘AUTH CL 68 ft’ on the chart may not have exactly 68 ft
clearance at MHW, there could well be less.

· The height of a lighthouse is given from the sea surface at MHW to the centre of the actual light source. The
height of all land-based objects is given from MHW.

Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations

A booklet called ‘Chart No. 1, Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations’ is available from chart agents and one
should be aboard every cruising boat. It details and shows in color all the symbols and abbreviations used on U.S.
charts.

Examples of a few of the symbols used are shown on the following page:

16
 4 (4) (4) Masts
Rock (islet)which does not cover, Wreck showing mast or masts above
height above height datum chart datum only

2
(2) (2) 75 Wk
Rock which covers and uncovers, Wreck, least depth known by
height above chart datum sounding only

75 Wk
Wreck, least depth known, swept
Rock awash at the level of chart datum
by wire drag or diver

12
R
Sunken wreck, not dangerous
Shoal sounding on isolated rock or rocks to surface navigation

Co Masts
37
Wreck showing mast or masts above
Coral reef which covers chart datum only

Foul Foul

Foul area, foul with rocks or wreckage,

Overfalls, tide rips, races
dangerous to navigation

PA Obstn
Wreck showing any portion of hull or
superstructure at level of chart datum Obstruction, depth unknown
Figure 2.3
Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations

17
Angles
As
����������������������������������������������������������
chart work and navigation involves working with angles
a brief explanation of what an angle is might help here.
An angle is the space between two lines which meet at one AN
GL
end. E

Everyone is used to measuring distances in terms of

inches, meters, miles, kilometres and so on, angles are the
measurement of the distance between two meeting lines.
The angle remains the same no matter how far the lines
forming the angle are extended. Angles are measured in
degrees, minutes and decimals of a minute.

Degrees
360º
A full circle is divided up 000º 0º5º 10º
into 360 equal spaces of 20º
one degree each. The sign
for degree is ° and so 360 45º
degrees is written as 360°.
One degree is subdivided 270º 90º
into 60 equal spaces. Each
space is called one minute
and the sign for minute is 87º 30’
‘ so 30 minutes is written
180º
as 30’. One minute can
be further subdivided into There are 360º in a full circle, There are 60 minutes in one degree
tenths or decimals of a 180º in a half circle and so on. and so 87 1/2 degrees is 87º 30’
minute. Decimals of a
minute are shown preceded Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5
by a decimal point. There are 360° in a full circle, There are 60 minutes in one degree
180° in a half circle and so on. and so 87 ½ degrees in 87°30’
87 degrees 30 point 5
minutes is therefore written
as 87° 30’.5. Note that in navigation the decimal point is placed after the minute sign.

Latitude and Longitude

It is easy to define a position by reference to known objects as for example Cape Henry or Chesapeake light house.
However, without local knowledge, this method of indicating the position of a place is of limited use and, of course,
there are no reference points available out of sight of land. To overcome this problem a universally accepted grid
reference system for indicating precise position anywhere in the world is used.

This grid system is similar to that used in

crossword puzzles. The world is divided
by imaginary lines numbered to form a
grid reference system; the lines which
run from the top to bottom of the world
are called longitude and the lines which
run across the world are called latitude.
Any point on the earth’s surface can
therefore be defined precisely in terms
of the latitude and longitude of its
position.

18
Latitude
Latitude is the angular distance measured from the center of the earth either North or South of the equator. Imagine the
earth cut in half from the top to the bottom in the same way that you would cut an apple in half. The equator is a line
drawn across the center of the earth from one side to the other. Latitude above the equator is named North and latitude
below the equator is named South. Lines of latitude are parallel to each other and are therefore usually referred to as
parallels of latitude.

North Pole

45°N

0°
45° Equator
20°
20°S

South Pole
Figure 2.6
Latitude is angular distance, measured from the center of the
earth, North or South of the equator

Longitude
Longitude is the angular distance measured from the center of the earth either East or West of longitude 0°. Longitude
0° is, by international agreement, the line of longitude which passes through the old Royal Observatory at Greenwich
in England. Lines of longitude are not parallel to each other as they all converge and finally meet at the North and
South Poles. Lines of longitude are called meridians of longitude. Longitude is measured in two directions from 0°
to 180° West of the Greenwich meridian and from 0° to 180 East of the Greenwich meridian.
N 180°
170° E
170° W

North Pole

90° W 90° E

°W
40° 40°
40

40
°
E

0° (Greenwich)

S Greenwich Meridian
Figure 2.7 Figure 2.8

Longitude is the angular distance, Looking down on the North Pole

measured from the center of the Longitude is measured
earth, East or West of longitude 0° 0° to 180° East of Greenwich, and
0° to 180° West of Greenwich.

19
Defining a position by latitude and longitude.
Latitude scales are printed down the left and right hand sides of the chart. On the practice chart a parallel of latitude
is printed across the chart at 37°N and at 10’ intervals above and below. Note that the parallel 10’ below 37°N is
36°50’N.
The space between 37°00’ and 37°10’ is divided into 10 equal spaces each space therefore represents 1’ of latitude;
these spaces are alternately colored light and dark to make them easy to see. The 1’ spaces are further subdivided into
10 equal spaces each space therefore represents 1/10 th of a minute or 0.1’.

Longitude scales are printed along the top and bottom edges of the chart and are read in exactly the same way as
latitude but be careful to note whether the longitude is East or West of Greenwich. The practice chart shows a meridian
of longitude printed at 76° with further meridians at 10’ on either side. There is no printed indication as to whether this
is East or West longitude but it is obvious, by inspection, that the longitude is West of Greenwich because the minutes
of longitude are increasing moving in a westward direction. If the minutes were decreasing moving in a westward
direction the longitude would be East.

With longitudes as large as 75°W this should not give rise to difficulties but it is important to be aware of the change
in longitude notation when using a chart close to, or centered on, 0° longitude such as when in the English channel for
example. It is very easy to misread minutes of longitude under these conditions.
The position of the yellow buoy “A” to the north east of Chesapeake light on chart 12221 is 36°55’.0N 75°38’.2W.
Note that the convention is to give latitude first followed by longitude.

Figure 2.9
The position of the Yellow buoy “A” is
Latitude 36° 55’.0N Longitude 75° 38’.2W

20
Chart work conventions

Symbols used in chartwork convey meanings of themselves. Different symbols are used in the U.S. and the U.K.

International

Figure 2.10

21
The following symbols will be used for this course:

dead reckoning range (distance)

estimated position transfered position line

fix course to steer and

water track

fix by position lines ground track

current vector
electronic fix
36˚55’ .5N
Lat. and Long. 75˚38’ .2W

Figure 2.11

22
 3
Distance, Speed, Time and Direction
D istances at sea are measured in nautical miles. A sea mile, or nautical mile, is the length of 1’ of latitude measured
on the (smooth) earth’s surface at latitude 48°. Latitude is an angular measurement from the centre of the earth to the
earth’s circumference but as the earth is not perfectly round the precise length of 1’ of latitude varies slightly from
the equator to the poles. The average length of 1’ of latitude, and therefore of 1 nautical mile, is generally accepted
as being 6,076 feet (1,852 meters). A nautical mile is longer than a statute mile which is 5280 feet (1,609 meters).
The aproximation of a statute mile being about 7/8 ths of a nautical mile is usually accurate enough if comparison
is required for any reason. The relationship between statute and nautical miles is normally of no relevance as far as
the navigator is concerned because all charts measure distances in terms of nautical miles so, as far as navigation is
concerned, forget about statute miles from now on.
It is not necessary to write nautical miles either, just miles, or simply large M. 23 nautical miles is written as 23 miles
or 23M. Miles are subdivided into decimals of a mile in the same way as minutes of latitude and so 23.2’ of latitude is
23.2 miles. A ‘cable’ is a term still used sometimes in pilot books; a cable is 1/10 th of a mile and so 2 cables means
0.2 of a mile.
Because 1’ of latitude = 1 mile the latitude scale printed down the sides of the chart can be used to measure distances
on the chart using dividers but note that due to the way Mercator’s projection is formed it is necessary to measure miles
from the latitude scale roughly opposite the area of the chart you are using.
The longitude scale printed across the top and bottom of the chart must not be used to measure distance because 1’
of longitude is only equal to 1 mile at the equator, the length of 1’ of longitude decreases north or south of the equator
becoming 0 at the poles..

Speed
1 nautical mile per hour is called a ‘knot’. If your boat is travelling at 5 knots it will cover a distance of 5 miles through
the water in one hour and 2.5 miles through the water in 30 minutes. If it is travelling at 25 knots it will cover 25 miles
throughout the water in one hour and 50 miles through the water in two hours, provided the speed remains constant.
Do not say ‘knots per hour’, just knots.

Time
Times should always be given using the 24 hour clock using hours in the first two places and minutes in the second
two places. 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. can lead to confusion whereas 0320 (spoken as “o three twenty”) and 1520 (“fifteen
twenty”) are unambiguous. Avoid inserting dots, colons and so on between the hours and minutes but do not omit the
initial zero in the morning hours. It is also incorrect, in navigation, to add the word hours after the numbers, in other
words say “fifteen twenty” not “fifteen twenty hours”.
The time zone or standard should be clearly defined as in:
1520 UT or UTC (Universal Time or Coordinated Universal Time );
2020 EST (Eastern Standard Time).
If Daylight Saving Time, or summer time, has been applied this should be stated 2120 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).

Direction
A position on a chart can be defined by its latitude and longitude, distances can be found using the latitude scale and
finally a way of indicating direction is needed. Direction is required in navigation for two purposes, firstly for defining
a course to steer in order to get from one place to another and, secondly, for measuring the bearing from the observer
to a specific object. Direction is measured clockwise as an angle using True North as the reference, or starting point,
of 000°. True North means Geographic North, or the North Pole, and all charts are drawn so that North is at the top of
the chart. On a Mercator chart the sides of the chart and any straight lines printed parallel to the sides of the chart are
all meridians of longitude which, if continued upwards, would eventually meet at the North Pole. True North therefore
lies along the meridian of longitude which passes through the position in question and so a direction or bearing can be

23
measured clockwise from this meridian.
Only whole degrees are normally used for small boat navigation. Degree scales, called “compass roses”, are printed
at various places on charts for those who prefer parallel or rolling rules but they are not needed when using a Breton
plotter.

Position by bearing and distance

A position on a chart can be defined by its

latitude and longitude or by the bearing and
distance from a known charted object. For
3.75 M
example in figure 3.1 the position at the yel- 79°(T)
low buoy, “A”, is:

36° 55’.0 N 75° 38’.25W;

the position can also be defined as
079° (T) / 3.75 Miles from Chesapeake
Light.

Using the Breton plotter to find a bearing Figure 3.1

from the chart:
1. lay the plotter on the chart so one edge just touches both the position and the charted object making sure
that the ships head pointer, or arrow, engraved on the plotter body is pointing in the same direction as you
are reading the bearing,
2. without moving the rectangular plotter body turn the protractor until the north point is facing north
(i.e. upward on the chart),
3. to ensure the protractor is pointing exactly north turn it until any one of the engraved grid lines is parallel
with any convenient line of latitude or longitude, or any printed line which is parallel to either the sides or
the top or the bottom of the chart,
4. read off the true bearing against the zero mark on the plotter body.

Figure 3.2

The North point of the protractor must face exactly north on the chart, this is done by lining up one of the grid lines on
the protractor with any convenient line which is parallel to either the sides or top and bottom of the chart. Note also
that the “boat” or arrow engraved on the plotter must face in the direction in which the bearing is being read. Here
the bearing from Chesapeake to buoy ‘A’ is 79° True.

24
 4
The Magnetic Compass, Variation and Deviation
T he most important instrument on a boat is the steering compass. Compasses can be low tech or high tech but they
all fulfil the same essential function of indicating the direction in which the boat is travelling and allowing the helms-
man to keep the boat on the required course. A compass is basically a magnetic pointer on a pivot which always points
toward north. Sometimes the pointer is in the shape of a needle but more often the magnet is fixed to the underside of
a circular disk or card. The compass card has a scale of degrees from 0° to 360° printed around its circumference and
the compass case has a marker, or ‘lubber Line’, opposite which the scale is read.
A small boat steering compass is not normally marked at one degree intervals as the card does not have sufficient
space, every 5° would be more usual and quite adequate. It is usually easy enough to judge 2½° by eye and unlikely
that you would be able to hold a course in a small boat to a greater accuracy than that anyway.

LUBBER LINE INE

0 10 20
30
N
ER L

40
50
60
0 10 20
B

30
270 290

70 80
N
LUB
40
50

90
W E
60
70 80
270

90

W E
S
180

S
180

Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2

The compass always points to North. The boat is turned until the lubber line (which turns
with the boat) points to the required course.

Courses
In order to get from one place to another the True bearing from the departure point to the destination is found from the
chart. The boat is then steered along the required course by reference to the compass.
If, in Fig. 3.2, you wished to get from Chesapeake Light to buoy ‘A’ the course to steer would be 79°(T). The boat is
turned until the compass indicates that the boat is pointing 79°(T) and is held on this course until buoy A is reached.

Bearings
A compass can also be used to determine your position by taking bearings of visible charted objects. To do this a hand
held, or hand bearing compass is used. The hand bearing compass is pointed at a visible object which must also be
shown on the chart, such as a lighthouse for example, and the reading, or bearing, shown by the compass is written
down. A pencil line is then drawn along the bearing through the object’s position on the chart and your position must
lie somewhere along this line. If the process is repeated using a different charted object your position should be where
the two lines meet.

25
Magnetic North TRUE TRUE
In effect the Earth may be thought of as containing a MAG MAG
magnet situated at the north pole. This magnet pulls
the compass needle towards it until the needle is point-
ing directly at it and then holds it in this position.
Unfortunately the earth’s magnet is not exactly at the VARIATION
VARIATION
geographic North Pole but is in fact off to one side of
True North. This position is called magnetic north
and it is to magnetic north that the magnetic compass
points. At present magnetic north is off to the west of
True North when measured from much of the east coast W E
of America. The problem is that charts are oriented
towards True north and the meridians that are used as
the reference from which directions are measured also
point to True north.

Variation
The angular distance between true north and magnetic
north is called variation. If the compass points to the
west of true north the variation is called West, if the
compass needle points to the East of true north the Variation West Variation East
variation is called East.
Figure 4.3

To find the variation for your area

The variation for the area covered by the chart in use is shown on the chart. If you look at the compass rose (which
looks like a protractor printed in magenta ink) centred about 4½ miles north east of Chesapeake light on the practice
chart you will see there are actually two scales of degrees, one inside the other. The outside large rose shows true
bearings whereas the inside smaller rose shows magnetic bearings, but only for the year shown. Looking at the smaller
magnetic rose note the arrow drawn through it representing the direction of magnetic north, printed over this arrow is
“VAR 10°15’W (1990) ANNUAL INCREASE 6’ ”. The first part means that the Variation in 1990 for this area was
10°15’W. ANNUAL INCREASE 6’ means that the variation in this area is increasing by 6’ each year, that is to say
the variation is changing 6’ in a westward direction annually.
From this information it is possible to work out the variation for any year. For example suppose you wished to find
the variation near Chesapeake Light for 2000:

2000
-1990
= 10 Years 10 x 6’ = 60’ increase in variation
10°15’W
+ 60’W
11°15’W

This means that on this area of the chart the variation during 2000 is 11°W, to the nearest whole degree.
From the diagram you can see that if you wished to sail true north (000°T) when in the area covered by chart 12221
you would actually have to steer a magnetic course of 011°, written as 011°(M), the capital M in brackets indicating
that this is a magnetic bearing.
It might seem logical to produce charts using magnetic north instead of true north as the reference but this is not done
because charts, sailing directions and pilot books would have to be reprinted and changed frequently to reflect the con-
tinuously changing variation. It is therefore necessary to be able to convert true bearings to magnetic and vice versa.

When to apply variation

Remember that the chart is True and the compass is Magnetic.
· A course or bearing taken from the chart to be used with a compass must be converted from true to
magnetic.

26
 · A course or bearing taken from a com
pass for plotting on a chart must be
converted from magnetic to true.

Rules for applying variation

To correct
true to magnetic add westerly
variation, or subtract easterly variation,
magnetic to true subtract westerly
variation, or add easterly variation.

Variation West, Compass Best

There are many aide memoirs for these rules,
perhaps the simplest is

‘Variation West, Compass Best

Figure 4.4 Variation East, Compass Least’

‘Best’ here means biggest or larger number, least means a lesser or smaller number. What the
rhyme is saying is ‘if the variation is west then the compass reading will be larger than the
true reading, or, if the variation is east then the compass reading will be smaller than the true
reading’.

Examples of correcting True bearings to Magnetic bearings:

True Variation Magnetic

070˚ 7˚W 077
248˚ 12˚W 260˚
180˚ 4˚E 176˚
030˚ 2˚E 028˚
359˚ 11˚W 010˚

27
Examples of correcting Magnetic bearings to True bearings;

Magnetic Variation True

177˚ 7˚W 170
228˚ 5˚W 223˚
082˚ 5˚E 087˚
230˚ 2˚E 232˚
012˚ 6˚W 006˚

The True course to steer from Chesapeake Light to buoy ‘A’, from the chart, is 79°(T) but if you steered 79° by the
compass you would not be going in the right direction.

T V M
79˚ +11˚ =90˚

Therefore the magnetic course from is 90°(M) and this would also be the course to steer to get from Chesapeake Light
to Buoy ‘A’. (If it were not for Deviation.)

Deviation
The compass needle is pulled by the earth’s magnetic field until it points to magnetic north. Local magnetic effects
will also attract the compass needle deflecting it from magnetic north.

The angle between mag-

netic north and compass 4 11
north is called deviation. TRUE
Deviation can be east MAG
variation 11 W
or west. If the compass deviation 4 W
0 10 20 30
compass error 15 W
points to the left of mag- COMPASS N
netic north deviation is IAT
ION
DE
V VARIATION
called west, if the com-
pass points to the right
90

E
of magnetic north devia-
W
tion is called east. W
W
0
27

S
18
0

Variation is the angle between

compass north and magnetic north The sum of variation and deviation is called compass error. Here
Figure 4.5 the compass error is 15 W. In order to steer 000 (T) with this
compass the compass course would be 015 (C)

28
Compass error
The difference between compass north and true north is called compass error. Compass error is therefore the algebraic
sum of variation and deviation. Note that there are now three headings for bearings and courses : True, Magnetic and
Compass. A bearing or course is useless unless it is followed by (T) or (M), or(C).

Causes of deviation
Deviation is caused by ferrous objects (those containing iron) being close to the compass. Engines, iron and steel
keels, electric motors and cookers can all cause deviation and small portable objects such as pen knives, can cause
deviation if they are close enough to the compass. Speakers in radios and VHF transceivers contain powerful magnets
and if mounted too close to the ship’s compass can cause large values of deviation. Steering compasses on steel boats
are particularly prone to deviation whereas fibreglass and wooden boats are much better. Hand bearing compasses
which are designed to be held close to the face can be effected by steel framed spectacles.
Deviation is not static as it changes as the direction of the boat changes and deviation caused by an iron or steel keel
may change as the boat heels. Motor boats often have their compass close to a lot of instruments, many of which cre-
ate magnetic fields.

When to check for deviation.

Deviation should be checked at least at the start of any passage, at the beginning of the season and whenever any new
equipment has been fitted which might cause deviation. Deviation should also be checked on a new, chartered, or
borrowed boat.

Using a hand bearing compass

One way of checking quickly whether the ship’s steering compass is subject to deviation is to stand in a deviation free
area at the aft end of the cockpit and sight along the fore and aft line of the boat using a hand bearing compass. Both
the boat’s steering compass and the hand held compass should show the same bearing, if they do not the difference
between the two readings is the deviation of the steering compass on that particular heading.
In order to use this method it is obviously necessary to know that the area in which the hand bearing compass is being
used is free from deviation; furthermore if an area in the boat can be proved deviation free this area can be used with
confidence for all future bearings taken with a hand bearing compass.

To find a deviation free area

On most boats the after end of the cockpit has a good chance of being deviation free. Stand in a position thought to
be deviation free and check the bearing of any distant fixed object, or landmark, with a hand bearing compass. Have
the boat turned through a complete 360° circle while continuously watching the bearing of the object. If the bearing
remains constant the compass is not being effected by deviation. If the bearing to the object changes as the boat turns
the compass is being effected by magnetic influences on the boat; try another site and repeat the process.

98˚(C)

Figure 4.6

To check for an area free of deviation watch the bearing of a fixed object while turning the boat through a full circle.
Provided the object is a good distance away and the boat is turned in a reasonably tight circle the bearing from the
boat to the object will remain constant if there is no deviation.

29
If no area free from deviation can be found on the boat try using the hand bearing compass from a dinghy towed behind
the boat.

Another method of checking for deviation is to line the boat up with two charted objects in line with each other, called
a range, ahead or astern. The true bearing of the range is found from the chart, apply the variation for the area and the
boat’s compass should read the same, if it does not the difference is the compass deviation on that heading.

95˚ T

(Var 11˚ W)
Figure 4.7
To check for deviation using a range:
When the boat is lined up with the two lighthouses in line the steering compass shouldread 106°, if not the difference
is deviation. The bearing of the range is found from the chart.

If the steering compass has deviation there are various options.

· Try to move the steering compass to a deviation free area,
· have the deviation removed by a qualified compass adjuster who will place magnets around the compass to
counteract the magnetic fields causing the deviation.
· Buy one of the modern electronic compasses which can correct their own deviation,
· Check the deviation on different headings and draw them up
in the form of a graph (called a deviation card) which is kept
on board so that deviation can be found quickly for any
heading.
This is what a deviation card might look like. The deviation
for any course can be read off the deviation card when re
quired. For example:
ships head 045° deviation = 1°E
ships head 090° deviation = 4°E
ships head 135° deviation = 6°E
ships head 270° deviation = 4°W
ships head 315° deviation = 6°W

Once found from the curve the deviation is applied to the magnetic
course or bearing.
For example
Chesapeake Light to A 79°(T)
Variation 11°W 90°(M)
Deviation 4°E 294°(C)
Typical deviation card Figure 4.8 Course to steer 86°(C)

30
Rules for applying deviation
Deviation is applied in exactly the same way as variation and so the same rhyme as before can be used - ‘deviation
west compass best, deviation east compass least’. Variation and deviation may seem confusing at first but understand-
ing them is very important; their application will soon become second nature.

True Virtue Makes Dull Companions

The corrections for variation and deviation must be carried out in the correct sequence:
from true to compass = True ~ Magnetic ~ Compass,
from compass to true = Compass ~ Magnetic ~ True.
The mnemonic True Virtue Makes Dull Companions might help in remembering the sequence. If you have any dif-
ficulty working compass error problems use the mnemonic by making boxes as shown below: Then fill in the figures
you know and the values in the remaining blank space(s) should become obvious.

True Var Mag Dev Compass

As an example take the figures from figure 3.2 and deviation from the deviation card in figure 4.7.

True Var Mag Dev Compass

79˚ +11˚ =90˚ 4˚E = 86˚

The true course, 79°(T), from Chesapeake Light to buoy “A” is found from the chart and entered under True.
The variation, 11°W, is found from the magnetic rose on the chart and is entered under Variation.
The variation is west so compass is ‘best’ therefore Magnetic course is 79° + 11° = 90°.
The deviation from the deviation card is approximately 4°E (compass least).
Therefore compass course is 90° - 4° = 86°(C).

Long Passages
Note that deviation, if it exists, will change during a long passage.

31
 Examples of corrections for variation and deviation

A.) Correcting from true (chart) to magnetic (compass)

True Var Mag
035˚ 10˚W 045˚
127˚ 5˚W
256˚ 3˚E
318˚ 12˚W
097˚ 4˚W
004˚ 004˚E
182˚ 15˚W
098˚ 7˚E
359˚ 6˚W

B.) Correcting from magnetic to true

M V T
283˚ 9˚W 274˚
108˚ 12˚W
343˚ 5˚E
027˚ 7˚E
184˚ 6˚E
127˚ 10˚E
000˚ 7˚W
278˚ 1˚E
002˚ 7˚W

C.) If you know your true course (from the chart) and your magnetic course (from a
deviation free compass) you can find the variation for your area.
T V M
075º 4ºW 079º
039º 036º
246º 235º
137º 149º
200º 202º
359º 004º

D.) Try these

ºT ºV ºM ºD ºC
256 5W 6W ?
096 7W 098
061 064 060
3E 307 9W
5E 022 019
7W 359 0 359

32
 5
Position Lines and Position Fixes
A navigator is never lost but he may be unsure of his position. Every opportunity should be taken to verify your
position at sea even (or perhaps especially) when modern day electronic position fixing equipment, such as Loran or
GPS, is being used. Different methods and combinations of methods can be used to obtain a position fix, with varying
degrees of inherent accuracy, but all methods use the principle of position lines in one form or another. Remember
you may well be at risk if you are sure of your position and are wrong whereas if you are unsure of your exact position
you will proceed with caution until you can verify your position.

Position line
A position line is a line somewhere along which the boat’s position lies. One position line on its own cannot define
position without additional information but in passing note that a single position line can be very useful as although it
does not tell you where you are it can confirm where you are not. For example a single position line can reassure you
that you are not close to some danger if the position line, when drawn on the chart, does not run close to that danger.

Position lines are obtained from natural or man made objects or landmarks which are both conspicuous and shown on
the chart. When deciding on an object from which to obtain a position line you must be absolutely certain that you
know exactly which object you are looking at. Church spires can be a problem because there are often more than one
in a small area and it may be impossible to decide from a distance which is which.

Visual position lines

A position line can be obtained by taking a bearing of an object with a hand bearing compass.

Other types of hand held compass are available including an

electronic type which shows the magnetic bearing in digital
form on a small screen. 280 285 290
Having taken the bearing write it down so it is
not forgotten and correct the magnetic bearing
to True by applying variation. Now draw
a line along the true bearing from the object
on the chart. This line is a position line and
the boat’s position must lie somewhere along
it. No correction
was included for
deviation as it is
reasonable to assume
that the hand bearing
compass was used
from a deviation Figure 5.1
free position on the Taking a bearing of a light house using a hand-
boat. bearing compass.
Here the bearing to the light house from your posi-
tion is 285° (C)

33
Using the Breton plotter to plot the bearing on the chart.
First correct the compass bearing to true:

T V M D C
274˚ 11˚W 285˚ 0˚ = 285˚

The true bearing is therefore 274°(T).

1. Turn the protractor until 274° is opposite the 0 mark engraved on the plotter body and from now on do not
move the protractor disc from this position.

Figure 5.2
Protractor disc set to 274°

2. Put the plotter on the chart so that one edge is on the object from which you obtained the bearing -
Chesapeake light in this case.
3. Turn the whole plotter until the North point on the protractor is pointing roughly to north but remember not
to turn the protractor disc relative to the plotter body.
4. To ensure the plotter is pointing exactly north move the whole plotter until any one of the engraved grid
lines is parallel to any convenient line of latitude or longitude printed on the chart.

Figure 5.3
When the plotter is lined up correctly the position line is drawn on the chart.

34
Before you draw the position line check that the direction arrow engraved on the plotter is pointing in the right
direction, that is in the same sense as you took the bearing. If the direction arrow were pointing in the opposite
direction you would be using the plotter upside down and the south point of the protractor would be pointing to chart
north; this is an easy mistake to make until you become used to using the plotter.

Position Fix
A single position line does not, on its own, fix your position but if a second position line from a different source can
be found it will give a position fix. Suppose at the same time that you took the bearing from your position to the
Chesapeake Light you also found that the bearing from your position to the yellow buoy “A” was 005°(C).
Correct 005°(C) to True (365°- 11°) = 354°(T).
Set the plotter to 354° and plot the position line through buoy “A” as before. Your position, at the time the bearings
were taken, is where the two position lines meet.

Figure. 5.4
The boat’s position is where the two position lines cross. These position lines have an arrow drawn at the end to
indicate that they are position lines. The position fix is shown on the chart by the circle.

Whenever possible try to get a third position line as this will confirm your position or alternatively alert you to a
possible error.

Figure. 5.
Three position line fix.

35
It is unlikely that three or more position lines will all
intersect at the same point, rather they will form what
is called a ‘cocked hat’. The size of this cocked hat
should give you an idea of how reliable the fix is. Do
not assume that you are in the centre off the cocked hat; Assume you are here

it is much safer to assume you are at the position in the

cocked hat that is closest to danger, and act accordingly,
if danger exists.

Taking bearings at sea

Be careful! It is all too easy to forget to hold on when
concentrating on taking bearings, even in calm weather
an unexpected wash from a ship can make you lose your balance and go overboard.
Have a good look around to see what objects will be best and give a good angle of cut, an angle of about 90° is ideal
for two position lines, 60° for three. Make sure you can positively identify their positions on the chart.
Take the bearing of each object and write down the name of the object and its associated bearing at once. If you don’t
write them down straight away you may not remember which was which or forget the last bearing and have to do it all
again. Write down the time of the fix and the mileage on the ship’s distance log.
Go to the chart table, correct the bearings to true and plot the position lines. Beside the fix on the chart write the time
of the fix and the mileage recorded on the ship’s log. The time and log readings are very important because you may
well have to refer back to the fix some time in the future; if you don’t know how long it is since the last fix was taken
or how far you have travelled since then the fix will be of no value.

Sources of bearings
· Bearings can be taken of almost anything that is conspicuous, charted and unambiguous, for example:
· Light houses are usually easily seen by day and of course their light is visible at night.
· Buoys, beacons and marks are nearly always charted but they can move during storms. Make absolutely
certain that the buoy you are taking a bearing of is the one you think it is.
· Water towers, TV towers, chimneys, aerials and church spires.
· Mountain tops, hill tops and small islands can be used if they have a clearly defined high point. Headlands
can also be used if they are steep to, but not if they slope down gently.
· Conspicuous buildings such as forts and castles are often charted

Range
A range occurs when two charted objects are seen by eye to be directly in line. A range can yield a very accurate
position line which may be
plotted directly on to the
chart without having to
use a compass or do any
calculations. Objects used
to form a range should not
be too close together.
Lighthouse
If you can get a compass
bearing of another object
with a good angle of cut at
the same time as the range
occurs you will have a fix.
This is easier with two Beacon
people; one to watch for
the range and the other to
take the bearing of the third
object when told to.
Figure 5.6, A range
As it is seen from the boat. As it is plotted on the chart

36
Fix by Range and bearing

Fl R 2.5s 15ft
TV TR 416 ft
0430
(216.5)

Fl R 4s 18 ft

Figure 5.7
A fix by range and simultaneous bearing of light structure. Note that a fix should always inclsude the time and
distance log reading at the time of the fix. To avoid confusion the log reading is in brackets.

Sectored light
Some light houses have sectored lights. The light changing color when seen from the boat indicates that the boat is on
the position line between the two sectors printed on the chart. Note that the use of red as a color does not necessarily
signify danger - check on the chart.

Figure 5.8
Position line from sectored light.

Clearly defined depth contour

If the seabed shelves rapidly it may be possible to use a depth contour as a position line. The Great Machipongo Inlet
is a possible example as the sea bed has definite contours. To be precise the height of tide should be taken into account.
This method is seldom accurate and should be used with extreme caution.

However, it is definitely good practice when plotting fixes from any source, to check the depth on the chart against the
depth shown on the boat’s depth sounder.

37
Position circles
If the distance from a charted object can be found your
position must lie somewhere on a position circle centred
on the object with a radius equal to that distance.

Distances from objects can be found by using optical

measuring devices, radar, and a sextant.
The distance from a lighthouse can also be found at night
by using a simple table printed in nautical almanacs such
as Reeds Nautical Companion. To use this table it is only
required to know the height of your eye above sea level
and the height of the light above sea level. The light is
watched until it is exactly on the horizon and the table gives
the distance from the light at this moment. The position
circle can then be drawn from the centre of the light on the
chart. A bearing of the light at the same moment will give a Figure 5.9
fix, as would a position line from any other source.

Distance off table

LIGHTS - distance off when rising or dipping (M)

Height of Height of eye

light meters 1 2 3 4 5 6
feet 3 7 10 13 16 20
Metres ft
10 33 8.7 9.5 10.2 10.8 11.3 11.7
12 39 9.3 10.1 10.8 11.4 11.9 12.3
14 46 9.9 10.7 11.4 12.0 12.5 12.9
16 52 10.4 11.2 11.9 12.5 13 13.4
18 59 10.9 11.7 12.4 13 13.5 13.9

20 66 11.4 12.2 12.9 13.5 14.0 14.4

30 98 13.5 14.3 15.0 16.6 16.1 16.5

32 105 13.9 14.7 15.4 16 16.5 16.9
34 112 14.2 15 15.7 16.3 16.8 17.2
36 118 14.6 15.4 16.1 16.7 17.2 17.6
Figure 5.10
Extract from a typical table used to find distance off (from) a dipping or rising light on the horizon.

The table is entered with the height of the observer’s eye above sea level against the height of the lighthouse found
from the chart. The ‘distance off’ found from the table is in miles. The height of the lighthouse given on the chart
is its height above the shoreline reference plane used on the chart (usually Mean High Water) and therefore, strictly
speaking, the height of tide at the time the observation was made should be found and the height of the lighthouse
corrected accordingly. This correction is usually ignored in areas with tidal ranges of a few feet but where the tidal
range is appreciable the correction should be applied.

A calculator may be used to find the distance off using the formula:
1.144 x (√ht of light + √ht of eye) , when the heights and answer are in feet, or
2.072 x (√ht of light + √ht of eye) , when the heights and answer are in meters.

A fix may be possible if a bearing to the object can be found using a hand bearing compass. A fix may also be possible
if a bearing from a different object can be obtained.

38
Most small boat radars do not give accurate bearings of objects under normal operating conditions but radar will
measure distances accurately; use radar bearings with great caution; compass bearings are usually preferable.

CHESAPEAKE
CAPE HENR RACON
Y Lt 275º

s
m ile
10
d i us
ra

Figure 5.11 a FIG. 5.11 b

Fix by distance and bearing,
of the same object from one object and bearing from another.
Using two position circles
It is unlikely that two position circles will give a fix; usually the circles will
intersect at two places giving two potential positions. It may perhaps be
?
possible to decide which is the fix using radar bearings. A radar bearing is
acceptable in this instance as it is only being used to decide which position
is the correct one.

Using three position circles ?

Position can be accurately
plotted if it is possible to get Figure 5.12
distances simultaneously from three objects as the
three circles will only all intersect at one point.

Bn
NLT 265 ( C )

Figure 5.13

Using single position lines

As was pointed out earlier a single position line can
be very useful in a number of ways, for example as
a leading line to enter a harbor or anchorage whilst
avoiding hidden dangers. Any charted object can be
used as a reference point. A line, which is well clear of
all dangers, is drawn on the chart through the object. Correct the bearing of
the object along this line from true to compass. Keep checking the bearing Figure 5.14
of the object and alter course as required to keep the beacon bearing Safe clearing bearing
265°(C).

39
In practice it is not easy to hold a precise course like this so when the boat is initially lined up on the required bearing
to the beacon try to find something on the land directly behind the beacon which will serve as a visual range. The
second object doesn’t have to be on the chart, anything such as a tree or rock will do. Don’t use something that can
move like a cow. It is much easier for the helmsman to hold the boat on course keeping two things ahead in line by
eye than to have to hold a precise compass course.
All bearings should be corrected for variation (and deviation if necessary) beforehand so that they relate directly to the
compass which will be used; this is no time to be muttering about True Virgins.

Harbor approach
A bearing of a charted object can be used when entering, or leaving, a harbor with outlying obstructions such as shoals,
or wrecks.

˚ ( C )
83

72˚(T)=83˚(C)
Figure. 5.15
Here a back bearing of the end of conspicuous building is being used to
avoid hidden dangers when leaving a harbor.

Clearing lines
Another approach is to
draw two lines on the
chart each one well clear
of the hidden dangers
and label them Not
More than and Not Less
than their safe compass Bn NLT 260 ( C )
bearing. Change course
as the bearing to the
object comes close to the
NL or NM bearing. NMT 280
(C)

Figure. 5.16
Not Less than 260° (C), Not More than 280° (C)
40
The running fix

A position fix can be obtained from only one fixed charted object provided that the boat is moving. The principle is
as follows:
1) Take a bearing of the object with a hand bearing compass and record the bearing, distance log reading and
the time.
2) Maintain as steady a course as is possible, until the bearing to the object has changed significantly.
3) Take a second bearing of the same object and record the bearing, distance log reading, average course
steered and the time.

The running fix is then plotted as follows:

1) Plot the first position line through the object.
2) Plot the second position line through the object. (Your position must lie somewhere along this second
position line.)
3) From anywhere on the first position line draw a vector representing the boat’s course and the distance the
boat travelled between the times of the first and second position lines.
4) From the end of the course/distance vector plot a vector representing the current set and drift, if any, for the
time involved.
5) From the end of the current vector draw a line parallel to the first position line. ( This line is called a
‘transferred position’ line and should have two arrowheads drawn at each end)
6) The boat’s position is where the transferred position line and the second position line intersect.

Example:

TIME LOG COURSE °T REMARKS

0900 45 Cape Charles lt. ho. 245° (T)
1000 50 185 Cape Charles lt. ho. 300°(T), current 0900 - 1000 = 215°(T) / 1knt

1) Plot the first position line, 245°(T) to the

light house.
2) Plot the second position line, 300°(T) to
the light house. 0900
3 From anywhere on the first position line (45.0)
plot the course steered and the distance )
º (T
travelled from 0900 to 1000: 185°(T) / 5 2 45
CAPE CHARLES
Miles.
fL 5s 180ft
4) Plot the current vector: 215°(T) / 1Miles.
185º (T) / 5M

(Assumed current for this example)

5) Draw a line through the end of the current
vector, parallel to the first position line; this 30
0º
is called the transferred position line. Mark (T)
each end with two arrow heads, or write R
FIX, beside the transferred position

The boat’s position lies where the transferred position

line cuts the second position line. Write the time and 1000
log reading beside the fix. To avoid clutter only the time (50.0)
and log reading at the time of the position fix would
normally be written on the chart.

Figure 5.17
Position at 1000 from a running fix

41
The running fix, step by step.

TIME LOG COURSE °T REMARKS

0900 45 Cape Charles lt. ho. 245°(T)
1000 50 185 Cape Charles lt. ho. 300°(T), current 0900 - 1000 = 215°(T) / 1knt

0900
(45.0)

1) Plot the first position line, 245°T to the light house. CAPE CHARLES
fL 5s 180ft

0900
(45.0)

2) Plot the second position line, 300°T to the light house. CAPE CHARLES
fL 5s 180ft

0900
(45.0)
3) From anywhere on the first position line draw a line representing CAPE CHARLES
the course steered and the distance travelled fL 5s 180ft

from 0900 to 1000 = 185°(T) / 5 Miles

4) Plot the current vector

215°(T) / 1M. (Assumed for the sake of this example)

0900
(45.0)

CAPE CHARLES
fL 5s 180ft
5) Draw the transferred position line through the end of the
current vector, parallel to the first position line.

The boat’s position is where the transferred position line cuts the
second position line. 1000
(50.0)

Write the time and log reading beside the fix.

42
Running fix from two different sources

A position fix can be obtained from two different charted objects even though they are not both visible at the same
time. This situation could arise for example when sailing along the coast in restricted visibility.
The principle is the same as the previous running fix, the first position line derived from the first object is transferred
to the time of the second position line.

Time Log Course Remarks

(T) L’Way

2100 145 Cape Charles Lt. 245° (T) Poor visibility!

2200 150 185° Nil Tank, Fishermans Island 295° (T), current 2100 - 2200 + 215° /1 knt

CAPE CHARLES
fL 5s 180ft

Fishermans
TANK Island

2200
(150.0)

Figure 5.19
Running Fix derived from two different sources:
the first position line is from the Cape Charles light,
the second is from the tank on Fishermans Island

43
44
 6
Dead Reckoning and Estimated Positions
D ead reckoning comes from the term deduced reckoning which, in days gone by, used to be written as “ded.
reckoning” in the ship’s log book. Dead reckoning is a procedure for deducing the ship’s position when no other
means of visual or electronic position fixing is available. A DR position is deduced from the course steered and the
distance travelled since the last reliable position fix.

DR position
The DR position is worked up as follows:
1. From the last known position draw a line along the course steered since leaving that position.
2. Mark off the distance travelled along this line since leaving the last known position.

The course steered will be known by the helmsman and should be entered in the ship’s log book. The distance
travelled will be found from the ship’s distance log and should also be entered in the log book. As was mentioned
earlier the distance log reading should also be written beside the last fix drawn on the chart. Take as an example the
following “extract” from a yacht’s log book:

Time Position log Course° (C) Wind

1300 36°54’.3N 75°42’.8W 300 SW 2
1400 306.5 104 SW 3

Suppose just after the position was fixed at 1300 heavy fog closed in and nothing has been visible since then. What
is your position at 1400? The course steered from 1300 to 1400 was 104°(C) which is 093°(T) as the variation is
11°W and this boat has no deviation. The distance travelled since the last fix is the log reading at 1400 minus the
log reading at 1300 = 6.5 miles.
The boat has therefore travelled 6.5 miles along a course of 093°(T) since the position fix at 1300.

Y “A”
Fl Y 2.5s 55’
CHESAPEAKE

1400
(306.5)

36˚
50’

45’ 40’ 35’ 75˚30’

Figure 6.1
The DR is plotted and the time and log reading written on the chart.

45
A position derived from dead reckoning is only really valid if:

· there is no current to carry you off course;

· there is no wind to push you sideways (leeway);
· your distance log is accurate;
· there is no helmsman’s error, and,
· the helmsman is not a liar.

Estimated position (EP)

An estimated position expands on the basic DR to include in the plot the following quantifiable variables, where
known, so that the best possible estimation of the position may be determined.

1. Current set and drift is the direction and distance the current has moved the water and hence the boat during
the time involved in the EP. Current set and drift is found from Reed’s Nautical Almanac or from current
atlases if available. Note that current direction is always given in degrees True.

2. Leeway is caused by the boat being pushed sideways as well as forwards by the wind. Motor boats with
high topsides and flying bridges suffer leeway as well as sailing boats. Amongst the factors which decide
how much leeway a boat will suffer are hull/keel shape, area of rigging and superstructure, wind strength
and direction, course relative to wind direction (leeway is maximum close hauled, zero when head to wind
or running), angle of heel ( keel efficiency decreases as angle of heel increases) and sea state.

There is, unfortunately, no rule of thumb to

define how much leeway a particular boat might
make. One suggestion for checking leeway is to
sight along the boat’s wake with a hand bearing
compass and compare its reading with the
(reciprocal of) the steering compass. Leeway
can be as much as 20° or even more in some
instances. IN
D
W

Steps in working up an EP

1. Apply estimated leeway to the True Figure 6.2

course steered to find the “water track”;
2. from the last known position draw a line in the direction of the water track;
3. mark off the distance run along the water track;
4. from the end of the water track draw a line representing the current set and drift.

This current vector (a vector is a line which has both direction and length) is drawn in the same direction as the
current was moving and its length is the distance in miles the current has moved during the period of time for which
the EP is being plotted.

For the sake of the example which follows below it is assumed that the current was flowing 182°(T) at rate of 1.2
knots. This means that in 1 hour the current will have moved the sea surface, and therefore the boat, 1 mile in the
direction of 182°T; this can be written simply as 182°/1M.

46
Example of an EP using an extract from a yacht’s log book:

Time Position log Course° (C) Wind L’way Current

1300 36°54’.3N 75°42’.8W 300 165° NE 18 nil°
1400 306.5 100° NE 18 10° 182°/1.2M

Plot the yacht’s position at 1400.

Do all the ‘math’ first, then the plot. D

IN
W
Course 100° (C)
Deviation + 4° E
= 104° (M) +10˚
Variation - 11° (W)
= 93° (T)
Leeway + 10°
= 103° (T)
Leeway was estimated at 10°. As the wind was from the
Log at 1400 306.5 northeast it will have pushed the boat 10° to the south of its
Log at 1300 300.0 true course, i.e. +10°.
= 6.5 Miles

Now, from the position at 1300

1. plot a vector 103°(T) / 6.5M, and then, from the end of this vector,
2. plot the current vector 182° / 1.2M.

Y “A”
Fl Y 2.5s 55’
CHESAPEAKE

1400
(306.5)

36˚
50’

45’ 40’ 35’ 75˚30’

Note that the water track is marked with one arrow, the ground track with two arrows and the tidal vector is
marked with three arrows. The Estimated Position is shown by a square with a dot in the centre at the boat’s
position. Usually with an EP the only requirement is to find the estimated position so the ground track would
not normally be plotted.

47
So far the examples have been for periods of one hour which require only one current vector to be drawn
representing the set and drift of the current. Most passages will take longer than an hour and will also probably
involve course changes due to wind direction, hazards to be avoided and so on. An EP involving multiple course
and current streams changes can be worked up in one of two ways.
The first way is to plot the course, distance and current stream separately for each individual hour and the second
way is to plot all the courses and distances first and then plot all the current vectors together.
Obviously each method must give the same final EP but the second approach is by far the easiest to plot, to read
and to correct if mistakes are made. The two examples below show the result of plotting an EP using both methods
based on the following ‘log book’ extract.

Time Log Course° (M) Wind L’way Position

1300 307.0 061° W2 0° Fix 36°54’.3N 75°42’.8W
1400 309.8 061° W2 0° a/c to 141°(M)
1500 313.8 141° W3 0° a/c to 061°(M)
1600 318.0 061° W4 0° EP at 1600?

The vectors which must be plotted to find the EP are:From 1300 to 1400: water track = 050°(T)/2.8M; current =
174°/1.0knFrom 1400 to 1500: water track = 130°(T)/4.0M; current = 164°/0.9knFrom 1500 to 1600: water track =
050°(T)/4.2M; current = 172°/0.8kn(The current direction and rate given are just for the sake of this example.)

Y “A”
Fl Y 2.5s 55’
CHESAPEAKE

1600
(318.0)

36˚
50’

45’ 40’ 35’ 75˚30’

Figure 6.4
Water track and current vector plotted for each individual hour.

48
 Y “A”
Fl Y 2.5s 55’
CHESAPEAKE

1600
(318.0)

36˚
50’

45’ 40’ 35’ 75˚30’

Figure. 6.5
Water tracks plotted first, then all the current vectors.
The EP position is the same as that in FIG. 6.4.

The Log-Book
A small boat’s log-book, or log, is the book in which the information relating to the ship’s progress is recorded.
Anything of navigational importance that has occurred on passage which may be required by the navigator must be
recorded in the log-book.
Originally two black painted boards were used, the distance log reading being recorded on them using a piece of
chalk. The boards were hinged so that they could be closed like a book to protect the writing and were known as
‘log boards’.
Remember that entries in the log-book relate to what has happened not what you would like to happen; in other
words you will record the course which has been steered for the past hour, not the course that you hope to steer for
the next hour.

Log-book headings
Log-books should be kept as simple as
possible with only information of use to the “MY BOAT”
navigator being entered. DATE:.......................200.

Necessary headings are:

· Time ZONE __________________ FROM __________________

· Log (distance) reading VARIATION______________ TOWARDS_______________

· Course steered
· Position TIME LOG COURSE POSITION WIND BARO
(˚T) LAT LONG DIRECTION FORCE L’WAY
· Wind Direction
· Wind Strength
· Estimated Leeway
· Barometer Reading

The time of the entry is entered in the

time column and then the reading from Figure. 6.6
the boat’s distance log. The course steered Example of ship’s log-book layout.

49
is the average course steered since the last entry and the position is the boat’s position at the time of the entry. The
position could be entered as latitude and longitude or, alternatively, if the boat is close to a known object or buoy this
can be recorded as the position, e.g. “Chesapeake light abeam, 200 feet”. The latter method avoids the possibility of
making an error when writing out the latitude and longitude figures, the position is very easy to check on the chart
and, furthermore, makes the log much more enjoyable reading later on.

The wind direction is usually recorded in general terms such as W (west), NW (north west), etc. and the wind
strength is usually entered using either knots or Beaufort Force numbers, thus an entry for a force 5 wind from the
north east would be “NE 5”. The wind direction and strength entered are once again since the last entry in the log-
book and are required so the navigator can decide what allowance must be made for leeway, if any.
The barometer reading is not required for navigation but is very important as local weather trends and changes will
be indicated by changes in barometric pressure. The pressure is recorded from the barometer in inches or millibars
at the time of the entry.

The first entry of a passage in the log will give the time, log reading, barometer and departure point but there will
be no entry under Course as no course has yet been steered. From then on, depending on conditions, entries will be
made in the log-book perhaps every hour for displacement boats and more often for fast boats.
Any alteration of course must be recorded as for example when a yacht tacks or a motor boat has to alter course for
some distance to avoid a fishing fleet in its path. A log-book should also have space for ‘remarks’ where anything of
interest can be recorded.

For a motor boat it is a good idea to include a space for ‘Fuel’ to record how much fuel is on board at the start of a
passage and how much was taken on during the passage.

50
 “MY BOAT”
DATE:.......................200. FROM __________________

TOWARDS_______________
ZONE __________________ FROM __________________

VARIATION______________ TOWARDS_______________ REMARKS

TIME LOG COURSE POSITION WIND BARO

(˚T) LAT LONG DIRECTION FORCE L’WAY

FIGURE 6.7
SUGGESTED SHIP’S LOG BOOK LAYOUT

51
52
 7
Tides
T ides are of great significance to the navigator and it is essential to understand how tides may be used to help, rather
than hinder, safe and efficient navigation, pilotage and passage planning. Tides effect navigation in two distinct ways:
firstly, by the continual change in the depth of the sea caused by the rise and fall of the tide, and secondly, by the
directional movement of the sea surface caused by the flow of the tidal currents.

Most, but not all, places experience two high tides and two low tides each day; this tidal regime being called semidiurnal
(i.e. “half daily”). The coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of the United States and much of Northern Europe are
subject to semi-diurnal tides. Some places, such as the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico experience diurnal tides
having only one high tide and one low tide each day.

The Pacific coast of the United States has a tidal regime called Mixed tide which usually has two high tides and two
low tides tides each day but, on occasion, the tide may become diurnal with only one high and low water each day;
there is often an appreciable difference in the heights of consecutive high and low waters of different heights

The cause of tides

Tides occur due to the gravitational effect of the moon and sun and because the earth is continuously spinning about
its own axis, completing one whole revolution each day.

Gravity
There exists a force called gravity which tries to pull the earth and the moon together. To understand the effect of
gravity it can be thought of as if it were a magnetic attraction between the moon and the earth continuously trying to
pull them together. The earth and the moon would therefore collide were it not for a second force called centrifugal
force.

Centrifugal force
Centrifugal force is the tendency to movement outwards from the centre of a spinning body. If you tie a weight to a
piece of string and then swing it quickly round and round the string becomes taught as the weight attempts to move
away from the centre, which in this instance is your hand holding the end of the string. If the string breaks the weight
will fly away from the centre due to centrifugal force. The moon and the earth are continuously spinning through space
around a common centre, called the ‘barycenter’, which gives rise to a centrifugal force trying to drag them apart. The
earth and the moon would therefore separate from each other in space were it not for gravity which counteracts the
centrifugal force. The two opposing forces of gravity and centrifugal force balance each other out and as a result the
moon and the earth retain their relative distances from each other neither coming together nor flying apart.

The effect of gravity on the sea

In order to explain why tides occur it may help, initially, to think of the earth as being a sphere completely covered by
water. The earth is a ‘solid’ sphere but the water surrounding it is fluid. Water also experiences the gravitational pull
from the moon and so the water surrounding the earth is drawn towards the point on earth which is closest to the moon,
forming a hump at that point. In effect the moon acts as if it were a magnet drawing the surface of the sea towards
it. At the other side of the earth, opposite the moon, the gravitational pull from the moon is far less thus allowing the
water to move away from the earth’s surface forming a second hump.
Instead of a uniform depth of water over the earth’s surface there are now two shallow points and two deep points with
the depths changing gradually between them.

53
 WATER
MOON

Figure 7.1
How the gravitational pull of the moon on the sea causes two deep points and two shallow points to develop.
(The drawing greatly exaggerates the effect.)

Rotation of the earth

The earth is continuously spinning like a spinning top around its own axis, a line joining the north and south poles,
taking 24 hours to complete one full revolution. Any particular place on the earth’s surface will therefore pass through
two low water points (low tides) and two high water points (high tides) every 24 hours.

N MOON MOON

High Tide 6 hours later = low tide

MOON MOON

12 hours later = high tide 18 hours later = low tide

Fig 7.2(View these figures as if looking down on the north pole from a great height.)

Figure 7.2. above greatly exaggerates the gravitational effect of the moon, in reality tides in the open ocean, unaffected
by the proximity of land, are no more than a couple of feet in height. The tide on the side of the earth nearest to the
moon is slightly greater than that on the side of the earth opposite to the moon.

The lunar month

The moon does not remain in the same place but moves in an orbit around the earth . Because the moon is moving
around the earth in the same direction as the earth is revolving around its own axis a lunar day is 24 hours and 50 mins
long compared with a solar day of 24 hours. This means that it takes the moon about 24 hours and 50 mins to cross
twice over the same meridian of longitude on earth and therefore the time interval between one high tide and the next
will actually be 12 hours and 25 mins where there are two high tides per lunar day. High tide at a given place therefore
occurs roughly 50 mins later each day.

54
The sun’s effect on tides
The sun’s gravitational attraction effects the water on the earth’s surface in exactly the same way as the moon does.
Although the sun is physically much larger than the moon it’s gravitational attraction is less than half that of the
moon’s because it is so much further away from the earth. (The moon is about 240,000 miles from earth whereas the
sun is about 93,000,000 miles away). However, due to the constantly changing relative positions of the earth, moon
and sun the gravitational effects of the sun and moon sometimes combine together and sometimes partly cancel each
other out.

When the attraction from the sun and moon combine together the range of the tide is great, high tides being higher than
normal and low tides being lower than normal. These tides are called spring tides.

When the moon’s pull is partly cancelled out by the position of the sun the range of tide is small, high tides are then
lower than normal and low tides are higher than normal. These tides are called neap tides.

7 days
Spring tides
Spring tides occur when the sun and moon are in a new moon
direct line with the earth, that is at new moon and
full moon. 7 days

The greatest spring tides of the year take place near

the equinoxes during March and September at new 7 days
and full moon.

full moon 7 days

Spring Tides
Figure 7.3
Spring tides occur when the earth, sun and moon are in a
direct line, that is at new moon and full moon.

Neap tides occur when the sun and

moon are at right angles to each other,
that is when there is a half moon. Neap
tides occur when the sun and moon
7 days
are at 90° to each other, the pull of the First quarter
moon then being counteracted to an
extent by the pull from the sun. Neap 7 days
tides give a small tidal range as the
high tide is lower than normal and low
tide is higher than normal.
7 days

The time interval between spring and

neap tides is not constant but as a rule 7 days
Last quarter
of thumb can be considered as being
7½ days. In other words there will be
a neap tide 7½ days after a spring tide NeapFigure
Tides 7.4
and in a further 7½ days the tide will Neap tides occur when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other,
be a spring tide again. that is when there is a half moon.

55
TIDAL HEIGHTS

The effect of land on the tidal wave

So far we have considered a world totally covered by water but there are of course large land masses dividing the
oceans and seas of the world. If it were not for these land masses the tidal wave caused by the moon and sun would
travel continuously westwards at a speed of around 900 knots on the equator. However, because most of the large land
masses lie in a north/south direction the tidal wave is interrupted, except in the Southern Ocean. This uninterrupted
tidal wave in the Southern Ocean generates the north going tidal wave in the Atlantic which starts off the Cape of Good
Hope and speeds northwards at about 600 knots reaching Greenland about 12 hours later.

Coastal tides
In the open ocean a rise in the depth of water of a foot (0.3m) or so would not be noticeable but in coastal waters tides
can cause the depth to change by as much as 40 feet or more. The average range of spring tides at Burntcoat Head
in the Bay of Fundy is 52.6 feet, (15.8 metres) whereas, at the other extreme, the spring range at San Salvador in the
Bahamas is 2.9 feet.

Tides in coastal waters are caused by the fast moving tidal wave meeting large land masses, shelving sea beds, heavily
indented coastlines and so on in just the same way that a wave runs up a beach due to its own momentum. Large land
masses both constrict and compress the flow of water. The friction effect of a shelving sea bed causes the leading edge
of the tidal wave to slow down allowing more of the wave behind to catch up, and combine with, the front of the wave
thus increasing the overall wave height.

Tides still will not form to a noticeable extent unless the length and depth of the sea bed in the area is formed in such
a way that the water in it will have a natural frequency of oscillation which is in sympathy with the passage of the
moon and sun. Oscillation means to move to and fro between two points, a good example will be seen if you slop
water up and down the bath using your hand as the wave generating force; if you get the frequency just right a wave
will continue to occur at each end of the bath but if you change the frequency the natural period of oscillation will be
lost and the periodic waves at each end will disappear.

Corioli’s force acting on tide generated currents can have a marked effect on tidal heights. The English Channel is
formed by restrictions on either side with England on one side and France on the other and currents here flow strongly,
roughly parallel to the shores, in an east/west and west/east direction. Corioli’s force deflects the mass of moving
water to the right of its path giving spring ranges of 40 feet or more on the French coast but less than half this on the
English side.

The Baltic does not have a wide enough opening to allow any significant tidal wave to enter and as it lies in a north/
south direction there is not sufficient width to generate its own wave, therefore there are no appreciable tides there.
The Mediterranean, on the other hand, lies in an east/west direction but it has a restriction in the middle which defeats
the natural period of oscillation needed to form tides and its opening to the Atlantic at Gibraltar is too narrow to allow
sufficient of the Atlantic’s tidal wave in to have any noticeable effect. The average range of tide at Valetta, in Malta,
for example is about 3 inches (0.08m).

Tidal abnormalities
In some places the tides do not follow the normal rules, the area around the Solent on the south coast of England being
a good example. This area, from Swanage to Selsey, has a tidal regime which is distorted; some of these places have a
secondary high water occurring a few hours after the first high water or the tide may remain or stand at the same level
without changing for 3 hours or so. Secondary low waters occur off the Hoek of Holland. Very often the tide rises in
an estuary quicker than it falls. These anomalies are due to many things such as the shape of the surrounding land, the
depth of the sea bed, the momentum of the tidal wave and so on.

Bores
Bores are steep faced spring tidal waves that move quickly up estuaries and rivers causing a wave of anything from a
few centimetres to a few meters in height. They form because the depth of water is too shallow to allow the wave to
maintain its natural shape and the back of the wave catches up with, and adds too, the front of the wave.

56
Although bores may present a real danger to small craft their occurrence is usually predictable and will be noted in the
tide tables. The Pettitcodiac river in the Bay of Fundy and the river Severn in England experience bores.

Tsunamis, surges and seiches

None of the above are in fact tidal, being caused by natural forces, rather than lunar or solar tide raising forces but they
are often called ‘tidal waves’ so they are included here. A tsunami (Japanese: ‘a wave in a harbour’) is caused by a
sudden seismic upheaval such as an earthquake on the sea bed. This gives rise to waves of perhaps a metre in height
in the open ocean travelling at speeds of up to 400 or 500 knots for thousands of miles. When these waves meet, and
run up, a shelving sea bed, the wave heights can increase to 20 metres or more with devastating results on low lying
areas.

A surge is a rise, or fall, in the level of the sea caused by a change in atmospheric pressure. As the air above the sea
has weight it exerts pressure on the surface of the sea, an increase in atmospheric pressure will force the sea down
whereas low atmospheric pressure will allow the sea surface to rise up. A change in pressure of 35 millibars may cause
a change in depth of 0.3m (1 foot). A storm surge in January of 1953 raised the sea level in the southern part of the
North Sea by 10 feet (3 m).

Hurricanes may well cause presure drops of 90 millibars or more at their centers. If a storm surge occurs at the same
time as a spring tide even more serious flooding can result over low lying ground.

Seiches may be caused by seismic or atmospheric conditions and they are seen as a sudden short lived rise and fall of
the sea level. A seiche may result from the passage of a thunderstorm or line squall, both of which are centred on an
area of low pressure.

Strong winds
When strong winds have been blowing in the same direction for a few days the sea level can build up on a shore down
wind (lee shore), however the increase in depth would generally not be much.

57
 TIDAL HEIGHT DEFINITIONS

The following terms used to define tidal heights and depths should be clearly understood to avoid confusion.

Chart Datum
Chart datum, or Sounding Datum, is a fixed reference level from which all depths and drying heights are measured on
a chart. NOS charts of US waters generally use Mean Lower Low water (MLLW). British Admiralty metric charts
use Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT).

Charted Depth
The distance from chart datum to the sea bed or the depth of water at MLLW. Charted depths are often referred to as
soundings.

Drying height
The height above chart datum of features that cover and uncover with the tide.

High water
The highest point reached by any one tide.

Low water
The lowest point reached by any one tide.

Range
The range of a tide is the difference in height between consecutive high and low waters. The range is therefore found
by subtracting the height of tide at low water from the height of tide at high water. The range is always changing, even
for successive high and low waters on the same day.

Duration
The time interval between high water and low water.

Height of tide
The height of tide is the height of water above chart datum at any moment in time.
Tide tables give the height of the tide at the exact time of HW and LW only. The height of tide for any other specific
time between HW and LW may be found using tide tables in conjunction with correction tables.
The height of tide thus found is added to the sounding printed on the chart to give the actual depth of water at the time
in question.

Spring Tides
A spring tide has a higher high water and a lower low water than the average tide for the area, therefore a spring tide
has a big range. Spring tides occur at about the time of new and full moon.

Neap Tides
Neap tides occur in between spring tides and have lower high waters and higher low waters than the average tide.
Neap tides therefore have a small range.

Mean High Water (MHW)

Mean here means average. MHW is the average height of all high waters for a particular place; the average is worked
out over a 19 year period. Its significance is that this is the datum from which the heights of lighthouses, landmarks and
the clearances beneath overhead obstructions such as bridges, powerlines and overhead cables are usually measured.

Mean lower low water (MLLW)

The average of the lower of the low waters of each tidal day.

58
Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT)
LAT is the lowest sea level that can be predicted to occur under average meteorological conditions and any combination
of astronomical conditions.

Height
of
Obstruction

Mean High
Water

Sea Level
Drying
Height Depth Height
of Tide of Water Mean Lower
Chart Datum Low Water

Sounding

Tidal Height Definitions

FiIG.7.5
Tidal height definitions

Sources of Tide Tables

Predictions of the heights of high and low water for the year were published annually by NOS for a large amount
of ports and areas. NOS tide predictions are, since 1996, only available on CD-ROM but the tables are readily
available from private printing sources such as Lighthouse Press and of course Reed’s Nautical Almanac contains
comprehensive tide tables.
Local tide tables can often also be found in nautical book shops and marina offices.
Tidal prediction can usually be done on any IBM compatible 486 or better using any of the commercially available
programs. Handheld dedicated tidal height computers are available from Prosser, amongst others. These cost a few
hundred dollars in 1998.

Reference stations
Reference stations are basically ports which have sufficient traffic to make the work and expense involved in publishing
dedicated tide tables worthwhile. For example Eastport, Cape Hatteras and St. Petersburg are standard ports.

Subordinate Stations
Subordinate stations are places which do not have their own dedicated tide tables. Tidal time and height information
may be calculated for subordinate stations by applying time and height differences found from the tides differences
tables to the times and heights of High and Low Waters at a particular specified reference station.

Tide table layout

· Make sure you are using the correct tide table, check the name of the port at the top.
· Always check carefully that you are using the correct month, day and date.
· Times are in 24 hour clock notation, i.e. 1518 means 1500 hours and 18 minutes.
· Check carefully whether the times in the tables have been corrected for Daylight Saving Time. Reed’s
North American east coast tide tables have the hour added, other predictions may not.
· The predicted height of tide is given in feet and decimals (tenths) of a foot.
· The height of tide given is the height above Chart Datum.
· The datum used will be given, e.g. U.S. Datum.

59
 · The tables do not say low or high water, the heights given will show which is which.
· Underneath the date are printed the first few letters of the day, i.e. Tu = Tuesday
· The time zone will be shown, e.g. Eastern Time (75° W).
· The date of new moon and full moon is shown by symbols

BOSTON, MA
HIGH AND LOW WATER 199X US DATUM 42°21’ N 71°03’ W

Eastern Time (75°W) Corrected for Daylight Saving Time: April 5 - October 24

MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST

Time ft Time ft Time ft Time ft Time ft Time ft Time ft Time ft

1 0033 11.1 16 0259 10.2 1 0458 9.8 16 0419 10.4 1 0515 9.3 16 0458 10.4 1 0009 1.5 16 0031 -0.1
0956 -0.7 0925 0.1 1117 0.5 1042 -0.3 1129 1.0 1114 -0.4 0621 8.5 0646 9.5
F 1616 9.8 Sa 1539 9.2 M 1740 9.2 Tu 1659 10.0 W 1750 9.2 Th 1731 10.6 Sa 1225 1.6 Su 1250 0.5
2213 0.6 2139 1.2 2340 1.5 2307 0.6 2357 1.6 2347 0.0 1844 9.2 1910 10.6

2 0429 10.5 17 0346 10.1 2 0554 9.4 17 0515 10.2 2 0609 8.9 17 0558 10.0 2 0104 1.5 17 0135 0.0
1053 0.0 1013 1.0 1211 1.0 1136 -0.2 1219 1.3 1210 -0.1 0716 8.4 0752 9.3
Sa 1715 9.4 Su 1628 9.2 Tu 1835 9.1 W 1754 10.2 Th 1841 9.2 F 1829 10.7 Su 1317 1.7 M 1351 0.7
2311 1.2 2231 1.2 1936 9.3 2013 10.6

3 0529 9.9 18 0438 10.0 3 0038 1.7 18 0006 0.5 3 0052 1.6 18 0049
1151 0.5 1105 0.2 0652 9.1 0615 10.1 0704 8.7 0700
1815 9.1 1721 9.4 1305 1.2 Th 1233 -0.1 1310 1.5 F 1308
Su M 2327 1.1 W 1928 9.2 1850 10.5 F 1931 9.3

FIG 7.6Extract from tide tables for Boston, MA.

Using the tide tables

Finding the time and height of high and low water is simply a matter of looking up the tide table for the date in
question.

Find the times and heights of HW and LW at Boston, MA on Monday the 1st of June.
HW 0458 EDT 9.8 ft
LW 1117 EDT 0.5 ft
HW 1740 EDT 9.2 ft
LW 2340 EDT 1.5 ft

Find the times and heights of HW, LW and the range of tide on the evening of May 2nd:

HW 1715 EDT 9.4 ft

LW 2311 EDT 1.2 ft
Range 8.2 ft

What the information found in the last example actually means is that high tide will be at 1715 by your watch and at
that time there will be 9.4 ft in addition to the depths shown on the chart of the area. Low tide will occur at 2311 when
there will be 1.2 ft in addition to the depths shown on the chart for the area.
The range of this tide is from 9.4 ft to 1.2 ft = 8.2 ft.

Note that the first time shown is not necessarily the time of high water, look at Boston tide tables for the 1st. of
August:

0009 EDT 1.5

0621 EDT 8.5

60
Find the times and heights of HW, LW and the range of tide on the morning of June 17:

HW 0515 EDT 10.2 ft

LW 1136 EDT - 0.2 ft
Range 10.4 ft
In this instance the height of tide at low water is preceded by a minus sign meaning that at low water the sea level will
be 0.4 ft below chart datum. There will therefore be 0.4 ft less depth than that which is shown on the chart of the area
at 1136 EDT.

Sometimes there are only three times instead of four given for a particular day.
Find the times and heights of HW, LW and range of tide on May 3 in the early morning:

2311 1.2 (May 2)

0529 9.9 May 3
Range 8.7

Subordinate station
Immediately following the tide tables for the primary reference ports are tables that permit the calculation of height
and time differences allowing the calculation of tidal data for many secondary, or subordinate, places. These tables
are called Tide Difference Tables.

Tide difference tables

To use the tide difference tables:
· find the page for the station, or place, required.
· note the name of the primary reference station in bold print at the top of the section
· the position of the station is given in lat and long
· note the time differences which must be added to (+), or subtracted from (-), the times of high and low
water at the primary reference station; the first column is for high tide the second column is for low tide
· note the height differences which must be applied to the high and low waters at the primary reference
station. These height differences are applied in a variety of ways:

add when the difference is preceded by a + sign.

subtract when the difference is preceded by a - sign.
multiply when the difference is preceded by an asterisk *
if the differences are enclosed in parentheses the tide height from the primary station is multiplied
by the first figure and the second figure is then added or subtracted according to the + or - sign.

Tide Differences table

PLACE POSITION DIFFERENCES RANGE

north west Time Height spring
latitude longitude high low high low ft
h m h m ft ft

on BOSTON, P. T 27

Chatham, outer coast 41°40’ 69°56’ +0:32 +0:26 *0.70 *0.70 7.8
Chatham inside 41°41’ 69°57’ +1:56 +2:26 *0.38 *0.38 4.2

Georges Shoal 41°42’ 67°46’ -0:47 -0:43 *0.44 *0.44 4.8

Davis Bank 41°08’ 69°39’ +0:06 -0:25 *0.14 *0.14 1.5

Figure 7.7
Extract from Tide Differences table, Reed’s Nautical Almanac

61
Subordinate station calculation

Example 1
Find the times and heights of HW and LW at Chatham outer coast (near Cape Cod), on the morning of June 1st.
The reference station is Boston, MA.
Times
Boston, June 1 HW 0458 EDT LW 1117 EDT
differences, Chatham +0032 +0026
Chatham HW 0530 1143

Heights
Boston, June 1 HW 9.8 ft LW 0.5 ft
differences, x 0.70 x 0.70
Chatham = 6.86 ft = 0.35 ft

June 1, Chatham: H W 0530 EDT 6.9 ft LW 1143 EDT 0.3 ft

Example 2
Find the times and heights of HW and LW at George’s Shoal (near Cape Cod), for the evening of July 2.
The reference station is Boston, MA.

July 2, Boston HW 1841 EDT 9.2 ft. (July 3) 0052 EDT 1.6
Differences, G’s Shoal - 0047 x 0.44 - 0043 x 0.44
George’s Shoal 1754 4.05 0009 0.7

To find height of tide at any time

Tide tables give the height of tide at HW and LW only. It is, however, often necessary to find the height of tide for a
specific time somewhere between high and low water. A simple table enables the calculation of height of tide for any
specific time. This table, called ‘TABLE 3 - HEIGHT OF TIDE AT ANY TIME’; is in Reed’s after the differences
tables.

TABLE 3
To use ‘table 3’ you need :
· the times and heights of the high and low waters which include the time you require;
· the duration of time and the range of the heights between the high and low waters;
the time difference from your required time to the time of the nearest HW or LW.

Example of using table 3

to find height of tide:

Find the Height of Tide at 0730 EDT on June 1st at Chatham, outer coast,
reference station Boston, MA.

Boston, June 1 HW 0458 9.8 ft LW 1117 0.5 ft

differences, Chatham +0032 x 0.70 +0026 x 0.70
Chatham H W 0530 6.86 ft 1143 0.35 ft

June 1, Chatham: H W 0530 6.9 ft LW 1143 0.3 ft

Duration of fall from 0530 Range 6.9 time from nearest HW HW 0530
to - 1143 - 0.3 to 0730
= 0613 6.6 ft 0200

62
1. Enter table with Duration of fall 6 20;
2. move across the row until directy beneath ‘time from nearest high water’ 1 54;
3. move down this column until opposite ‘range of tide’ 6.5;
4. read off correction of 1.3 ft which is subtracted from the HW height of 6.9 ft;
then height of tide at 0730 is 6.9 - 1.3 = 5.6 ft.

Height of tide
Example 2
Find Height of Tide at 2325 EDT on June the 2nd at Boston, MA.

Boston, June 2 HW 1835 9.1 LW 0038 1.7 (June 3)

from 1835 9.1 LW LW 0038

to - 0038 1.7 required time 2325
Duration of fall = 0603 Range 7.4 ft time from nearest LW 0113

From Table 3 a correctionof 0.7 ft is to be added to the height of tide at LW

Therefore the height of tide at 2325 EDT is 1.7 + 0.7 ft = 2.4 ft.

63
Practical use of ‘Table 3’
Keep some photocopies of ‘Table 3 - Height of tide at any time’ on board.

Then, when required:

· write in the tidal data from the tide

tables;

· underline the appropriate Duration

of Rise or Fall row;

· underline the appropriate Range of

Tide row;

· read off at a glance the correction

Figure. 7.9
to be added or subtracted from the
Table 3 underlined for
high or low water heights.

For example, from the table above, set up for a Duration of 6 hours and a Range of 7.5’, it can be immediately seen
that 1 hour before Low Water 0.5’ should be added to the height of tide at LW; 1 hour and 48 minutes after HW 1.5’
should be subtracted from the height of tide at HW, and so on.

To find the time for a required Height

It is often necessary to find the time at
which a required height of tide will be reached.

Suppose, for example, that on the late evening of

June 1st a yacht can pass safely over a shoal bank
near Boston on the falling tide when the height
of tide is 3 ft, or more. The height of tide at low
water is 1.5 ft so an additional 1.5 ft height of tide is
required. From the completed Table 3 it can be seen
that there will be an extra 1.5 ft added to the height
of low water 1 hour and 48 minutes before the time
of low water.
LW 2340
- 0148
FIG. 7.10
At 2152 EDT the height of tide is 3 ft, the yacht
must therefore cross the shoal before 2152 EDT.

Figure. 7.10

64
Tidal heights, the graphic method
Instead of using the ‘height of tide at any time’ table it is possible to sketch a quick graph representing the rise and fall
of the tide. This graph, once completed, makes it easy to find either the height of tide at a specific time or the time for
a required height of tide. Although it may look a bit difficult at first it is actually quite easy to sketch up the graph.

“One-quarter,
one tenth-rule”
This rule is an aide memoir when drawing up the tide graph.
To draw the graph, using any scale of measurement that suits:
1. draw the horizontal axis marked off to represent time;
2. draw the vertical axis marked off to represent tide height;
3. plot the HW and LW points on the graph and join the points with a straight line;
4. divide these lines into 4 equal spaces. The curve passes through the center point;
5. draw a line up from the high water quarter point of length 1/10 th of the range of the tide;
6. draw a line down from the low water quarter point of length 1/10 th of the range of the tide;
7. draw a fair curve through the high and low water points and the intermediate points, rounding off carefully
the top and bottom of the curve.

FIG.7.11
Tide curve drawn for Boston, MA. June 1st.
The left hand side represents the rising tide, the right hand side represents the falling tide.
The height of tide at any time, or the time for a required height are read directly from the curve.

65
Examples of using the completed tidal curve:

FIG.7.11

Find the height of tide at Boston on June 1 at 1515 EDT?

From the curve the height of tide will be 6.1 feet, on a rising tide.

At what time will the height of tide at Boston be 7 feet on the falling tide during the evening of June 1?
From the curve the height of tide will be 7 feet at 2000 EDT, on a falling tide.

66
 Examples of tidal height problems

Height for a time,

time for a height
Remember that all the problems which involve working with tidal height problems will require that one of two things
to be found:

1. the Height of Tide at a specific time, or

2. the Time for a specific Height of Tide

What is the latest time during the falling tide on the evening of June the 1st that a yacht can pass over an area near
Boston shown on the chart as having a drying height of 1 ft? The yacht has a draft of 4 ft and an extra clearance of
1 ft will be allowed for safety.

A quick sketch is usually a help when you are trying

to understand the problem.
Here the height of tide to allow the boat to pass
must be:
1 ft to cover the drying height 4 ft
+ 1 ft for the safety clearance Draft Required
+ 4 ft for the boat’s draft. Clearance
1 ft height of
tide
1 ft
Drying Height Chart Datum

The height of tide required to cover a drying height of 1 ft 1 ft

+ the draft of 4 ft 4 ft
+ the clearance of 1 ft 1 ft
Height of tide required > 6 ft

The problem now becomes:

at what time will the height of tide fall to 6 ft on the evening of June 1st?

First extract the times and heights

both high and low water from the
Boston tide table for the period of
time required

The height of tide at HW is 9.2 ft and

the minimum height of tide required
is 6 feet, so when the height of tide
has dropped by 3.2 feet the yacht
can no longer pass.
From the Height of Tide table the
height of tide will have dropped by
3 ft 2 hours and 36 minutes after
HW. Therefore the yacht must cross
the drying height before
1740
+ 0236
2016 EDT.

(NB: Do not interpolate when using

‘Table 3’) Figure 7.13

67
A motor boat with a draft of 3 ft wishes to cross over a shoal near Chatham, outer coast, shown on the chart as having
0.5 ft depth at Chart Datum. What is the earliest the boat can cross the shoal on the rising tide during the morning of
August the 2nd? Allow a safety clearance of 2 ft.

The boat will need an actual physical depth of:

the draft 3.0

+ the clearance 2.0
= 5.0 ft
But there is a depth of 0.5 ft at
chart datum so the height of tide
required is:
5.0 ft - 0.5 ft = 4.5 ft. draft 3’ height of
tide

At what time will the height of Clearance 2’ Chart Datum

tide be 4.5 ft? sea bed 0.5’

LW Boston 0104 EDT

1.5 ft HW 0716 8.4 ft.
Differences +0026 x0.7 +0032 x0.7
Chatham 0130 1.05 ft 0748 5.88 ft.

Duration 0618 Range 4.9 ft.

The Height of Tide at HW Chatham 5.9 ft

Required Height of Tide 4.5 ft
Therefore correction to height required = 1.4 ft

When, from ‘Table 3’, will

the height of tide be 1.4 ft
less than 5.9 ft?

From the table the height

of tide correction for 1.4
ft occurs 2 hours and 19
minutes before HW.

HW 0748
- 0219
= 0529

The boat can cross at 0529

EDT.

Figure 7.14

68
A yacht wishes to anchor as close as possible to the shore near Boston at 2100 EDT on August 1st. The yacht’s draft
is 6.5 ft and it is decided to allow a safety clearance of 3 ft between the keel and the sea bed at low water. What depth
should the yacht anchor in?

Quite simply the yacht should anchor in a depth equal to:

the yacht’s draft + the safety clearance + the amount by which the level of the sea will fall from 2100
until low water.

The draft and safety

clearance are known; all
that remains is to calculate
2100 EDT
by how many feet the level
of the sea will fall between
the time at which the yacht
wishes to anchor and the
?
next low water, i.e. between Low Water
2100 and LW.
6.5’
Draft

3.0’
sea bed Clearance

The first step will therefore be:

find the height of tide at 2100 EDT on August the 1st.

Boston, August 1: HW 1844 EDT 9.2 ft. LW 0104 1.5 ft. (August 2)
Duration of fall 2504 Range 9.2 Time from nearest high water 2100
- 1844 - 1.5 1844
620 7.7
216

Ht of tide at HW 9.2 ft
correction, table 3 - 2.2 ft
Ht of tide at 2100 7.0 ft

Ht of tide at 2100 7.0 ft

ht of tide at LW 1.5 ft
Sea level will fall 5.5 ft

Therefore the yacht should anchor in a

depth of:

the fall from 2100 to LW 5.5 ft

+ the draft of the yacht 6.5 ft
+ the required clearance 3.0 ft
anchor in a depth of 15.0 ft
Figure 7.15
This means that the yacht will be brought toward the shore until the depth sounder indicates a depth of 15 ft, at which
point the yacht should anchor.
(Although a chart is not needed for the calculations it is obviously necessary to check on the chart that the yacht has
picked a suitable spot and is not anchoring on foul ground, etc., etc.)

69
A motor boat runs aground off Boston on a falling tide at 0715 EDT on June 1st. At what time will she refloat?

It is not necessary to know the draft; nor is a chart needed (for the calculations). All that must be done is find out what
the height of tide was at the time the boat ran aground. The boat will refloat when the height of tide on the next rising
tide is the same as the height of tide was when the boat went aground.

The first step is:

find height of tide at 0715 EDT on the 1st of June.

REFLOATS WHEN
THE HEIGHT OF TIDE
IS THE SAME AS IT
WAS AT 0715
HEIGHT OF
TIDE ,0715

?
June 1, Boston HW 0458 EDT 9.8 ft. LW 1117 0.5 ft. HW 1740 9.2 ft.

When the boat ran aground:

Duration of fall 1117 Range 9.8 Time from nearest high water 0715
- 0458 - 0.5 0458
619 9.3 0217

From Table 3 the height of tide

when the boat ran aground at 0715
was 9.8 - 2.8 = 7 ft.

The second step is to find:

at what time will the height of tide
be 7 ft on the next rising tide?

The next rising tide is from

LW 1117 0.5 ft
HW 1740 9.2 ft.

Duration 0623, Range 8.7

The height of tide at HW on the

next rising tide is 9.2 feet but the
boat will float before HW - when
the height of tide reaches 7.0 ft, that
is 2.2 ft before HW. From table 3
the correction for 2.2 feet occurs 2 Figure 7.16
hours and 07 minutes before HW.
Therefore the boat will float at 1740
- 0207
1533 EDT, June 1.

Note that the height of HW for the rising tide is not the same as the height of the previous HW, when the boat went
aground. As the range is therefore different two different rows in the table must be used.

70
Near Boston, on August the 16th at 1430 EDT, a yacht with a mast 55 ft above the water level wishes to pass underneath
a bridge shown on the chart as having an authorized clearance of 50 ft. How much clearance, if any, will there be
between the top of the mast and the bridge?

A quick sketch should help decide how to tackle

the problem.

The elevation of the object may be found from

the chart, or pilot book, and the height of tide at
MHW from the chart for the area. Elevation
of object
The height of the mast from the water level you Actual
should know and so the only thing left to find is clearance
the height of tide at the specific time. Remember MHW
that the height of the mast must include radio
aerials, wind instruments, etc.

The actual clearance at any time will be:

the elevation of the object,

+ the height above chart datum of MHW, Height Height
- the height of tide at the time in question. of MHW of tide
CHART DATUM
The first step is therefore:
Find the height of tide at Boston on August 16th
at 1430 EDT.
Actual clearance = Elevation + Ht. of MHW - Ht. of tide.

Boston LW 1250 EDT 0.5 ft

HW 1910 10.6 Time from nearest LW, (1430 - 1250)
Duration 620 Range 10.1
1h 40m

LW height is 0.5 ft
From Table 3 + 1.7 ft
∴ Height of tide 2.2 ft. at 1430 EDT

MHW 11.0 ft (from chart)

- height of tide 2.2 ft (at 1430 EDT)
8.8 ft
This means there is 8.8’ from the actual sea level at
1430 EDT to the level of MHW.

Auth. clearance 50.0 ft (from MHW)

+ 8.8 ft.
Bridge-to-sea 58.8 ft.
Mast height 55.0 ft
∴ Clearance = 3.8 ft Figure 7.17

It is usually better to work out the time at which the yacht can pass under the obstruction because if, in the above
example, there was not sufficient clearance the whole thing must be done again to find out when the yacht can pass.
In other words work out the height of tide required to allow the boat to pass safely under the obstruction and find out
at what time this height of tide will be reached.
Do not forget to allow a safe clearance if the overhead obstruction is a power line and remember to check that there
will be sufficient depth of water as well as sufficient overhead clearance!

71
A boat docks alongside a harbor wall near Boston on a rising tide at 1650 EDT on August the 16th. The depth of
water is 7’ and the boat’s draft is 6’.
At what time will the keel touch the sea bed?

The depth of water is 7 ft, the draft is 6 ft and the tide

is rising.
1650
Step one:
find the height of tide at 1650 EDT, and the 6 ft
height of tide when the keel will touch the 7 ft
sea bed 1 ft
Step two:
find at what time the keel will touch the sea Sea bed
bed on the next falling tide.

Step one, find height of tide at 1650:

August 16, Boston LW 1250 0.5 ft HW 1910 10.6 ft

Duration of Rise 6h 20m

Range 10.1 ft
Time from nearest HW 0220

height of tide at HW 10.6 ft

height correction, from table 3 -3.0 ft
height of tide at 1650 = 7.6 ft

clearance, keel to sea bed at 1650 = 1 ft.

Therefore keel will touch when height of

tide is 7.6 ft
- 1.0ft
= 6.6 ft.

Step two, find at what time the height of tide

will be 6.6 ft on the next falling tide:

HW 1910 10.6 ft
LW 0135 0.0 ft (Aug. 17)

Duration of Rise 6h 25m

Range 10.6 ft
feet from HW 4 ft.
time correction +2h45m

Therefore the keel will touch at

1910
+ 0245
2155 EDT August 16

Figure 7.18

2155

6 ft 6 ft

Sea bed

72
At low water (1150 EDT) on May the 3rd the actual minimum depth of water beside a harbour wall near Boston is 1 ft.
At what time can a motor boat with a 3 ft draft come alongside the wall. You will allow 0.5 ft clearance for safety.

The actual depth of water required

is the draft + the clearance:
3 ft + 0.5 ft = 3.5 ft,
but there is already 1 ft depth beside
the wall at low water.
draft 3’
Therefore the depth of water 0.5 ft
required above the level at low
water is
3.5 ft - 1 ft = 2.5 ft.

The problem now becomes:

at what time will the height of tide have risen by 2.5 ft from the height of tide at Low Water?

Boston, May 3rd LW 1151 EDT 0.5 ft HW 1815 9.1 ft.

Duration of Rise 6h 24m

Range 8.6 ft
feet from LW 2.5 ft.
time correction +2h19m

LW 1151
+ 0219
1410 EDT
is the time at which the boat may come
alongside the wall.

Caution
Tide tables are predictions and cannot take
into account the effect of influences such as
atmospheric pressure which can change from
day to day; always allow a sensible safety
margin in your calculations.
A simple check on tidal height calculations can
sometimes be carried out by bringing your boat
near a charted object and comparing the depth
shown on the echo sounder with the charted
sounding + the height of tide that you have
calculated.

In the foregoing examples calculations have been Figure 7.19

carried out to decimals of a foot or slightly more
than 1 inch. Obviously common sense demands
that sensible clearances should be allowed when
working out tidal height problems when afloat.

73
The Rule of Twelfth’s
If you do not have a tidal curve to hand or if you just want a rough idea of the height of tide you can sometimes
use what is known as the ‘Rule of Twelfth’s’. It should be clearly understood, however that this method is at best
imprecise and may be dangerously misleading. It should only be used with tidal regimes which have uniform tidal
curves and a period of close to 6 hours between consecutive High and Low waters.

The rule of twelfths states that the cumulative rise or fall of the tide is:
1st hour 1/12 of the range
2nd hour 2/12 of the range
3rd hour 3/12 of the range
4th hour 3/12 of the range
5th hour 2/12 of the range
6th hour 1/12 of the range

Example of using the rule of twelfth’s

Find the height of tide at Boston at 1400 EDT on May 3rd.

Boston, May 3rd LW 1151 EDT 0.5 ft HW 1815 9.1 ft

Range 8.6 ft.

1/12 of 8.6 ft = 0.7 ft. (first hour)

2/12 of 8.6 ft = 1.4 ft (second hour
Tide will rise 2.1 ft

Therefore height of tide at 1400

0.5 ft (LW)
2.1 ft (rise)
2.6 ft height of tide.

In this instance the result above, found using the rule of twelfths, compares favourably with the result using Table 3
as is demonstrated below.

Find the height of tide at Boston at 1400 EDT on May 3rd.

Boston, May 3rd LW 1151 EDT 0.5 ft HW 1815 9.1 ft

Duration of rise 6h24m

Range 8.6 ft.
Time from LW 2h09m

correction to height 2.1 ft.

Tide will rise 2.1 ft

Therefore height of tide at 1400

0.5 ft (LW)
2.1 ft (rise)
2.6 ft height of tide.

Figure 7.19

74
U.K. Tides

To Find Times of Heights at HW and LW

Most maritime nations publish tables of tidal predictions for the times and heights of High and Low for each day of
the year. In the U.K. the British Admiralty publish Tide Tables each year as do various nautical almanacs, such as
a Macmillan Reed Nautical Almanac. The time zone is usually given at the top of each page of the tide tables. The
heights shown refer to Chart Datum in use in that area. Local tide tables can often also be found in nautical bookshops
and marina offices and tidal prediction programmes can be bought and run on any PC or obtained readily from the
Internet.

Standard Ports
Reference stations are ports that have sufficient traffic to make the work and expense involved in publishing dedicated
tide tables worthwhile.

Secondary Ports
Ports that do not have their own dedicated tide tables. Tidal time and height information may be calculated for
secondary ports by applying time and height differences found from the tides differences tables to the times and
heights of High and Low Waters at a particular standard ports.

Standard Port Tide Table Layout for HW and LW

Some important tips when using standard port tide tables:

a. Make sure you are using the correct tide table, check the name of the port at the top.
b. Always check carefully that you are using the correct month, day and date.
c. Times are in 24 hour clock notation, i.e. 1518 means 1500 hours and 18 minutes.
d. Check carefully whether the times in the tables have been corrected for British Summer Time which is +
1 hour on UT (Universal Time) which for tidal predictions can be considered the same as Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT).
e. The predicted height of tide is given in metres and decimals (tenths) of a metre.
f. The height of tide given is the height above Chart Datum.
g. Check the Chart Datum. (They are different in UK and USA for example).
h. The tables do not say low or high water, the heights given will show which is which.
i. Underneath the date are printed the first few letters of the day, i.e. Tu = Tuesday.
j. The time zone will be shown -UT (GMT) for British Admiralty Tide Tables.
k. The date of new moon and full moon is shown by symbols on some tide tables.

75
Using the Tide Tables for HW and LW at Standard Ports

Finding the time and height of high and low water is simply a matter of looking up the tide table for the date in
question.
Find the times and heights of HW and LW at Dover, England on Tuesday the 1st of February.
We look up the tide tables for the day and port in question:

LW 0246 UT 2.2 m
HW 0818 UT 5.4 m
LW 1515 UT 2.0 m
HW 2050 UT 5.5 m
Note that the first time shown is not necessarily the time of high water and sometimes there are only three times instead
of four given for a particular day.

Find the times and heights of HW, LW and the range of tide at Dover on the evening of March 2nd.

LW 1539 UT 1.9 m
HW 2110 UT 5.6 m
Range 3.7 m

What the information found in the last example actually means is that high tide will be at 2110 by your watch and
at that time there will be 5.6 m in addition to the deptsh shown on the chart of the area. Low tide will occur at 1539
when there will be 1.9 m in addition to the depths shown on the chart for the area. The range of this tide is from 1.9
m to 5.6 m = 3.7 m.

Secondary Port Layout for Times and Heights of HW and LW

The times of high and low water are found by supplying the tide differences to the daily tidal predictions to a suitable
Standard Port. The standard port may not necessarily by the closest port and the time differences are based on normal
weather conditions. The secondary port time and height differences are tabulated in, for example, Part II of the British
Admiralty Tide Tables. The tables for secondary ports are sometimes called Tide Difference Tables.

How to use the tide difference tables:

a. Find the page for the secondary port, or place, required.
b. Note the name of the standard port in bold print at the top of the section.
c. The position of the port is given in latitude and longitude.
d. Note the time differences which must be added to (+), or subtracted from (-), the times of high and low
water at the standard port; the first two columns are for high tide, the second are for low tide.
e. Note the height differences which must be applied to the tabulated heights of high and low waters at the
standard port.
f. Interpolate the time and height differences/corrections to the standard port as, is usually the case, the
standard port tabulated values do not coincide with the tabulated values for the secondary port.
g. Apply seasonal variation if significant.
Seasonal variation is small. However, the seasonal changes in mean sea level do not always
repeat themselves from year to year and it is worth remembering there may be as much as 0.3 m of water,
above or below the average.

Secondary Port HW and LW Tide Differences Table

These are given for differences in times and heights of HW and LW between the standard port and the secondary port.
Because the times in the secondary port are rarely coincidental with the standard port we have to interpolate the given
values from the standard port throughout a 24 hour period.

76
a. Times at a Secondary Port
Thus for a secondary port, such as Bognor Regis, the reference, standard port is Shoreham:

HW LW
SHOREHAM 0500 1000 0000 0600
and and and and
1700 2200 1200 1800
Bognor Regis +0010 -0005 -005 -0020

The time differences between the standard port Shoreham and the secondary port are the maximum and minimum
differences under normal weather conditions. The time differences for a secondary port are interpolated linearly (that
is in a straight line) for a 24 hour period between the values given for the standard port e.e. Shoreham. Thus the HW
time difference that occurs at Shoreham at, say, 1400 has to be interpolated between 1000 and 1700. Likewise for
times, say, of HW at Shoreham at 2300 or 0400 differences have to be interpolated between 2200 and 0500.

The interpolation is carried out as follows:

If the HW time was 0500 at Shoreham we simply have to add 10 minutes to 0500 to obtain the time of HW at Bognor
-0510. However, it is rarely the case that the difference table times exactly coincide with the tabulated standard
port times. If, for example, we require the HW time difference at Bognor Regis for a HW that, say, was at 0800 at
Shoreham. We know that at 0500 hours at Shoreham, HW at Bognor Regis is ten minutes ahead (+0010) of Shoreham
while at 1000 hours it is 5 minutes behind HW Shoreham (-0005). The time we require (0800) is three hours into
the tabulated five hour Shoreham period (0500 to 1000). The total tide change time at Bognor has been 15 minutes
in this 5 hour period so for 3 hours the difference will have changed 9 minutes (i.e. 3 minutes per hour: 15 min/5 hrs
= (3 min/hr) x3 hr = 9 min). So since we are moving from a positive to a negative time difference we subtract the 9
minutes from +0010 to give +001. Thus at 0800 the HW time difference at Bognor is +1 minutes on from the HW at
Shoreham. (We could also carry out the interpolation by drawing a graph of time difference (y axis) against time of
HW at Shoreham (x axis).
Thus:
0500 to 1000 = 5 hours
Correction + 10 min to - 5 min total change = 15 min
Required 0800, that is 3 hours after 0500
So 3/5 x 15 min = 9 min
From 0500 where correction is +10 min
So = 10 min - 9 min = 1 min correction from HW time at Shoreham

b. Heights at a Secondary Port

Height differences also need to interpolated in a similar way. The interpolation is again assumed to be linear and
usually can be carried out by inspection, although a calculator can be used or a graph drawn:

Height Differences (in metres)

MHWS MHWN MLWN MLWS

SHOREHAM 6.3 4.8 1.9 0.6
Bognor Regis -0.6 -0.5 -0.2 -0.1

From the tables, at Shoreham a MHWS tide height of 6.3m is 0.6m less at Bognor (-0.6m), and 4.8m at Shoreham is
0.5m less (-0.5m) at Bognor. Or for a change of 1.5m at Shoreham (6.3 - 4.8), Bognor changes by -0.1m (0.6-0.5).
Thus for any given high tide value at Shoreham we apply the Bognor correction. If, say, the HW value at Shoreham
was tabulated at 5.0m we apply a -0.5m difference to obtain HW value at Bognor of 4.5m. We do not need to
interpolate here as 5.0m is very close 4.8m and Bognor only changes 0.1m.

If the secondary port had a larger change we would have to interpolate. This could be carried out by plotting a graph
- the height in metres for Shoreham on the bottom (x axis) and the height differences on the vertical (y axis). We plot
two (x,y) points (6.3, -0.6) and 4.8, -0.5) and connect them with a straight line. We read off the height difference for

77
Bognor for the height of HW at Shoreham -5.0m in this example - and apply the interpolated correction (nil in this
case).

To Find the Times and Heights of Tides BETWEEN Tabulated HW and LW

Standard Ports
Times and heights of tides that are in between the tabulated values are obtained using Mean Spring and Neap Curves.
In the British Admiralty Tide Tables these tidal curves are reporduced before the standard port daily prediction tables.
There are two types of problems:
1. What is the TIME of a REQUIRED HEIGHT of Tide?
We are required to find the time when the tide has reached 3.4m (above CD)during the early hours of the
morning at Dover on 1st March.

*Extract the times of LW and HW at Dover for 1st March:

Time Height
0200 2.4m
0737 5.1m

* Calculate the tidal range by subtracting the LW from HW

Tidal Range: 5.1 - 2.4 = 2.7m

*Apply a time correction i.e. GMT to BST. However in March we are still GMT

* Now set up the tidal curve diagram:

a. Pencil in the time of HW and the hourly, relevant time intervals relative to the HW
b. On the scale marked H.W. Hts.m plot the height of HW. (5.1m in this instance)
c. On the scale [Link].m plot the height of the LW (2.4m)
d. Connect up the two points with the ‘range line’.

* Mark the height required (3.4m in this example) on the [Link].m scale and construct a vertical line
down to intercept the range line.

* We have to interpolate between spring and neap tidal ranges - that is the solid and pecked tidal curves:
a. Compare our extracted, calculated tidal range (2.7m) with the small table of MEAN RANGES
displayed on the Admiralty tidal curves diagram.
b. The tabulated Mean Springs range is 6.0m and Mean Neaps range is 3.2m. In this case our
extracted, calculated range is 2.9m which is outsdie the neap curve. However, since we do not
extrapolate outside the tidal curves we must therefore use the neap curve which is the pecked
curve. With the British Admiralty Tide Tables it is important to never extrapolate beyond
the solid mean spring and pecked mean neap curves. Thus for extracted tidal ranges with
values greater than the value given in the small tble we must use the solid spring curve.
Likewise, and as given in this example, for extracted ranges less than the mean neap values
the pecked neap curve must be used. If the range had been say 4.6m we would have had to
interpolate a distance between the curves - which in this case would be halfway.

* Next draw a vertical line down from the cutting point of the tidal curve to intercept the time axis of the
curve.

* And read off the time which is equivalent to a height of 3.4m above chart datum.

* Each gradation is 10 minutes (i.e. 60 minutes divided by 6). Thus the line is slightly to the left of the
fourth gradation, say 8 minutes, so the time is 0337 + 38 minutes that is 0415

Thus the time when the tide height will be 3.4m above Chart Datum on the 1st March will be at 0415 hours.

78
79
80
 8
Currents
T he level of the sea changes as the tide rises and falls. It follows that there must be a movement of water in one
direction as the tide rises and a movement in the opposite direction as the tide falls. These horizontal movements
of the sea surface are called currents. It is essential both to understand, and to be able to use, the available current
information.

Consider a yacht sailing through the water at 5 knots directly against a current of 3 knots; the yacht is actually only
covering a distance over the ground of 2 miles in one hour. If the yacht changes her time of departure so that she sails
in the same direction as the current she would then cover 8 miles in 1 hour, which is four times as fast as the previous
case.

The skipper of a fast motorboat may feel that the current is not so important. However, if the boat in the examples
above had been travelling at 20 knots through the water it would have covered 17 miles motoring against the current
and 23 miles motoring with the current, a difference of 6 miles in each hour. The resultant saving in time and fuel
costs must be worthwhile.

The effect of current during the past hours must be taken into account when working up an estimated position.
You must also be able to find current information for future hours so that you can plot a course to steer which will
counteract the sideways movement of the predicted currents.
Currents are of considerable significance in some places where circumstances may give rise to conditions making a
passage difficult, or perhaps impossible, at certain times during the flood or ebb current.

Flood stream
When the tide is rising the current is called the flood current.

Ebb stream
When the tide is falling the current is called the ebb current.
The tide may be said to be “flooding” or “ebbing”.

Rectilinear currents
When the current flows through relatively narrow channels the stream flows firstly in one direction and then reverses
and flows in the opposite direction. Currents that flow in one of two directions like this are called rectilinear currents.
During the flow in each direction the speed, or rate, of the stream increases from 0 knots at high water slack, reaches
its maximum speed about midway between high and low water slack and reduces to 0 knots again at low water slack.
Slack water occurs between the change of direction with rectilinear currents.
Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay are examples of “narrow channels”, the flood stream flowing generally in one
direction and the ebb stream flowing back in the opposite direction. The currents run roughly parallel to the land
which forms the physical barriers on either side.

Rotatory currents
In the open sea, away from close proximity to land, the current does not reverse direction but instead changes direction
continuously through 360° in a clockwise direction (in the northern hemisphere). Rotatory currents are usually found
some distance offshore but can also occur close to land; for example currents are rotatory at Horse Head Channel near
the entrance to the Bay of Fundy.

Spring and neap rates

The currents will reach their highest speeds, or rates, during spring tides because a greater quantity of water must move

81
between high and low water than at neaps, when the rate is least.

The effect of headlands, bays, etc.

At sea the current runs parallel to the main land masses but close inshore the current will set into bays and estuaries.
Headlands can create counter currents and eddies down tide.
Where there are large tidal basins with narrow entrances the rate at the narrows can be high, giving rise to overfalls and
dangerous conditions, particularly when the wind blows in the opposite direction to the current (“wind over current”
or “wind against current”). In calm conditions a yacht must have sufficient reliable power to ensure she can make
way against strong currents. In some cases running with a fast current can cause problems. With 8 knots of current
and 6 knots boat speed the boat’s speed over the ground becomes 14 knots, leaving surprisingly little time available
for pilotage.

Inset
As was stated above currents usually set into bays and sometimes these current insets can be strong.

Current rips and overfalls

Strong currents rushing over rough or shoaling sea beds generate turbulence causing rough surface conditions with
short steep waves. These rips and overfalls are often marked on the chart.

Current races
Where the current is forced through a narrow restriction the rate of flow will increase and may create races which can
often be dangerous to small boats under certain conditions. Currents in tidal races can reach 8 or 9 knots and even
more.

Current data
We need to know two things about the current: its direction and its rate.

Direction
The direction is always given in degrees True and indicates the direction towards which the current is moving. For
example if the direction is given as 90° the current is flowing from west to east, if the direction is given as 180° the
current is flowing from the north towards the south.

Rate
The rate is the speed at which the current is moving and it is given in knots. A rate of 2 knots means that the current
is moving a distance of 2 miles in one hour, 1 mile in 30 minutes, ½ a mile in 15 minutes and so on. Two rates are
normally given, the fastest being the rate for spring tides and the slowest is the rate for neap tides.

Sources of current information

Current information may be available from five different sources:
1. From current tables,
2. from arrows sometimes printed on the chart,
3. from current charts,
4. from pilot books and cruising guides, and
5. from practical observation.

Current tables
Current tables are available from different sources such as nautical book stores and Reed’s Nautical Almanac contains
full current tables for the East coast of the U.S.

Using the Current tables

The current table are generally similar in layout to the tide tables having predictions for primary reference stations and
a further table of differences which allow currents to be found for nearly 2,500 substations.

82
Current tables
· The current tables give the times of slack water; PEAKE BAY ENTRANCE, VA
· the time at which the current reaches its maximum speed, CURRENT TABLE 199X Flood °300 Ebb °129
and what this speed is, on the flood tide; Corrected for Daylight Saving Time
· the time at which the current reaches its maximum speed;
and what this speed is, on the ebb tide; JUNE
Slack Max Fld Ebb
· the direction (in °T) of the flood and ebb current.
time time knots

0113 0.9
Thus, from the current table extract in figure 8.1, it can be seen that: 16 0430 0813 1.3
Tu
1134 1351 0.6
1659 2036 1.1
· the flood current runs in the direction of 300° (T), the ebb
2336
runs in the direction of 129° (T). 0207 0.8
17 0522 0904 1.3
On June 16 We 1226 1447 0.7
· slack waters occur at 0430, 1134, 1659 and 2336; 1820 2140 1.1
· the flood current reaches a maximum speed of 0.9 knots at
0113 and 0.6 knots at 1351; Figure 8.1
· the ebb current reaches a maximum speed of 1.3 knots at Chesapeake Bay Entrance
0813 and 1.1 knots at 2036. current table extract

Subordinate stations
In the same way as with tidal heights there are difference tables which supply corrections allowing the calculation of
current data for subordinate stations; these are again laid out in geographical order starting from north, going south.

These current difference tables supply corrections for times, and current speeds which are applied to the data for the
primary station to arrive at the data required for the subordinate station.

Differences for time are added or subtracted as their sign (+ or - ) indicates; differences of speed are found by multiplying
the current speed given for the reference port by the ‘speed ratio’ given in the subordinate station difference table.

Example
Find the current data for a position 1.5 miles east of Smith Point Light, on the morning and early afternoon of June
16.
The reference station is Chesapeake Bay Entrance and the differences for 1.5 miles east of Smith Point Light are found
from Reed’s (on page C 192).

Chesapeake: Max Fld 0113 0.9 knts Slack 0430 Max ebb 0813 1.3 knts slack 1134
Differences Smith Pt +0433 x0.5 +0344 +0423 x 0.6 +0427
Smith Point 0546 0.45 0814 1236 0.78 1601

The direction of the current at Smith point, from the difference table, is:
Flood 347°(T), Ebb 159°(T).

83
Note that the max speed given in the extreme right hand side of Reed’s difference table is an average speed only, the
figures we have worked out above are correct for the day and take into account the effect of spring and neap tides.

Speed of current at a specific time

In order to find the speed of current at a specific time a simple straight line graph can be quickly drawn up plotting
speeds against time. Using the current figures found for Smith Point above the graph would look like the figure below
allowing the current to be read off for any moment of time.

{
1.0
0.8
Flood
0.4
0.2

{
Slack 0.0
0.2
0.6
Ebb
0.8
1.0
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600

Figure 8.3

Current graph for Smith Point for June 16th. The figures worked out above are plotted as follows:
the time of max flood (0546) against the speed of max flood (0.45);
the time of slack before ebb (0814) against the speed at slack (0.0);
the time of max ebb (1236) against the speed at max ebb (0.78)
the time of slack before flood (1601) against the speed at slack (0.0).
and so on for the period of time for which the graph is required.
The graph above the 0.0 (slack) line is for the flood and below for the ebb.

The approximate speed of the current can now be read off the graph for any moment in time,
for example, at 1000 the current will have a speed of 0.3 knots and a direction of 159°(T)

84
Finding current set and drift by comparing the DR position with a fix.
Figure 8.4 below shows how the set and drift of a current might be found by comparing a DR position with an accurate
fix. The DR position has been determined by plotting the courses and distances the boat sailed from 1300 to 1400, thus
giving a DR position at 1400. At 1400 an electronic fix derived from a GPS was plotted on the chart. The difference
in distance and direction between the DR and GPS position represents the cumulative effect of the current for the time
involved. In this case the set and drift of the current can be found as 170°(T) / 2.5 miles, which indicates an average
direction and rate of 170°(T) / 2.5 knots.

It must be clearly understood that figures derived in this manner

1. include leeway, helmsman’s error, etc.;
2. represent what happened during the past hour(s), it does not necessarily follow that this will continue to
happen for any given period of time into the future.

1315
1400

Y “A”
Fl Y 2.5s 55’
CHESAPEAKE

1300
(307)
1340
1400
(318.0)

36˚
50’

45’ 40’ 35’ 75˚30’

Figure 8.4
Current estimation by comparing a DR with a fix.

Current charts
Reeds also has current charts of Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, New York Harbor, Long Island Sound and Block Island
Sound, Narragansett
Bay, Buzzards Bay and
Nantucket Sound.

These charts show

current direction by
arrows and current
speeds are printed on
the chart. The time
reference is printed on
each of 12 charts.

Figure 8.5
Current direction and rates for Chesapeake Bay
4 hours after ebb begins at Chesapeake Bay entrance

85
Using the current charts
Select the appropriate chart and line up the edge of the plotter as closely as possible with the current arrow . Use the
edge of the chart or page to ensure the north point of the protractor is pointing exactly north. Read off the direction.

This chart uses the current

tables for Chesapeake bay
entrance as a time reference
and shows how the currents
run at 4 hours after ebb begins
at Chesapeake Bay entrance.

Strictly speaking the data here

is only correct for this one
moment of time but we will
use the direction and rate for
one full hour centered on the
time given. In other words
use the directions and rates
from 30 minutes before “4
hours after ebb begins” until
30 minutes after “4 hours after
ebb begins”.

For example on the morning

of June 17 (from the tide table
in FIG. 8.1) “slack before ebb
begins” is at 0522 EDT at
Chesapeake Bay entrance.

From 0452 until 0552 use

the chart “slack before ebb”.

from 0522 to 0652 use

“1 hour after ebb begins”

from 0652 to 0752 use

“2 hours after ebb begins”

from 0752 to 0852 use

“3 hours after ebb begins”

from 0852 to 0952 use Figure 8.6

“4 hours after ebb begins” The direction of the current at the entrance of the bay is
about 130° (T) and the Spring rate is about 1.2 knots

The current rate shown on the current

chart is the rate at spring tides; in order to find the rate for any specific day simply divide the rate found from the chart
by the spring tidal range and multiply the result by the tidal range for the specific day.

For example: find current rate on June 17 at 4 hours after ebb begins.
Spring current rate = 1.2 knots, spring range = 3.6 ft, range on June 17 = 2.9 ft.
Therefore rate = 1.2 ÷ 3.6 x 2.9 = 0.96 knots or 1.0 knot.

86
Non-tidal currents
Currents which are generated by forces other than tidal forces are also often of great importance to the navigator.
Generally speaking non-tidal currents run continuously in the same direction, although some currents experience
seasonal changes of direction.

The Gulf Stream is an obvious example running up much of the east coast of the U.S.

The Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream can reach speeds of 5 knots which has obvious implications for any yacht, sailing or motor.

Information on currents should be sought from Pilot Books and Sailing Directions. Reed’s North American East Coast
Almanac has two pages entitled Gulf Stream Information at the start of its Coast Pilot section.

The United States Coast Pilot, No 4 (Cape Henry to Key West) also gives useful information on Gulf Stream
routing.

DMA chart 108 (INT 403), Southeast Coast of North America, shows the approximate position of the axis of the Gulf
Stream starting between the north western tip of Cuba and the Florida Keys and continuing up the coast as far as Cape
Hatteras from where the Stream turns north eastward out into the Atlantic, driven by the prevailing westerly winds
and Corioli’s force.

DMA chart 26320, Northern Part of Straits of Florida, shows the approximate position of the axis of the Gulf stream
from Key Largo up to Jupiter Inlet; the axis of the Stream on this chart can be seen to be about 16 miles off Fort
Lauderdale and rates of from 2 knots off the Bimini Islands to 3.5 knots at the axis are shown.

The position of the axis is given as being approximate as it is effected by seasonal and weather pattern changes; the
speed and direction of the current are also modified by the effects of strong winds.

87
88
 9
Course to Steer To Counteract A Current
Icurrents,
f you wished to cross from one side of a pond to the other side on a windless day you would, if there were no
simply row directly towards the spot you wanted to arrive at. If you rowed at 3 knots you would cross a three
mile wide pond in exactly one hour, or a 6 mile wide pond in two hours and so on.
On the other hand if you rowed across a river aiming directly toward the point you wished to arrive at the current
would carry you down stream from your objective unless you continually adjusted the boat’s heading to compensate
for the effect of the current.
A much more efficient approach is to compensate from the start for the sideways movement caused by the current by
pointing the boat not towards the place you want to arrive at but somewhere upstream of it.

Course to steer (CTS)

In order to navigate a boat from one place to another at sea the effect of currents on the boat’s passage must be taken
into account and compensated for. In addition to the effect of the current, leeway, variation and deviation must also be
included in order to find the compass course which the helmsman will steer so that the boat arrives where the navigator
intended. This course is called the course to steer and is usually abbreviated to CTS.

Plotting a CTS
1. Decide on a suitable time scale; periods of one hour are usually easiest to work with.
2. Estimate what you expect the speed of the boat will be under the existing conditions.
3. Measure the distance from the departure point to the destination.
4. Divide the distance by the speed to
find how many full hours the passage
will take.
5. Find and write down the tidal
direction and rate for each full hour of
A B
the passage.
6. Draw a line on the chart from the Distance from A to B = 5.6 Miles
departure point (A), through the Boat speed = 4 kn
C passage time aprox = 1 hour
destination (B). Current for hour = 130º / 2kn
7. From the departure point plot the set
and drift of the current for the first
hour (AC). FIG. 9.1 Plotting the current, set and drift for the first hour.
8. Set the dividers to the distance the
boat will travel through the water in 1
hour (4 Miles).
9. The true Course To Steer is then CD.
With one point of the dividers on C
mark where the other point cuts the A B
ground, AB. Call this point D. D
Note that the current vector is marked ( T)
072° Distance from A to B = 5.6 Miles
with 3 arrows, the ground track C CTS Boat speed = 4 kn
passage time aprox = 1 hour
is marked with two arrows and the Current for hour = 130º / 2kn
CTS is marked with a single arrow.
FIG. 9.2
Plotting the distance the boat will travel through the water during
After one hour the boat will be at the position
the first hour
shown at D, not B where the passage is intended

89
to end. This is quite correct; if the distance from D to B is appreciable a second course to steer will have to be plotted
from D for the next hour. A common mistake is to just join C to B which will not give the correct course to steer. In
the example above the distance from D to B is small and a second course to steer would not normally be required.

CTS for more than one hour

The course to steer for a passage which will take more than 1 hour can be found by one of two possible methods.
Firstly the course to steer can be plotted for each individual one hour period or, secondly, a single course to steer for
all of the passage can be plotted.

Plotting a CTS for each individual hour

As before you must first find the distance from the point of departure to the destination and estimate what you think
the boat’s speed will be under the conditions. Dividing the distance by the speed will give you a good idea as to how
many full hours the passage should take, which in turn tells you for how many hours you need to find the current
information. Once you know how many hours are involved in the passage the next step is to find the current direction
and rate for each hour of the passage using Reed’s, or a current atlas. From the point of departure plot the first current
vector, AC and continue plotting the course to steer for the first hour as explained above and illustrated in Fig. 9.2.

From Fig. 9.3 below it can be seen that after the first hour has elapsed the boat will be at D. From D plot the current
vector for the second hour and find the next course to steer for one hour. Continue plotting the current vector and the
course to steer for each individual hour as required.

Distance from A to B = 13 Miles, Boat speed = 4 kn, passage time = aprox 3 hours
Currents: 1st hour = 130° (T) / 2 kn; 2nd hour - 170° (T) / 1.5 kn; 3rd hour = 180° (T) / 1.0 kn.

D B
A

)
(T) (T) 76° (T
072° 070° CTS 0
C CTS CTS

Figure 9.3
Plotting the courses to steer for three individual hours.

Be careful not to make the mistake of simply joining the final course to steer to the destination, B. As with all the
other course to steer vectors the final one is formed from the distance the boat will have travelled through the water
for the hour, which is 4 miles in the example above. The fact that the vector ends a short distance past the required
destination is of no significance because the boat will be moving along the ground track, AB, and will simply arrive at
the destination in a little less than three hours.

The reason that the passage actually takes less than the three hours calculated initially is because the currents for the
first two hours are flowing a certain amount in the same direction as the boat is travelling, thereby helping by carrying
the boat a small amount towards its destination. In other words the boat’s speed over the ground is faster than its speed
through the water.

In order to reach the required destination the boat will be steered on a heading of 072°(T) for the first hour, then the
heading will be changed to 070°(T) for the second hour and, finally, the heading will be changed again to 076°(T) for
the third hour. This method has the advantage of keeping the boat close to the required ground track (AB) which may
be important if there are hazards on either side of the ground track but it requires hourly course changes, and does not
always give the fastest passage time.

90
Plotting a single course to steer for the whole passage
The initial procedure is exactly the same as the previous example. Dividing the distance by the expected speed
indicates approximately how many hours the passage will take. Find the current data for these hours and plot all of
them, one after the other, from the departure point, A. From the end of the final vector (C) plot the course to steer.
Remember once again that you must not simply join C to the destination.

In the example below the boat’s speed is 4 knots and the passage time is three hours so the boat will have travelled 12
miles in the three hours. Therefore with the dividers set to 12 miles and one of its points on the end of the last current
vector mark where the ground track is cut by the other point of the dividers. The course to steer is found to be 073°(T)
and this is the course which will be steered for all of the passage.

Often the distance from A to D is too long for an ordinary pair of dividers but a piece of paper or a ruler can easily be
used instead. Simply lay the piece of paper beside the latitude scale at the side of the chart and mark off the distance
representing the number of miles required. Place the piece of paper so that the first mark is on the end of the current
vector and then swivel the paper until the second mark touches the ground track.

Distance from A to B = 13 Miles, Boat speed = 4 kn, passage time = aprox 3 hours
Currents: 1st hour = 130° (T) / 2 kn; 2nd hour = 170° (T) / 1.5 kn; 3rd hour = 180° (T) / 1.0 kn.

B D
A

( T)
073°
CTS

C
Figure 9.4 Single course to steer to counteract the current over three hours
The method above has the advantage that the boat’s heading remains the same and does not require a course change
every hour; it will also usually give the fastest passage time. It must be appreciated that the boat will often be quite
some distance either up, or down, current of the ground track and so consideration must be given to possible hazards
on either side of the ground track.

Distance from A to B = 2 Miles

CTS for less than one hour Boat Speed = 4 kn
Even though a passage will take less than 1 Current for 1 hour = 130° / 2 kn
hour the course to steer is still found using a
one hour time period. This is much easier than
A B D
trying to work out mathematically both the
current drift and the distance which will be
travelled by the yacht in a specific number of
( T)
minutes. C 072°
Looking at Fig. 9.5 it can be seen that a boat CTS

Figure 9.5
Course To Steer for a period of time less than 1 hour

91
leaving A on a heading of 072°(T) will move along the ground track AD and will therefore pass through the destination,
B before the full hour has passed.

The course to steer found in the examples above must have corrections applied for the effect of leeway (if any),
variation and deviation (if any). These corrections must be applied in the following order:

1. Apply leeway angle toward the wind to counteract the effect of the wind.
2. Apply variation to give the magnetic course.
3. Apply deviation (if required) to give the compass course to steer.

Leeway
If conditions are such that you
feel the boat will be subject
to leeway remember that you Wind
must change the course to
steer in order to counteract the
effect of the boat being moved
sideways through the water.
The allowance for leeway is A D
not normally drawn on the chart
because if it were the chart would
soon become cluttered with lines
and be difficult to read, rather the ( T) 072° (T)
C 072° 10° Leeway
leeway is just applied as a simple CTS 062° (T) = CTS
addition or subtraction.

Figure 9.6
In the diagram it can be seen that Adjusting the CTS to counteract leeway
as the wind is blowing from the
north the boat will be pushed to
the south of the desired course
unless the course to steer is changed to counteract this leeway. The navigator estimates that, under the prevailing
conditions, the boat will make about 10° of leeway and the correction is then applied towards the wind direction. This
final true course to steer is shown drawn in the figure above as a dotted line but this line would not normally be plotted
on the chart.

From the figure it can be seen that 10° must be subtracted from the initial true course to steer to find the true course to
steer to counteract the effect of the leeway.

Finally the true course to steer must be corrected first for variation and then for deviation (if any) in that order.
Using the figures from the diagram above and the deviation curve in FIG 4.7:

Course 072°(T)
Leeway -10°
062°(T)
Variation (7°W) + 7°
069°(M)
Deviation 3°E (-)
CTS = 066°(C
Accuracy
The accuracy of the course to steer found will depend to a large extent on the accuracy with which you have predicted
the speed of the boat. Speed is much easier to predict under power because a motor boat can often maintain a steady
speed but a sailing boat’s speed will vary with wind direction and strength. It may be necessary to update the course
to steer as the passage proceeds, depending upon conditions.

92
Continuous direction current
If a current is continuous in direction and speed a simple current triangle can be quickly plotted on any piece of
paper using whatever units of scale are suitable. The Breton type plotter is ideal for this as then no compass rose is
necessary. The scale on the plotter edge can be used for units of miles. A ‘1 hour’ vector triangle will give a course
to steer for as long as the current remains constant.

CTS

Current 008° / 3 knts

Boat speed 6 knts
CTS 102° (T)
A

Figure 9.7

93
94
 10
Pilotage
P ilotage may be defined as navigating a vessel in inshore waters by using marks which can be seen at sea and on land
as visual references. Pilotage is basically quite simple; it is the proximity to land and its dangers that makes pilotage so
important. Pilotage is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of navigation as it usually implies the end of a successful
passage together with the excitement of a new landfall.
In local waters pilotage is normally undertaken with very little conscious effort because you know your position by
reference to well known buoys and landmarks; in other words pilotage by ‘local knowledge’. However, in strange
waters it will be important to work out a simple pilotage plan before arrival by collating all the information available
from pilot books, charts and almanac.
Pilotage will be easier if you can write this information in a clearly understood fashion. At all costs avoid writing an
essay; rather try to assemble all the information in pictorial form which is readily understood, if you can.

Books and charts

The secret of pilotage is planning ahead. You will need:
The relevant chart(s), corrected to date.
As many pilot books (also called sailing directions) as you can afford.
A nautical almanac (such as Reed’s Nautical Almanac) for the current year.

Pilot books
Sailing direction and pilot books contain information which will enable you to decide, for
example, which approach channel to use if there is more than one option. One channel may
be preferable to another when the wind is from a certain direction or when the tide is setting
in a particular direction. Not all channels are marked with buoys which are lit at night or have
sufficient depth of water at low tide and some channels can only be used safely with local
knowledge.

NOS publishes a series of excellent United States Coast Pilots covering U.S. coastal waters at
$20 each (in 1998). These pilots are available as follows:

Atlantic coast Pacific Coast

1. Eastport to Cape Cod 7. California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii.
2. Cape Cod to Sandy Hook 8. Alaska - Dixon Entrance to Cape Spencer
3. Sandy Hook to Cape Henry 9. Alaska - Cape Spencer to Beaufort Sea.
4. Cape Henry to Key West Great Lakes
5. Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands 6. The Lakes and their Connecting Waterways.

Sailing Directions
The Defense Mapping Agency publish Sailing Directions containing information on harbors, coasts, and waters of the
world.

Sailing Directions (Enroute) include detailed information regarding port approaches and the general coastline, mostly
in written form, with a small amount of sketches, chartlets and photographs.

Sailing Directions (Enroute) publication 147, for example, covers the Caribbean Sea and Bermuda.

The British Admiralty publishes Pilots covering much of the world; BA Pilots are intended for use by commercial

95
shipping but in recent years they have included much information of use to the small boat navigator.
Pilot books and sailing directions are usually produced by cruising orientated clubs in the area or country. For
example, the Florida Cruising Directory contains advice on navigation, marinas and similar facilities.

Nautical almanacs
There are many nautical almanacs available ranging from small, inexpensive, locally produced versions to the best
known, Reed’s Nautical Almanac. The local ones usually contain tide tables and various brief items of general
interest. Reed’s is one of the best almanacs presently available, containing many pages of valuable information.
Reed’s publish almanacs covering most ports on the U.S. East coast, West coast and Carribean. There are chartlets for
many harbors together with all sorts of navigation and general information such as lights, marks, VHF radio channels
used, telephone numbers, town facilities, availability of fuel and water and so on. There are tidal heights and current
tables for reference ports together with subordinate station differences for for most areas covered by the almanac.
Reed’s North American East Coast Almanac cost $30 in 1998.

Eldridge, Tide and Pilot Book covers tides and currents from Boston to Miami on the East Coast and includes useful
additional information; at $10 in 1999 it represents good value for money but Eldridge does not include harbor
entrance chartlets.

Almanacs must be replaced every year. Reed’s issue corrections each year which are mailed to you, free of charge, on
request; you should fill out the request form in the almanac and keep the corrections with the almanac. Eldridge will
also mail a supplement, listing changes to lights, buoys, fog signals, etc., to you on request.

Planning
Suppose you are planning the pilotage for entry to a harbour which has a channel marked with some buoys. Using the
pilot books in conjunction with the chart(s) you can start to plan the pilotage.
¨ Decide on the best channel to use from the pilot books, if there is a choice.
¨ Decide on a definite starting point such as a cardinal mark or buoy at the start of the channel.
¨ Draw the planned track on the chart from the start through to the finish, this will consist of a number of
different tracks rather than a single straight line.
¨ Try to draw the tracks so that any turning points are clearly defined by a buoy or similar mark.
¨ Make sure that you have availed of all the marks that could be useful.
¨ If you are passing through an area requiring pilotage without stopping at a port find some way, such as a
buoy or bearing, of defining clearly when you have completed the pilotage plan.
¨ If tidal heights are a factor draw up the tidal curve beforehand; do the same for tidal streams.
¨ Bearings should have variation and deviation applied so they relate to the boat’s compass.
¨ Plan for the worst scenario (i.e. night time) if you are not sure of your ETA at the pilotage area.
¨ Wherever possible use suitable ranges rather than courses to steer; it is much easier to hold a boat on
a precise heading by keeping two objects in line than by steering a compass course. A boat held on a range
is automatically compensating for tide, leeway, etc.
¨ If you are entering a harbour note any signals used by the harbour to regulate traffic and switch your VHF
to dual watch Ch 16 and the channel the harbour or marina works on. Some of the busier ports require you
to call them on VHF to obtain permission to enter; check in the almanac.
¨ Try to put all this information in an easily understood and quickly accessed pictorial form.

Pilotage in practice
¨ Stick to your pilotage plan, don’t take short cuts. The area will often appear to be very different to the
picture you have built up in your mind - this is why you drew up the pilotage plan.
¨ Start at the first mark and clearly identify it to be sure it is the right one.
¨ Check the identity of each mark as you pass it and mark it off on your pilotage plan.
¨ Do not assume that the mark ahead is the next one, check its bearing against your notes.
¨ As soon as you change course and are pointing at the next mark pick any fixed object, or shore light,
directly in line with the mark to use as a range to steer by. The object does not have to be on the chart, but
it must be fixed.
¨ Keep a wary eye on the depth sounder, the depth may show any gross error in your pilotage.

96
¨ Set the depth sounder’s shallow alarm, if it has one, to a sensible safety margin.
¨ It is usually best for someone other than you to helm, leaving you free to concentrate on the pilotage.
· Make sure that your instructions to the helmsman, or helmswoman, are clear and unambiguous. Don’t
give vague orders like “steer for that light”, rather pick a suitable range and make sure that whoever is on
the helm understands your wishes.

If things go wrong
¨ Slow down, or stop, and work things out. Don’t just carry on trusting to luck. (If you are so lucky why are
you lost out here?)
¨ Try to get back to the last mark or use any fixed object such as a lobster pot marker or buoy as a reference
to ensure you are not being swept into further danger by the tide. Perhaps you can anchor if you are not in a
shipping lane.
¨ Try to fix your position by any means available. Plot this position on the chart and draw a line from your
position to the next (or last) mark. This will give you a bearing to either mark.
¨ If you are really lost at night, but in safe water, it may make sense to stay where you are until dawn, when it
will be light enough find out where you are.
¨ It may be wise to run a sailing boat under power, particularly entering a harbour.
¨ Do not compromise the helmsman’s night vision with lights from the chart table or torch. Smokers should
remember not to cause a sudden unexpected flash with matches or lighter.
¨ Resist the temptation to make things fit what you want them to be. For example, don’t ask the crew to look
for “a green light flashing once every 5 seconds off the port bow”. It is far better to ask them to look
for a green flashing light ahead and, when it is seen, check its characteristics.
¨ The best way of identifying a mark is to come up to it and read its name or number. If this cannot be done
for any reason take a bearing from your boat to the mark in question. Plot your position on the chart and
draw a line from your position along the bearing; this line should pass through the buoy you have taken
the bearing of on the chart. Alternatively, get the mark you are unsure of in range with a charted mark and
take the bearing along the range. Plot the bearing through the known mark on the chart and it should pass
through the unknown mark.
¨ It can happen that a buoy has been removed, for repairs perhaps, and a similar mark but with a different
name or number is temporarily in its place. If in doubt use the methods above to confirm the mark,
or try calling the port authorities on the VHF.
¨ Occasionally marks go missing and lights go out. Navigation warnings on VHF should cover these in busy
areas but in out of the way places it may be some time before they are replaced or repaired or
even reported.
¨ In some areas where the channels tend to change because of moving sand banks the buoyageroute may
be altered from time to time. The chart of the area may note if this is likely to occur and this is a good
reason for keeping your charts up to date. If you suspect the channel has been moved read the buoys in
the normal manner and proceed with caution and a wary eye on the echo sounder. Again, a call to the port
authority might be worth considering.
¨ Inexperienced navigators and crew usually try to identify their destination as soon as land is sighted, long
before it is necessary or even possible. Remember if you want to know where somewhere or something
is first plot your position on the chart, then find the bearing from your position to the object from the chart
and then look along this bearing using a hand bearing compass or turn the boat to the bearing. The object
of interest is then ahead.
¨ Remember that when you see your destination it may be many hours before you actually reach it so avoid
the temptation to steer directly towards the destination by eye unless it is very close. It is still necessary to
plot courses to steer to compensate for tide and leeway.

Arriving at dawn
Before the days of electronic navigation aids it used to be common practice to plan passages so that you would arrive
off your destination just before dawn. This meant that you could fix your position using lighthouses and lit marks and
then make your way into harbour as daylight breaks.

97
Aiming off
If you are approaching
land and are unsure of

CURRENT
your exact position steer
a course that will put you

10
definitely on one side or
other of your destination.
In other words build in a
definite offset so that when
land is sighted you will AREA
know which way to turn to OF HARBOR
reach your destination. If UNCERTAINTY
possible pick the offset that
will give you favourable
wind and/or tide when you
turn.

As an example suppose
that you are approaching a
harbour in foggy conditions
under motor as their is
now little or no wind. You FIG. 11.1
only know your position to The decision whether to head to the north or south of the harbor depends upon the
within about mile or two direction of current and wind, if any.
and therefore cannot plot
a precise course to steer to
the harbor. Suppose the tide is running towards the south. Plot a course to bring you, say, about 3 miles to the north
(left) of the harbor. Steer this course until you reach a suitable depth contour or until land is sighted. You still don’t
necessarily know where you are but you do know that the harbour is to your right so turn to starboard and follow the
depth contour or land (with due caution!) until you come to the harbour mouth.

Port control
When approaching a harbour switch your VHF to dual watch the port working channel and check whether it is
obligatory to contact the port authority. If it is contact them and ask for their instructions or permission to enter.

Lock gates and marinas

If there are lock gates or a sill at the entrance to the harbour or marina check whether you can go directly in or will
have to wait. If you must wait find out from the almanac where you can tie up, moor, or anchor. If a marina is your
final stop call them on their working channel and arrange your berth together with directions if needed. At the same
time ask the marina which side you should place your fenders in order to avoid having to change them all around at
the last minute. If you need a hand to berth ask for assistance from the berthing master on the pontoon. Check in with
the harbour master’s office or marina office as soon as practicable to complete their forms.

Customs/Immigration
Notify customs and/or immigration of your arrival if required.

98
Pilotage symbols

As was said earlier try to avoid writing a lot of words when drawing up a pilotage plan, instead try to use sketches and
symbols which are much easier to understand at a glance. The symbols depicted here give an idea of a simple system
which is generally accepted and is quick to use as well as being easy to understand at a glance.

It is not always necessary to go to great lengths to work out a complete pilotage plan but sometimes, in areas where the
pilotage is very complex, great attention should be given to having all the work prepared beforehand. If the pilotage
is difficult you will not have time to keep going below to try and work out where you are and where you should be
going.

abeam to starboard

abeam to port

a/c alter course

range

R No. “4”
starboard hand buoy
number 4 (unlit).

Fl G 6s
port hand buoy,
No. “13” 1 green flash
every 6 seconds,
number 13

1.5M bearing 340 compass,

distance 1.5 miles
340˚(C)

FIG. 11.2
Suggested pilotage plan symbols

99
 Example of pilotage notes for entry to Pogemahone for a boat approaching from the north east

dries red MARINA

0.15M Ch 16 VHF

Fl(2)WR 7.5s Fl G 3s
180˚(c)
2 a/c
R “2”
Fl R 4 s
GONG
0.25M
R “6”
Fl R 6 s
187˚(c)

white
R “4”
2 Fl R 2.5 s a/c R “6”
Fl (2) WR 7.5s 22 Fl R 6s
Fl G 3s
10
0.25M

29
292˚(C)
R ‘4”
a/c
Fl R 2.5 s

POGMAHONE 0.25M
0 cables 5 R “2”
244˚(C) Fl R 4 s
depths in feet
GONG

Figure 11.3 Figure 11.4

A chartlet of (mythical) Pogemahon harbour, marina, and its Pilotage notes are usually drawn so that they
approaches and is similar to what you might expect to find in a pilot are read from the bottom upwards. Note that
book or nautical almanac. It does not have as much detail as you all courses have been corrected for variation
would find on the appropriate chart. and (if required) deviation.

The pilotage notes shown in figure 11.4 above could also be written in text as follows:
“Pass the no “2” red buoy (Fl R 4s Gong) close on your starboard side, then steer 244° compass for 0.25 of a mile until
you come to the red no “4” buoy which is lit,(Fl R 2.5s). Pass red No.4 buoy close to your starboard side and then alter
course to 292° compass and hold this course for 0.25 of a mile until the red No “6” starboard hand buoy which is lit (Fl
R 6s) is reached. Pass the No “6” close to on your starboard side and then alter course to 187° compass and hold this
course for 0.25 of a mile until the harbour mouth is reached. Pass between the two lights on each of the breakwaters
so that the Fl(2)WR7.5s light is on your port side and the Fl R Gs is on your starboard side. At the harbour mouth
alter course to 180° compass and hold this course for 0.15 of a mile until the marina is reached. The marina monitors
Channel 16 on the VHF radio”.
The notes in diagram form, as in Fig. 11.4 above, are, for most people, much easier to follow than text.
The light on the end of the east pier, Fl(2)WR 7.5s, has red and white sectors. Approaching the harbour from the
north east during darkness you should be in the white sector which will keep you clear of all dangers. If in doubt as
to where you are within this white sector you could turn to starboard until the light just starts to turn red, you are then
on a position line corresponding to the dotted line on the chart depicting where the white sector changes to red. Now
turn a little to port and the light will turn back to white. If necessary you could continue on in this fashion until the
R”2” Fl R 4s buoy becomes visible.

100
Following a line of soundings

10

Figure 11.5

It is usually impossible to try to follow a line of soundings, unless it happens to be a straight, line, which is most
unlikely.

If you want to follow a line of soundings, provided the circumstances allow, try the method shown above in figure
11.5. Approach the shallower water until the sounding, allowing for height of tide if appropriate, is reached then move
away from the sounding diagonally then back in again, a sort of touch and go method.

Identifying an unknown mark

116

105˚ ( T
)

?
Figure 11.6

If a mark is visible but you are not sure which one it is, perhaps because other similar marks are in the vicinity, try to
bring the mark to make a range with a known landmark or sea mark. Take a bearing of the range and plot the bearing
throught the known mark on the chart. The line should pass through, or close to, the unknown mark.

This method, in reverse, can also be useful if you think that a buoy has moved (or been moved) and is not in its charted
position. On the chart find the bearing through the buoy to a charted landmark then, when the two are visibly in a
range with each other, take the bearing and compare it with the bearing from the chart.

101
102
 11
Passage Planning
E ssentially passage planning consists of bringing together all of the general information you will require to complete
the passage. The information you need will be gathered from various different sources such as pilot books, sailing
directions, charts, almanacs and perhaps tourist guides and publications of the area. The destination area will have
been decided prior to starting the passage planning. Usually the departure date is defined by circumstances such as
holidays, weekends or ownwer’s demands. As with pilotage keep the passage plan as brief and simple as possible.

Charts
A small scale passage planning chart will be required. Ideally this chart will cover all of the area involved as its pur-
pose is to build up an overview of the whole passage; it will also be used to measure distances, to see what areas of
interest might be visited and to pick out possible harbours of refuge along the proposed track.
Large scale charts will be required for any harbours or areas of particular interest which you may intend to visit. The
free NOAA chart catalogs are very useful when deciding on which charts are needed. Consider also charts of areas
which you do not intend to visit but where you may have to seek shelter or assistance, i.e. ‘harbors of refuge’.

Almanacs
An almanac such as Reed’s for the current year will be needed, corrected to date, for its wealth of general information
and harbour chartlets.

Pilot books and sailing directions

These have been mentioned before but remember that they should be up to date as possible; some pilot books may
have correction sheets available from time to time.

Planning a passage
¨ Draw in the ground tracks from start to finish, avoiding dangers by a safe margin, and taking advantage of
navigation marks and lights wherever possible. These tracks are not courses to steer, specific tidal work
will usually be done just before the passage starts.
¨ From the distances and the expected average speed of the boat decide how long the passage will take and
how much of the passage will be completed within your daily time schedule. Note harbours or anchorages
which may suit for overnight stops.
¨ Circle clearly any hazards on the chart which are not easily noticed.
¨ Look for headlands or other areas which may have strong tides or overfalls, these may dictate that you pass
at a specific time relative to high, or low, water.
¨ Note any harbours that may be used as harbours of refuge in an emergency. It may not be possible to enter
these harbours under all conditions so note carefully any shelter or tidal restrictions these harbours may
have.
¨ If you are using GPS or Loran note the latitude and longitude of waypoints you intend to use. Check these
carefully as it is only too easy to make mistakes when writing them out.
¨ Check whether the track passes through traffic separation schemes.
¨ If there is a tidal consideration, such as lock gates at your destination, it may be necessary to work
backwards from this consideration in order to decide the time of departure. There is not much point in
arriving 20 minutes after the lock gates have shut.
¨ Check which harbours have fuel and water available. The fuel consideration is of considerable importance
to motor yachts. Always plan so that you have a reasonable amount of fuel in reserve and remember that
adverse conditions may increase fuel, consumption dramatically. Check whether fuel, water, etc., is
available on the dock.
¨ When deciding how long you will travel each day take into account the stamina and experience of the crew

103
 and the sea-worthiness of the boat. Remember that cruising is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, not a
test of superhuman endurance.
¨ If a passage is expected to take longer than about 15 or 16 hours it is advisable to work out a suitable watch
schedule.
¨ Decide the provisioning of basic food and water supplies.
¨ Most important of all try to maintain a flexible approach to the whole plan as conditions may be adverse on
the day; trying to complete a passage against difficult conditions can spoil a holiday and put you and your
crew under a lot of pressure.

Passage plan headings

DATES
Departure date.
Date by which passage must be completed.

CHARTS
Small scale passage chart(s),
Large scale detailed chart(s).

DISTANCES
Total passage.
Each leg of the passage.

BOAT SPEED
What you expect to be a reasonable average speed under average conditions.

PASSAGE TIME
Approximate time of the passage and/or each leg of the passage. To find how many hours a passage will
take divide the distance in miles by the speed in knots.

TIDAL CONSIDERATIONS
Access and tidal restrictions (if any)
Tidal current directions relative to high water at the standard port.
Areas effected by strong currents, overfalls, etc.
Times of low water and high water at the port of departure and the destination.

PORT INFORMATION
Access restrictions
Port signals
Berthing, provisioning and fuel facilities.

HARBOURS OF REFUGE
Access and tidal restrictions
Shelter
Facilities
VHF channel
Pilot book page number
Latitude and longitude

NAVIGATION MARKS EN ROUTE

Mark characteristics and light sequence.
Latitude and longitude

104
PROVISIONS
Sufficient food for 3 square meals a day plus snacks, tea, coffee, long life milk, etc.
Remember fuel for the cooker and a lighter or matches to light it.
Medical supplies; ensure that crew carry any medication they may require.
Note any special food requirements of the crew and any allergies to food.

FUEL AND WATER

Expected fuel consumption, and refuelling stops,
Reserve supplies of fuel and water
Availability of fuel and water at ports en route and at the destination.

DOCUMENTS
Check the requirements of any of the places you will, or may, visit. Personal items under this heading
include passports, visas, inoculations, return tickets and so on. Ship’s documents required may include
registration papers, radio operator’s certificate, ship’s radio license(s), etc.

GUNS???
Whether or not to carry guns aboard becomes a difficult decision to make when cruising in some areas.
Many authorities do not allow guns to remain onboard.
1800
WATCH SCHEDULES 0 20
160 00
Try to have an experienced crew member on watch with one who
has little experience.

The ‘old’ system used by ships gives 4 hours on watch and 4 hours
off.
1200

0000
The crew are divided into two watches known as the port watch
and the starboard watch, or for the sake of figure 12.1 lets call them
Black Watch and White Watch. The Black and White watch are
switched at 1800 so Black watch becomes White watch for the fol-
lowing 24 hours. This ensures that no one gets the unpopular mid-
dle watch from midnight until 0400 on two consecutive nights. 08 00
00 04
The watch from1600 to 1800 is known as the ‘first dog’ and from
1800 to 2000 as the ‘second dog’, the first watch being from 2000
to 0000.
Figure 12.1

1800 Watch system with 3 people where one of them, by choice, does
20
00 the cooking and house keeping on board.
Mar
Tom
00

y
15

The cook/housekeeper does his night watch but is excused watch-

To

22

es during the day when he does the domestic chores and cooks
m

00

the main meal(s), the other two share the daytime watches
y
Mar

Dick
1200

0000

Note that Dick enjoys the cooking and housekeeping, but the
other two do not.
Mary
Tom

020

m
0

09 To
00 Mar
y Dick 00
04 Figure 12.2
0600

105
 This system, when only two are available to keep watch, gives 6
hours on watch and six hours off at night between 1800 and 0600. 1800
Three hours should not be too long on watch alone and six hours
Mar

00
sleep during the night is not too bad either.

21
y

15

00
During the day a casual watch system allows the routine running

Dick
of the boat and crew to continue and lost sleep can be caught up Casual
on when off watch.

1200
Day Time

0000
Routine

Mary
09

00
00 Dick

03
0600

Figure 12.3

This system can work well when conditions are bad and tiring for the crew.

Each watch keeper gets 2 hours in the bunk, followed by an hour on standby, fully dressed and ready to come on deck
immediately if required, followed by an hour on the helm.

HOURS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Mary X √ X √ X √ OFF
Tom X √ X √ X √ STANDBY X
Dick X √ X √ X √ ON WATCH √
Harry √ X √ X √ X

Figure 12.4

With 4 people this watch system gives each person 4 hours on watch but the first and last hours are shared with some-
one else.

Not only does this relieve the boredom but it means that one of the two on watch can make snacks and drinks, do the
navigation and so on.

Using this system one person each day actually gets a luxurious 20 consecutive hours off watch; usually this person
becomes responsible for preparing the evening meal.

Person Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

A 0600 to 1000 D 2100 to 0100 C 1200 to 1600 B 0300 to 0700
B 0900 to 1300 A 0000 TO 0400 D 1500 TO 1900 C 0200 TO 0600
C 1200 to 1600 B 0300 TO 0700 A 1800 TO 2200 D 0500 TO 0900
D 1500 to 1900 C 0600 TO 1000 B 2100 TO 0100 A 0800 TO 1200
A 1800 to 2200 D 0900 TO 1300 C 0000 TO 0400 B 1100 TO 1500
Figure 12.5

106
Index color 15
colors 14
compass 25
Compass Best 27
Symbols compass rose 26
compass roses 24
24 hour clock 23 Continuous direction current 93
Corioli’s 56
A Courses 25
abbreviations 9, 14 Course steered 49
Accuracy 92 course steered 45
Aiming off 98 Course to steer 89
Almanacs 103 course to steer 23, 90, 91, 92
angle 18 CTS 89
apply variation 26 Current charts 85
Current data 82
B current information 82
Current races 82
Baltic 56 currents 81
Barometer Reading 49 current set and drift 85
barometer reading 50 Current tables 82, 83
barycenter 53 current vector 46, 48
bays 82 Customs 98
bearings 25
bearings at sea 36 D
bi-rola chart protractor 8
Bores 56 Daylight Saving Tim 23
Breton plotter 8, 24, 34 Dead reckoning 45
Breton type plotter 93 Decimals of a minute 18
British Admiralty charts 10, 12 Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic/Topographic
British Admiralty metric charts 58 Center 9
British Admiralty Tide Tables 75 Defining a position 20
degrees 18
C depth contour 37
depth contour lines 15
Canadian charts 12 depth sounder 96
Catalogue of Admiralty Charts and other Hydro- Details of a light 16
graphic Publications 10 deviation 92
cause of tides 53 Direction 23, 82
Cautions 14 Distance off table 38
Centrifugal force 53 Distances at sea 23
Chart catalogs 9 distance travelled 45
Chart Datum 15, 58, 68 diurnal tides 53
Charted Depth 58 dividers 7
Charted Heights 12 DMA or DMAHTC 9
Chart Number 12 Douglas protractor 7
chart projection 10 DR position 45
chart publication service 9 Drying height 58
Charts 9, 103 Duration 58
chart symbols 14
Chart work conventions 21 E
Clearance 71
clearances beneath bridges 16 earth’s circumference 23
Clearing lines 40 ebb 81
Coastal tides 56 ebb current 81

107
 Ebb stream 81 International Hydrographic Organisation 9
edition of the chart 14
effect of gravit 53 K
English Channel 56 knots 23
EP 46
equato 19 L
Estimated Leeway 49
Estimated position 46 Large scale charts 14
estuaries 82 LAT 12, 58, 59
Latitude 18
F latitude 23
latitude scale 23
fathoms 11 Latitude scales 20
favourable wind 98 lee shore 57
Fix by Range and bearing 37 leeway 92
flood 81 Lighthouses 16
flood current 81 lighthouses 97
Flood stream 81 line of soundings 101
foggy conditions 98 LNT 12
G Lock gates 98
log 49
Geographic North 23 Log (distance) reading 49
geographic North Pole 26 Log-Book 49
Gibraltar 56 Log-book headings 49
GPS 11 Longitude 18
graphic method 65 longitude scale 23
Gravity 53 Longitude scales 20
green port hand buoy 15 Lowest Astronomical Tide 12, 59
Greenwich meridian 19 Lowest Normal Tides 12
Gulf Stream 87 low tides 53
guns 105 Low water 58
lunar month 54
H LW 11
hand bearing compas 25 M
hand bearing compass 33
Harbor approach 40 magnetic anomalies 14
headlands 16, 82 Magnetic bearings 27
Height for a time,time for a height 67 Magnetic North 26
height of a lighthouse 16 marinas 98
Height of tide 58 Mean High Water 58
height of tide 62 Mean Lower Low Water 11
Height of Tide table 67 Mean Lower Low water 58
high tides 53 Mean lower low water 58
High water 58 measurement of depths 11
Home Waters Catalogue 10 Mediterranean 56
horizontal datum 10 Mercator’s projection 23
Hurricanes 57 Mercator projection 10
meridians of longitude 19
I MHW 58
IALA 15 Mixed tide 53
Immigration 98 MLLW 11, 58
inoculations 105 N
Inset 82

108
National Imagery and Mapping Agency 9 Position by bearing and distance 24
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 9 Position circles 38
National Ocean Service 9 Position Fix 35
Nautical almanacs 96 position fixing 33
Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations 16 position line 33
nautical mile 23 powerlines 16
Navigational buoys 15 provisioning 104
navigator 33
neap rates 81 R
Neap Tides 58 R/W Mid Channel Aid 15
neap tides 55 radio operator’s certificate 105
New editions 14 Range 36, 58
NIMA 9 Rate 82
NOAA 9 Rectilinear currents 81
NOAA charts 14 Reed’s Nautical Almanac 12
Non-tidal currents 87 Reference stations 59, 75
North Pole 23 registration papers 105
NOS 9 restricted visibility 43
NOS chart 14 rips 82
Notes, Warnings, Cautions 14 rolling rules 7
Not Less tha 40 Rotation of the earth 54
Not More than 40 Rotatory currents 81
Nun buoy 15 rough sea beds 16
O rule of twelfths 74
running fex 41
“One-quarter,one tenth-rule” 65 Running fix 43
Oscillation 56
overfalls 16, 82 S
overhead obstruction 16, 71 Safe clearing bearing 39
P Sailing Directions 95
sailing directions 103
parallel or rolling rules 24 scale 10
parallel rules 7 sea mile 23
parallels of latitude 19 Secondary Port 76
passage planning 103 secondary port 77
passports 105 Secondary Ports 75
pecked tidal curves 78 Sectored light 37
Pilotage 95 seiches 57
Aiming off 98 semi-diurnal tides 53
Books and charts 95 set and drift of a current 85
depth sounder 96 shelving sea bed 56
favourable wind 98 Ship’s documents 105
foggy conditions 98 shoal banks 16
lighthouses 97 single course to steer 91
line of soundings 101 Single handed dividers 7
Nautical almanacs 96 single position lines 39
Sailing Directions 95 Small craft charts 10
tide 98 Sounding Datum 58
Pilotage symbols 99 soundings 11
Pilot books 95, 103 sound signal 15
Plotting a CTS 89, 90 Source Diagram 13
Port control 98 Sources of bearings 36
Position 49 Speed 23

109
 Speed of current 84 Variation 26
Spring rates 81 variation 92
spring tidal waves 56 Variation West 27
Spring Tides 58 vertical clearance 16
spring tides 55 VHF 97
Standard Ports 75, 76, 78 visas 105
statute mile 23 Visual position lines 33
steering compas 25
strong winds 57 W
Subordinate station 61 Warnings 14
Subordinate station calculation 62 watches 105
Subordinate Stations 59 watch keeper 106
Subordinate stations 83 Watch Schedules 105
surges 57 watch system 106
Symbols 21 Water track 48
T waypoints 103
wind against current 82
three position circles 39 wind against tid 16
Tidal abnormalities 56 Wind Direction 49
tidal basins 82 wind over current 82
tidal current 16 Wind Strength 49
tidal height definitions 58 World Geodetic System 11
tidal height problems 67 Wrecks 16
tidal heights 56
tidal information 12 Y
tidal restrictions 103 yachtsmen’s charts 10
tidal wave 56 yellow buoy 15
tide 98
Tide difference tables 61
tide difference tables 76
Tide rips 16
Tides 11, 53
Tide Tables 59, 75
tide tables 60
Time 23, 49
time zone 23
tracks 103
traffic separation schemes 103
transferred position line 41
True bearing 25
True bearings 27
True North 23
Tsunamis 57
two position circles 39

U
U.K. Tides 75
Units of Measurement 11
unknown mark 101
Using the current charts 86
Using the Current tables 82

110
 International
Yacht
Training ®
W O R L D W I D E

Suite 482, 9-3151 Lakeshore Road

Kelowna, British Columbia, V1W3S9 Canada
Tel: +778-477-5668 Fax: +778-477-5526
info@[Link] - [Link]