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Picture the scene. You are on a family bareboat charter, and have decided to go to the little harbour that friends have recommended time and time again. As you make your final


approaches you see that although the chart plotter shows your position in the middle of the fairway, perfectly positioned on the transit into the narrow channel up ahead, the two distinctive markers that you assume form the transit for the fairway suggest you are well to the right of track. You slow down to give yourself time to think.


You know there is no danger, provided you stay outside the 10m


depth contour. With the current tidal height it will read 13m on your depth display. Maybe you’re looking at the wrong markers for the transit? You ask the helmsman to alter course 90 degrees to port to close


the transit, with instructions to turn another 30 degrees to port if the depth goes below 13m, keeping the speed over the ground at 3 knots. You quickly go below to check what bearing the transit should


be once the markers close, then return to the deck. As the transit markers close you check the bearing, which confirms they are the correct ones. You decide to follow the transit and not the plotter, switching the cockpit instrument display to radar mode, ready to use a radar range off the breakwater a little further along, to keep in the middle of the deep water. The rest of the entry goes without a problem, and once alongside


you check the plotter, which is showing you a few hundred metres inland. ‘That’s odd’ you think. On closer inspection you discover that the GPS is only receiving


two satellite signals, and has a high Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) error. ‘Oh well, thank goodness for transits. That could have been


embarrassing!’ The ability to move from 21st century to traditional techniques and back again is the mark of experience in the art of navigation. Building on the theoretical elements taught in the classroom, RYA


“The ability to move from 21st century to traditional techniques and back again is the mark of experience in the art of navigation”


10


practical courses do so much more than teach you how to handle a boat, or handle the ropes. They help you put theory into practice and understand what to trust and when. Armed with a good mix of art and science you will enjoy stress free boating all the more.


Sail and Motor Cruising Courses 2012


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