Millennium 2000 Edition

Fully Revised and Updated for International Users

Also available through http://www.yachtmaster.co.za

COASTAL SKIPPER /
YACHTMASTER OFFSHORE
Shorebased Course

PART 1
NAVIGATION

USCG Compatible
A Royal Yachting Association Syllabus
and
S.A.M.S.A. (D.O.T. SA) and SA Sailing
approved Course
incorporating the syllabus of the

Australian Yachting Federation

By

HENTON JAABACK

Yachtmaster Ocean Services CC

 Copyright © YACHTMASTER OCEAN SERVICES CC
Reg No. CK 90/38623/23

This document contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright.

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied,
reproduced, or translated without the written permission of
YACHTMASTER OCEAN SERVICES.
Edition Number 1, November 1991. Edition Number 2, December 1991.
Edition Number 3, June 1992. Edition Number 4, January 1993.
Edition Number 5, September 1993. Edition Number 6, April 1994.
Edition Number 7, September 1994. Reprint Number 8, February 1995
Reprint Number 9, November 1995. Reprint Number 10, May 1996.
Edition Number 11, October 1996. Reprint Number 12, July 1997
Reprint Number 13, August 1999. Millennium Edition, April 2000

Written as course study material for classroom or home

study courses.
By the same author:
The Radiotelephone Operators' Restricted (Marine) Certificate Course.

Competent Crew / Yacht Hand Practical Course.

Yacht Skipper (Local Waters) Practical Course Notes.

Competent Crew and Yacht Skipper, Part 1, (Inland Waters),

and Part 2, (Local Waters)
Shorebased Courses.

Yachtmaster Ocean*
- The Complete Syllabus Course.

Astro - Nav in Emergencies, For the Non-Navigator. (The GPS back-up.)

All courses conform with the Royal Yachting Association, AustralianYachting Federation, and Cruising
Association of South Africa syllabuses, and are Department of Transport (Marine) approved.

Written to be the most comprehensive syllabus coverage course notes anywhere, for an instructor to
issue to his or her students.

* Acclaimed by a Yachtmaster examiner who assessed the instructional value of the work, as ...
'The best I have ever seen'.

A senior corporate executive who attended the course describes the books as......
'Absolutely excellent' and 'well worth the price'.

Copyright © Yachtmaster Ocean Services CC, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999,
2000.
PO Box 12181, Mill Street, 8010, Cape Town, South Africa.
Telephone and Fax: + 27 21 462 34 13, Mobile/cell 082 901 1296
e-Mail: [email protected] http://www.yachtmaster.co.za
 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course

ii

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Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content Page
Introduction to this Course iv

PART 1 ............................................................................................. 100 - 199

Chapter 1: Introduction to Navigation

What is ‘Navigation?'; Basic Tools of Navigation ....................................... 101
The Earth's ‘Rings'; Latitude ...................................................................... 101
Meridians; Position..................................................................................... 102
Charts; Mercator Projection, Scale............................................................. 102
Distance; Nautical Mile, Cable.................................................................... 104
Great Circle; Rhumb Line and Meridional Part........................................... 104
Chart Markings.......................................................................................... 105
Chart Statement........................................................................................ 106
Chart Symbols and Abbreviations............................................................. 107
Conversion Scale .................................................................................... 110
Compass Rose, Variation......................................................................... 111
Course To Steer; Waypoint...................................................................... 112
Line of Position; ....................................................................................... 113
Deviation; Swinging a Compass............................................................... 114
Deviation Cards....................................................................................... 114
Speed ..................................................................................................... 116
Directions, Chartwork Symbols; Course Steered, Ground Track, Set,
Line of Position, Advanced or Transferred Line of Position .................... 117
Dead Reckoned (DR) position; Estimated position (EP) ............................ 118
Leeway; A ‘Fix' position; .......................................................................... 120
Transits, Clearing Lines; Other tools; Navigation Drawing Instruments ..... 125
Stationery: Other Aids.............................................................................. 125
Notes....................................................................................................... 125

Chapter 2: Coastal Navigation

Introduction................................................................................................ 127
Techniques of Visual Position Fixing.......................................................... 127
The Use of Measurements......................................................................... 128
Methods of Taking a Fix............................................................................. 130
Actions Common to All Methods................................................................. 130
One LOP and Depth................................................................................... 130
Two LOPs.................................................................................................. 131
Two LOPs and Depth................................................................................. 131
Three LOPs - The ‘Simple Fix'................................................................... 132
The Simple Fix and Depth.......................................................................... 132
The ‘Running Fix'....................................................................................... 132
Fix by ‘Dipping' or ‘Bobbing' a Light............................................................ 134
LOP by Radio............................................................................................. 136
Routine for Coastal Navigation................................................................... 137
Actions Prior to Departure.......................................................................... 137
Actions While Under Way.......................................................................... 138
Actions After Tying Up............................................................................... 138

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 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course
iv
Strategy for Course Laying........................................................................ 139
The Sextant, the Composition and Use of the Sextant............................... 140
Calibration Adjustments............................................................................. 140
Setting the Index Mirror, Setting the Horizon Mirror.................................... 142
Index Error................................................................................................. 143
Collimation Error, Other Errors................................................................... 144
Practical Tips............................................................................................. 145
Notes ........................................................................................................ 145
Appendix A, Example Departure Form, ............................................... 147
Appendix B, Form for Departure from Cape Town..................................... 149

Chapter 3: More Coastal Navigation

Introduction, Remaining ‘Fix' Methods, ‘Distance-Off' by
Vertical Sextant Angle............... 151
Fix by Horizontal Angles........................................................................... 153
The ‘Four Point' Fix................................................................................. 154
Fix by ‘Doubling the Angle at the Bow'..................................................... 156
Position from Line of Soundings............................................................... 156
Navigation Publications............................................................................ 157
Electronic and Mechanical Aids to Navigation.......................................... 161
Appendix A: UK Weather Bulletin and Forecast Recording Forms............ 166
Appendix B: Weather Map; Areas around the UK..................................... 167
Appendix C: Schedule of South African Radio Transmissions of
Weather Bulletins for Shipping....................... 168
Appendix D: Weather Forecast Areas for Shipping, USA, Australia, RSA ..169
Appendix E: Example from a Country’s Harbour Regulations
Applicable to Small Craft and to Pleasure Craft.......................... 172
Appendix F: Compass Checking by the Sun's Amplitude............................ 173
Appendix G: Rhumb Line by Meridional Part ............................................. 176
Appendix H: Intercept Course to Steer ...................................................... 180
Appendix J: Dipping Distance Table ......................................................... 181
Notes........................................................................................................ 182
Practice Navigation Questions.................................................................. 183
Answers to Practice Navigation Questions............................................... 184

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Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
v
GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Arrangement of Parts

Part 1
General Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction to Navigation
Chapter 2 Coastal Navigation
Chapter 3 More Coastal Navigation
Part 2
Chapter 4 Tides
Chapter 5 Tidal Streams
Chapter 6 Buoyage, Lights and Pilotage
Part 3
Chapter 7 Meteorology
Chapter 8 Passage Planning
Chapter 9 Safety at Sea
Part 4
Chapter 10 Rules of the Road
Chapter 11 Anchoring, Mooring and Docking
Chapter 12 Communications at Sea

Pre-Course Qualifications

There are no, repeat NO pre-course qualifications required for people wishing to do this
course. However, students should either have the Skipper (Local Waters) certificate
of competence or an equivalent, or be at a standard of knowledge and skill which would
qualify them for such a certificate if they were to be tested.

Equipment Required
(These items are supplied to students attending Henton's course.)
Students of this course will need to have:

1. A parallel rule and/or a plotter (e.g. Portland [Breton] or Hurst), and marine
navigation dividers (ordinary mathematics set dividers will do).

2. Charts. If navigation questions, issued separately, are to be attempted, one of:

i. Australian chart Aus 197. ii. British Admiralty training chart 5050.
iii. South African Navy training chart 3002. iv. USA chart Miami (e.g. 3699)

3. A sextant if possible (do NOT buy one unless you have decided you really want
one).

4. A copy of the following are desirable (not essential):

i. ‘Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea' (latest edition).
ii. A book or books containing ‘List of Lights, Fog Signals, and Radio
Services', or an ‘Admiralty List of Lights' volume for your area.
iii. ‘Chart Symbols and Abbreviations', British chart/book 5011 or your
national equivalent.

Yachtmasters’ courses and books give you all the detail in an easy to follow way.
 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course
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5. For the student's own practice purposes, copies of a Yachting Association's

‘Exercise Questions' (oral and written) and ‘Exercise Tables' are highly recommenced.
Practice questions and correct answers are also available from us on request.

6. A notebook or pad, pencil (2B), pen, drawing compass (for circles/arcs), ruler, eraser
and pencil sharpener.

Examination

The aim of this course is to help candidates prepare themselves for their examing
authority’s examination. Whereas voluntary progress and end-of-course tests are
conducted, students eligible for the qualifying examination must make their own
arrangement to be examined by the appropriate examiners. Tests conducted during
this course are only intended to check that the student’s understanding of the subject
matter is correct: if not, extra tuition may be supplied. The differing fees for the
examination by the various Associations, for members and non-members, the different
venues, and the duration of the examination, preclude this examination being part of
the course.

Certificates

Students who attend all lectures and are assessed by the instructor as having reached
an acceptable standard, or students who study by correspondence or via the Internet/e-
mail and who pass the progress and end-of-course tests (or on reaching the pass
standard even if at a later stage) will receive the ‘Course Completion Certificate' for
the Royal Yachting Association's syllabus course. Students who undergo this course
on their own and will not, unfortunately, be eligible for this certificate.

Yachtmasters’ courses and books give you all the detail in an easy to follow way.
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 101

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATION
What is ‘Navigation?’

‘Navigation’ has been defined as the art of guiding a person, persons or vehicle(s) (motor vehicle, aircraft
or ship) across the land, air or sea, SAFELY, from one place to another. The Concise Oxford Dictionary,
1999, defines ‘navigation’ as ‘Any of several methods of determining or planning a ship's or aircraft's
position and course by geometry, astronomy, etc’. The dictionary also defines to ‘navigate’ as ‘to manage
or direct the course of a ship or aircraft’.

We are concerned with navigating at sea near land. The presence of the land enables the navigator to use
many different methods of determining a vessel's position, and thereafter, plan the course to steer to get
to a place. The navigator has tools to assist in performing this task.

Basic Tools for Navigation

The Earth’s ‘Rings’

Our round earth spins on its axis which passes through the poles, and for convenience, we split the upper
half from the lower half by an imaginary circle around the earth which we call the equator. The top half we
call the northern hemisphere and the pole in that hemisphere we call the North Pole. The bottom half is
the southern hemisphere, and at the bottom we have the South Pole.

Fig. 1.

Latitude Rings

The planes of rings around the earth

which are parallel to the plane of the
equator, facilitate an angular
measurement at the earth's centre, of how
far the rings are, north or south, relative to
the equator. We call the angular
measurement from the equator, the
latitude. Note also that the further these
rings are away from the equator, the
shorter their circumferences become.

Fig. 2.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Page 102 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Meridians

There are also imaginary circles which have their centres at the centre of the earth and whose
circumferences pass through both poles. Therefore, any part of the circumference of any one of these rings
is always in a ‘north - south’ line. If we use one half of one of these rings, from one pole to the other, as an
angular reference ‘zero line’, we can measure at a pole or anywhere along the axis, the angle formed
between that reference line and any other half-ring joining the poles. These half-rings we call meridians,
and the reference meridian has been universally accepted as that meridian which passes through a specific
spot in Greenwich, England. It is, therefore, called the Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian (often just
called ‘Greenwich’) and all other meridians (one can imagine as many as one likes at differing angles
apart) can be stated to be an angle east or west of the Greenwich Meridian, up to 180º. The angle between
the Greenwich Meridian and any other meridian is a measurement of the latter's longitude.

Fig. 3.

Position

The position of a place (or ship) can be expressed as being at the intersection of a ring of latitude and a
meridian of longitude. The position is ALWAYS stated ‘Latitude first, Longitude last’. For example,
Southampton is approximately ‘50º54' North, 1º24' West’, and Cape Town ‘33º55' South, 18º25' East’.
(Often the ‘North’ and ‘South’ are written as ‘N’ and ‘S’, and the ‘East’ and ‘West’ as ‘E’ and ‘W’.)

Position can also be expressed as ‘Direction (from a known /marked point on the chart), Place (that point)
and Distance (in nautical miles)’, e.g. ‘135ºT, Gibraltar Lighthouse, 15 n.m’. (For ‘T' - see page 111.)

CHARTS
The primary tool for any navigator is a chart. Because the earth is round whereas charts are flat sheets of
paper representing sections of the round earth's surface, you might expect distortions of the vertical and/or
horizontal axis in the drawn chart to result. To overcome this, there are several techniques in the make-up
of a chart, and these result in different styles of charts known as ‘Chart Projections’.

Sailing in polar regions involves the use of ‘Gnomonic Projection' charts and sailing in low and mid-
latitude areas (where most of us do all our sailing) requires the use of ‘Mercator Projection’ charts. (By
‘Low’ and ‘Mid’ latitude is meant low/small angles at the earth's centre, i.e. for places nearer the equator
than a pole.) The illustrations in Figure 4 show the idea behind the make-up of these two types of charts.

The Mercator Projection is the projection we will be dealing with, as it will get us from the equator around
Cape Horn to the south or to Norway in the north. Notice how the horizontal ‘Scale‘ taken from the equator
remains constant and how the vertical scale of the mercator projection increases the greater the distance
from the equator. A small scale mercator projection chart and a large scale chart's vertical scale are
illustrated in Figure 5.

BY HENTON JAABACK- YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR R

- YA AND SA SAILING
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 103
GNOMONIC PROJECTION MERCATOR PROJECTION

For Polar Navigation Two dimensional increase in scale with increase

Fig. 4. in Latitude.

A chart’s scale may be shown to be, for example, ‘1:100 000' (one in one hundred thousand) meaning one
unit of length on the chart (let's say one centimetre) represents one hundred thousand units (centimetres)
of the land. A ‘1:50 000' scale chart is regarded as a very big scale chart as it shows a small area in great
(big) detail, but a ‘1: 250 000' is a small scale chart as it shows a large area and can therefore only show
small detail. REMEMBER: Big scale, big detail (small area); Small scale, small detail (big area). E.g.:
SMALL SCALE LARGE SCALE
(60' = 1º) (1º = 60')

Fig. 5.

We measure distances on a Mercator chart using the side vertical scale only - horizontally opposite the
area of interest. This is to ensure we get the right proportion of scale depending on the distance from the
equator:

Fig. 6.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Page 104 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Distance is measured in nautical miles (abbreviated M or nm); we NEVER use kilometres. Distances
involving a fraction of a mile are shown as a decimal of a mile to the nearest single decimal only, e.g. 6
M, 7,3 M, or 6 n.m., 7,3 n.m., not 7,33 M.

A Nautical Mile is the length of an arc of a Great Circle (the e.g. equator) subtended by an angle
at the centre of the earth of one minute. It is 1 852 metres long which is over 200 metres longer
than a statute (land) mile.

A Cable is one-tenth of a nautical mile (185,2 metres or +/- 200 yards) e.g. 0,3 n.m. = 3 cables.

A Great Circle is ANY circle around the earth whose centre is also the centre of the earth.

The shortest distance between any two places on earth is a measurement of the shortest arc of a great
circle passing through both of those places.

Fig. 7.

A great circle course is a straight line on a Gnomonic chart, and unless a vessel is sailing due north or
south, or along the equator, the angle between the course line and successive meridians will be constantly
changing, albeit slowly.

GNOMONIC CHART MERCATOR CHART

Fig. 8.

A great circle course, unless towards the north or south poles, or to the east or west ALONG THE
EQUATOR, will not be a straight line as seen on a Mercator Projection chart.

A Rhumb Line course is a straight line course on a Mercator Projection chart and has the advantage that
the compass heading being steered does not change - the angle the course makes with successive
meridians is constant. For voyages less than +/- 500 miles, it does not involve a significant difference in
distance compared with a great circle course, but for longer distance voyages a great circle route is
normally preferred. The rhumb line course is not the shortest course. If one does not have a chart, the
Rhumb Line course and distance can be calculated using the ‘Meridional Part' method - see Appendix
H, or by trigonometry.

Let's get back to charts.

BY HENTON JAABACK- YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR R

- YA AND SA SAILING
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 105
Markings on the Charts' Reverse Side

Charts usually have on their reverse side against and centred along one of the shorter edges, the chart's
name describing the area it depicts, and its chart number, e.g. ‘2127' is the number of the British Admiralty
chart for the ‘Atlantic Ocean’ (north and south). There is frequently the crest or logo of the authority printing
the chart, and the following:

‘Folio number. ... '.

If a vessel's navigator wishes to group his or her charts by areas (or whatever other criteria), each batch
or folio can have its own number. Within each folio, each chart has its own sequence or page number
called:

‘Serial number. ... '.

The serial number (a page number within a folio) enables a chart to be returned to the right place if ever
it is temporarily removed. Charts are sometimes removed for inclusion in a ‘voyage folio’ and they are then
arranged in the sequence they will be used during the voyage. While in the ‘voyage folio', each chart's page
number or sequence in the folio is determined by its:

‘Consecutive number. ... '.

Consecutive numbers are written in pencil because after the voyage the charts will be returned to their
normal folio. During the voyage, if the master or navigator wishes to remove a chart from the voyage folio
to examine its detail, it can be returned to the right place in the sequence due to the presence of this
number. Sometimes the consecutive or serial number is omitted. The reverse of the chart referred to above
appears below:

2127
Atlantic Ocean
Folio Serial Consecutive
Fig. 9.

Markings on the Front of Charts

Charts are framed by a black ruled border. Outside the border, at the top left and bottom right hand corners,
is the Chart Number. Outside the bottom edge starting at the left corner is the record of corrections to the
chart. Corrections to charts are made as a result of amending instructions being published in ‘Notices to
Mariners’ - notices are serially numbered from ‘1' upwards from the start of each year, so the chart is
marked with the year and notice number to indicate that the correction has been done to the chart. For
example, ‘1990 . 14 . 39' would mean that ‘Notices to Mariners’ numbers 14 and 39 of 1990 had correcting
instructions for this chart AND that they have been applied to this chart. The third and last piece of
information outside this black margin is the detail of printing showing when it was printed, who printed it,
the date of the latest edition, etc.

Fig. 10.

The black framing margin contains the longitude scale and longitude angle (with reference to the
Greenwich Meridian to give the actual longitude) along the top and bottom horizontal margins, and the side
vertical scale shows the latitude scale and latitude angle (with reference to the equator to give actual
latitude). Look at your chart. Notice how distance is only measured on the vertical latitude scale - each 1º
BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’
Page 106 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
= 60' or 60 n.m. and each 1' is 1 n.m., and the length of line for 1' is subdivided into five (or ten) equal parts
representing 0,2 n.m. (or 0,1') each. If it is 0,2', we must interpolate for odd numbers of decimals.
Remember, we only work to one decimal place of a mile. Compare the actual length of 1' on the vertical,
Latitude, scale with the equivalent length on the horizontal scale for Longitude. The further one is away
from the equator, the bigger the difference. Check the chart you are using; each may differ according to
its scale.

Fig. 11.

Chart Statement

Inside the framing margin, usually over land areas so that it does not obscure any relevant land, coast or
sea area, we find the Chart Statement which comprises most of:

1. The publishing authority's crest.

2. The title of the chart e.g. ‘Approaches to San Diego Harbour'
3. The type of ‘projection' used in the make-up of the chart e.g. ‘Mercator Projection'.
4. The scale of the chart.
5. The reference or datum from which all heights above sea level are measured, and the
units of measurement used e.g. feet, or metres.
6. The reference datum from which all depths are measured, and the units of measurement
of depth e.g. feet, fathoms, or metres.
7. ‘Notices’, ‘Warnings’ and/or ‘Cautions’ applicable to navigating in the area depicted by the chart.

BY HENTON JAABACK- YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR R

- YA AND SA SAILING
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 107
8. A table headed ‘Tidal Levels Referred to Datum of Soundings'.
(It may also have a separate table for ‘Tidal Stream' information - see Chapter 5.)

This is the statement from chart Aus 200, Port Jackson (Sydney, Australia):

Fig. 12.

Look at a chart and study the statement - not every chart's statement is the same although they are similar.
Look at the statements on your chart(s) and the British Admiralty chart 5050. Some countries abbreviated
identity appears as a refix to the number, e.g. South Africa uses “SAN 123". The ‘SAN’ in the number
indicates ‘published by the South African Navy’. A chart number with “INT” is an international chart which
also has two logos; one is the appropriate hydrographic authority’s logo and the other is the International
Maritime Organisation’s logo for international approved charts.

Chart Symbols and Abbreviations

Charts representing large areas do not have enough space to fit in all the detail and names, explanations,
descriptions, etc. Therefore a universal system of symbols was accepted by the world's maritime nations,
and these, together with the abbreviations used on English language charts, enable the charts to remain
relatively uncluttered yet contain a wealth of information. Extracts appear below. There are many more and
the serious yachtsman or woman should initially study the complete list and thereafter have the book or
chart (British Admiralty 5011 or your county’s equivalent) available as a reminder when necessary. Read
the fine print for explanations such as ‘fS’ - it means ‘fine sand’ ... the ‘f’ as an adjective is not a capital letter
whereas the ‘S’ as a capital letter is a noun. Knowing this, it is often easier to work out what a ‘forgotten’
abbreviation means.

Do not try to learn them all - there are too many, but do remember the symbols for rock awash, rock awash
at chart datum, and rock of unknown depth considered dangerous to all vessels.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Page 108 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 109

Fig. 13.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Page 110 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
See how they come together on a chart to make ‘the picture’:

Fig. 14.

Conversion Scale

A conversion scale for converting units from one type to another is usually included on large-scale charts.
An example, using part of the table from a chart (they are all the same) appears below. Part of a table is
visible on the right in Fig 14 above. This table is ONLY used to convert between feet, fathoms, and metres,
and is not related to the scale of the chart.

Fig. 15.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 111
The Compass Rose

A Compass Rose usually appears in either two or three places on a chart. Look at a typical compass rose
from the south-west of Cape Point, South Africa, on chart SAN 3002 (shown below - ANGLES NOT TO
SCALE):

Fig. 16.

Notice that the outer ring showing the 360º graduations of a circle is orientated to point the 360º ( or 000º)
mark towards the north pole, or to ‘True North’. It is then called ‘360ºT’. The inner ring also shows 360º
but it is orientated to point its 360º mark in a different direction. The direction it is pointing is towards the
magnetic North Pole or ‘Magnetic North‘ as it appears from the centre of the circles. As the influence of
the earth's magnetic field varies according to the place on earth, the difference in directions to the true and
magnetic north poles will differ depending on where it is measured.

Variation

The compass roses on a large scale chart are there to inform the navigator of the magnitude of the
magnetic effect on the compass, or ‘magnetic variation’, in the vicinity of those compass roses. The
navigator uses the information from the compass rose nearest to the relevant area. At the centre of the
compass rose is a statement of what the angle difference is, between the directions ‘True North' and
‘Magnetic North', as measured at that place. This direction towards the Magnetic North may be east or west
of the direction to True North. (In the Atlantic and Indian Oceans it is west; in the Pacific Ocean it is east.)

In Figure 16 it is ‘23º13'W (1989)’. The year is stated because the magnetic field of the earth is not
stationary - it is moving, albeit very, very slowly. This results in a calculated forecast of annual rate of
change to the magnetic variation and this information appears near the centre of the compass rose. In
Figure 16 it is shown as ‘nearly stationary’ (i.e. too small to worry about!) but the compass rose in False
Bay, some 30 miles away, shows, on new charts, “(1'W)”, and older charts it is shown as ‘increasing 1'
annually’. So in 1992 the variation is:
23º13' W
+ 3' (3 years since 1989 at 1' per year)
23º16' W

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Page 112 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
We always do this updating sum to correct to the present year, then, although it seems as if we have
wasted our time, we ‘round-off’ to the nearest integer (whole number) of degrees. Thereafter we only use
a whole number.

So in False Bay, variation will be 23ºW until the year 2006. In 2007 the sum works out at 23º31' (W), which
is closer to 24ºW when rounded off.

It may seem a pointless exercise, but it must be remembered that not all charts that the navigator uses
were published in recent years. An old chart, for a place where the annual rate of change of variation is
large (e.g. Bristol Channel, UK, it changes 7' per year), may result in an updating calculation correcting the
printed variation by several degrees. If this is ignored, it could mean the difference between a safe passage
and landing on rocks.

To convert a direction's description from a ‘True’ direction to a ‘Magnetic’ direction, look at Figure 16 or your
own chart. Take a soft lead (2B) pencil and a ruler and rule three or four lines from the centre of the rose
so that the lines cross both the rings. Each line ruled represents a direction, and, because variation is
‘west’, the number of degrees read from the scale on the outer (True) ring is seen to be smaller than the
number on the scale on the inner (Magnetic) ring. The actual direction is the same, in line with the pencil
line(s) ruled, but the True and Magnetic numbers of degrees differ BY AN AMOUNT OF THE VARIATION
(e.g. 23ºW). When variation is west, the magnetic number IS ALWAYS the bigger of the two numbers.
When variation is east, the Magnetic number is always smaller (the lesser or least value) than the True.

So when variation is ‘West', the magnetic number is bigger, or ‘Best'. We remember this by saying:

"Error west, compass best"

and when variation is ‘East’, the magnetic number is smaller/lesser/the least value, so we say:

“Error east, compass least”

where the ‘variation’ is called ‘error’.

Any calculation converting a ‘True’ direction to a ‘Magnetic’ direction requires the (westerly)
variation to be added.

To convert a ‘Magnetic’ direction back to a ‘True’ direction the (westerly) variation must be
subtracted.

Getting this wrong has resulted in many a vessel's grounding.

Until one is 100% familiar with this conversion procedure, OR WHEN ONE IS TIRED, write it down when
doing the calculation - and if possible get someone else to check - don`t be proud, it could cost you the
vessel and one or more lives. It is surprising how easy it is to make simple arithmetic errors when one is
tired, or cold, or both! And ...

MOST NAVIGATION ERRORS RESULT FROM FAULTY SIMPLE ARITHMETIC.

Course to Steer and Waypoint

So, if a navigator needs a magnetic course to steer, he or she will begin by placing a parallel rule or plotter
on the appropriate chart, and ruling a pencil line (soft lead, do not press hard) from the start point to the
destination. If this would result in the course crossing an area where the vessel should not go (e.g.
restricted area or shallows), an intermediate turning point - called a waypoint - is used to ‘go around’ the
obstacle. There will be two straight line courses, not one. Or there may be two or more waypoints.

The parallel rule is orientated along the line(s) ruled (one at a time), then ‘walked’ to the compass rose so
that one edge is aligned with the centre of the rose. Rule a pencil line from the centre of the rose in the
direction the course will require the vessel to go, crossing the inner and outer rings of the rose. The outer
ring gives the True direction and the inner ring the Magnetic direction.

See Fig. 17 on the next page.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 113

Fig. 17.

If the chart is old and the annual change in variation large, the inner ring will be somewhat out of
orientation. In addition, on small-scale charts showing a whole ocean, the compass rose does not show
an inner ring, but instead shows isogonals, the equivalent of contour lines joining all points of the same
variation, leaving it up to the navigator to interpolate the variation at the place of interest. In these two
cases, the navigator must read the ‘True’ degrees, and convert to ‘Magnetic’ by adding the westerly
variation or subtracting the easterly variation.

If ‘True’ (T) = 330º, and ‘Variation’ (V) = 23º W, ‘Magnetic' (M) = 353º. To avoid confusion as to which
numbers of degrees are True and which are Magnetic, we write ‘T’ or ‘Mag’ [or just M] after the number.

So we could have written 330º T + 23º W = 353º M.

(The ‘M’ here is not to be confused with the ‘M’ which means ‘miles’: since the ‘M’ here follows the degree
symbol, it must refer to ‘Magnetic’.)

If we know the Magnetic direction and need the True direction:

353º M - 23º W = 330º T

(Since the True is always smaller than Magnetic when ‘Var = W’.)

Line of Position

While sailing along that course, the navigator may wish to take a magnetic bearing from the vessel to a
lighthouse using the vessel's Hand-Bearing Compass.

The magnetic reading that is obtained is converted to a True direction by subtracting the westerly (or adding
the easterly) variation. By reversing the process with the ruler, orientating it along the True direction
calculated and compass rose centre-point line, then ‘walking’ it to the lighthouse on the chart so that one
edge of the ruler lies on the middle ‘dot’ of the lighthouse symbol, a pencil line can be ruled from the
lighthouse to seaward, representing a line along which the vessel’s position was located at the time the
bearing was noted. This line is called a Line of Position, (or L.O.P.).

Fig. 18.

The same reverse procedure can be used if a magnetic course is being steered and it is desired to plot this
course on a chart. Since charts are orientated to True North, we need to know the True equivalent of the
Magnetic value obtained from the compass.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Page 114 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Deviation

The course steered according to the ship's compass is not always the Magnetic direction. Every vessel has
some amount of ‘magnet-affecting metal’ in its make up, such as the engine, tanks, mechanical and
electronic equipment on board, tools, etc. These metallic objects affect the compass, and they affect the
compass by differing amounts depending on whether the vessel is facing north, south, east or west - or any
other direction. The effect is called deviation. See Figure 19.

Swinging the Compass

To establish what the deviation of a compass is on any particular ship's heading, the first step is to obtain
the services of a qualified ‘compass adjuster‘ who will ‘Swing the Compass‘. This process of swinging
the compass involves sailing the vessel away from the immediate surrounds of other metals into ‘open’
water, then slowly turning the vessel through 360º and checking the compass readings against known
calculated values of what the compass should read. Transits and conspicuous objects on land are used
for this check. Any difference is the deviation, and the compass adjuster will attempt to adjust the
compass's ‘compensating magnets’ to get the deviation to a minimum on all headings. Once the adjusting
process has minimised the deviation, any remaining deviation is reported to the vessel's skipper in the form
of a Deviation Card. (If there is no qualified adjuster available for the task, DO NOT attempt to adjust the
compass. Determine the deviations as described above, short of doing the adjustment.)

Fig. 19.

The Deviation Card supplied to the skipper must remain on the vessel. It can take the form of a table of
deviations (corrections), see Fig. 20 below, or a graph. See Figure 21.

TABULAR DEVIATION CARD

Ship's Name
Name and Type of Compass ...................... (e.g. Plastimo, Steering), Date: ................

Compass Deviation Magnetic Compass Deviation Magnetic

360ºº 1ºW 359º 180º 2º E 182º

022,5º 2ºW 020,5º 202,5º 3ºE 205,5º

045º 3ºW 042º 225º 3ºE 228º

067,5º 3ºW 064,5º 247,5º 2ºE 249,5º

090º 2ºW 088º 270º 2ºE 272º

112,5º 1ºW 111,5º 292,5º 1ºE 293,5º

135º 0º 135º 315º 1ºE 316º

157,5º 1º E 158,5º 337,5º 0º 337,5º

Fig. 20.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 115
GRAPHIC DEVIATION CARD

Fig. 21.

Graph deviation presentations are rare these days, most vessels having the tabular layout card. A compass
should be readjusted (re-swung) every three years, or additionally whenever major ‘metallic’ changes to
the vessel are made.

When taking deviation into account, if deviation is ‘West’ on a particular ship's heading, we apply the
westerly deviation to the equation just as we did the westerly variation, since it has the effect of pushing
the compass needle further west than variation does on its own.

First we change the True direction to a Magnetic direction by adding the westerly variation or subtracting
easterly variation. Then we change the Magnetic direction to a ‘compass direction’ by adding westerly, or
subtracting easterly, deviation. Remember:

‘Error west, compass best (bigger); error east compass least’.

(If both are west, compass is ‘bigger’ than Magnetic which is bigger than True.)

If a vessel is sailing south, 180º T (True) where magnetic variation is 23º W (West), the magnetic course
will be:
T + V (Var W) = M
180ºT + (v is west) 23º W = 203ºM

and the compass course, using the Deviation Card at Figure 21, will be:

M - D (Dev is E) = C
203ºM - (D is east) 3º E = 200ºC

We can put it all in one line:

T V M D C
180ºT + 23ºW = 203ºM , - 3ºE = 200ºC

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Page 116 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Notice how each number of degrees has a letter behind it so that there can be no confusion as to what
each is. This is most important when any one number is written on its own. For example, to write in the log
book that the ship's course was ‘275º’ is ambiguous - is it 275º True, Magnetic, or Compass? A bearing
to a lighthouse stated as ‘145º’ could be True or Magnetic. A letter behind the number removes all
confusion.

If we know the compass course being steered by the helmsman, we can find the True equivalent in order
to plot it on a chart by working the arithmetic backwards (and reversing the plus and minus signs).

T V M D C

becomes

C D M V T

and

C D M V T
200 C + 3 E = 203 M , - 23 W = 180ºT
º º º º
It is often necessary to interpolate when using the Deviation Card - we use the nearest Magnetic heading
shown on the card to that being steered or to be steered, to read off the deviation. It may also be necessary
to interpolate the number of degrees of deviation in the rare case of a difference of 2º or more between
successive deviations shown.

Deviation and the Deviation Card apply to the ship's steering compass. The compass is mounted in a fixed
position relative to the ship's ‘interfering' metals’ and the Deviation Card's values remain valid for any
heading of the ship. The hand-bearing compass, however, is seldom used in or from the same place every
time it is brought on deck, and therefore a Deviation Card would be necessary for each position or place
it is used. This is not practical, so we use no deviation at all with this compass. To minimise the disturbing
influences of other metals on the vessel, we use this compass as high as we can and as far as we can get
it from the ship's compass and other metals. The minimum distance it should be from the steering compass
is approximately two metres. When moving away from the ship's steering compass, do not move close to
other interference sources e.g. the metal in items included in the life-raft and strong magnets in
loudspeakers of music hi-fi's mounted just under the deck. To check a compass' deviation at sunrise and
sunset using the sun's amplitude, see Appendix H, page 173.

Speed

Everyone knows that motor cars travel at speeds described as ‘miles per hour’ or ‘kilometres per hour’. In
marine terminology we use the term ‘Knots‘. A knot is the unit of speed of a vessel at sea, and is one
nautical mile per hour. To say ‘knots per hour' is wrong because it translates to ‘nautical miles per hour "per
hour"'! Since the nautical mile is longer than the statute (land) mile, knots do not apply on land.

As ‘speed’ (knots) is determined by distance (miles) per time (hour), if we know any two of these values
we can calculate the third. Remember the triangle:

Speed = Distance , and

Time S=D
T
Time = Distance , and T=D
Speed S

Distance = Speed X Time. D=TxS

So, if a vessel has to cover a distance of 30 n.m. and it sails at 6 knots, it will take 5 hours to do the trip.
Also, if a vessel covers a distance of 15 n.m. in 2 hours, its speed is 7,5 knots. Similarly, a vessel travelling
at 5 knots for 4 hours will cover a distance of 20 n.m.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 117
Directions

Directions (courses, set, bearings, etc.) of less than 100º must have a zero first so that there are always
three digits, and if the direction is less than 010º it must have two zeros first for the same reason. Only
angles such as variation and deviation may have less than three digits. So we could have 300º, 030º or
003º, all being directions. Directions should also always be qualified as T, M, or C.

Chartwork Symbols

One navigator may hand over the navigating duties to another, or the work of the navigator may be
checked by the skipper or master of the vessel, or the navigation work may be the subject of a study later
on. All these situations require that what has been done by one person, is easily understood by others. For
this reason standard chartwork symbols are used. Marking a chart with courses lines, chartwork symbols,
etc. is called ‘Plotting’. Let's look at the symbols for chartwork.

Course Steered Fig. 22.

This is represented by a line on the chart showing the direction the vessel is pointed (its heading) as it
proceeds on its way. The single arrowhead is near the centre of the line. The course, although ruled in the
direction of its True number of degrees, may have the number of degrees as True, Magnetic or Compass,
T, M or C, stated/written along the line.

Ground Track (or Course Made Good - CMG, or Course over the ground COG)

Fig. 23.

Although a vessel may be pointed/headed in a direction while sailing, wind from a side may cause the
vessel to ‘slip sideways’ away from the wind. This sideways slip off the course steered is called leeway.
In addition, a current or tidal stream may be flowing at an angle to the course steered, also pushing the
vessel, or drifting it sideways off the course steered. The resulting route taken by the vessel above/over
the ground (the sea bed below) is called the ground track - sometimes also called the Course Made Good,
abbreviated to ‘CMG’, or Course Over the Ground,’COG’. Notice the CMG has two arrowheads near the
centre of the line. The direction, T,M,or C, may also be written next to this line, as explained above.

Set

Fig. 24.

The direction of the current or tidal stream, called the ‘Set‘ of the current or tidal stream, has three
arrowheads near the centre of the line. The direction of the set is always ONLY expressed in relation to
True headings. The direction, True, may also be written next to the set line on the chart.

Line of Position (LOP)

Fig. 25.

Here the single line from the lighthouse in the earlier explanation of an LOP (page 112), has one arrowhead
at its seaward end. The direction, as True or Magnetic, SHOULD be written along this line or near its
seaward end as well as the Time it applied and the ship's Log reading (distance travelled counter) at that
time.

Advanced or Transferred LOP

Fig. 26.

Where it is required to plot a line parallel to a LOP, the parallel line is called an ‘Advanced’ or ‘Transferred’
LOP - it has no separate abbreviation. It is denoted by the two arrowheads at the end of the line, optionally
at both ends.
BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING
Page 118 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Position (of a Vessel)
1. DEAD RECKONED POSITION or ‘DR’

Fig. 27.

A short line crossing the course line at right angles, or a vertically orientated cross, indicates a ‘DR’ or Dead
(from ‘Deduced’) Reckoned position. It is obtained from taking into account only the factors direction, time,
and speed (time and speed give distance). It ignores factors of current/tidal stream set, and leeway. The
Log, Time and Date (the date if at sea for more than the one day) MUST be written next to the DR mark,
and the letters ‘DR’ may be written next to the symbol.

2. ESTIMATED POSITION or EP’

Fig. 28.

An estimated position takes the DR factors, direction and distance, into account AND the influences of
current/tidal stream ‘set’ AND/OR leeway. The position is indicated by being enclosed in a triangle, and the
Log, Time and Date (date if at sea for more than the one day) MUST be written next to the triangle.

An estimated position due to set only, is obtained by first ‘plotting’ (ruling in its correct place) the course
line - let's say a course of 080ºT. Mark the start point. Let's call it A:

Fig. 29.

a. If we wish to ‘steer-off’ to counteract the effects of the set, we must take action from the start (place, A,
and beginning time) of our voyage/leg so that we end up at the right place, we plot (rule) a line in the set's
direction and make a mark along this line at the place where a drifting object would get to after one hour -
call it B. (This drift distance in 1 hour is the ‘rate’ [speed] of the current or tidal stream.) Remember:

Fig. 30.

‘SET’ is the direction of surface water flow due to current or tidal stream.
‘DRIFT’ is the distance a free floating object will move in a period of time due to the tidal stream or
current.
‘RATE’ is the speed in knots of surface water flow due to the current or tidal stream.

Assume a set of 225ºT (here we do not have to write ‘T' as it is current or tidal stream being referred to -
they are always only ‘True’) at a rate of 2 knots. From B, plot a line using the same units of length used for
the current drift in 1 hour, to be the length/distance the boat will travel over the water in the same period
of time i.e. 1 hour - if its speed is 6 knots then this line must be six units of length long where it meets the
course to be travelled line (080ºT) - at C .

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 119

Fig. 31.

The direction of line BC is the course to steer to overcome the set, AB, and the boat will then move along
the line AC - which is the Ground Track, Course Made Good (CMG), or Course Over the Ground (COG).
Since the time frame is one hour and the boat moves from A to C in that hour, a measure of the length of
line AC will be the speed of the vessel over the ground - Speed over the Ground (SOG) or Speed Made
Good (SMG).

After the 1 hour the boat will be at C - C is the ‘EP’ and we mark it by drawing a triangle around the spot,
and we write the Date, Time and Log.
The point C is where the boat will be after 1 hour. It is the EP at that time.

b. If no allowance for set was made at the beginning of the trip, the vessel would end up at a different
place. To see where a vessel being steered on a course will end up if no allowance is made for the set, we
apply the set line at any point near the end of the course steered line (let's call it X). From that point the set
is plotted to scale. Assume a course steered of 080ºT and the same current or tidal stream as above, i.e.
225º (T) at 2 knots. Call the end of the set line Y:

Fig. 32.

Measure back from X along the course steered line, six units of length (the boat’s speed) and make a mark
- call it Z.

Fig. 33.

ZY is the Course over the Ground (COG), Ground Track or Course Made Good (CMG), and its length will
reveal speed. (The time frame being used is 1 hour.)

Fig. 34.

If Z was the actual start point, then after 1 hour the EP would be at Y.

Fig. 35.

If the actual start point was somewhere else other than Z, plot a line parallel to ZY starting from the actual
Page 120 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
start point (e.g. at A, a harbour exit). This line will be the Ground Track, COG, or CMG, and since we know
the new speed (line ZY ‘per hour’), we can ascertain an EP at any time after starting. The EP after 1 hour
30 minutes is:

Fig. 36.

Leeway

There is one other aspect to EP's and that is ‘Leeway’. Remember that an EP is a position obtained from
including the factors ‘current/tidal stream AND/ OR leeway’.

Assume the course is approximately towards the east and the wind is northerly (blowing FROM the north).
While sailing along we look in the water behind the yacht to see the wake - its trail left in the water. If the
wake is not fairly consistently in line with the ‘fore and aft’ line of the yacht, allowing for the slight swing of
the yacht about the course steered due to swell/waves, then there is either leeway present, or the
helmsman needs to improve! If there is leeway, use the hand-bearing compass and take bearings on the
fore and aft line and the direction of the wake. The difference in these bearings is the leeway angle. To
overcome the leeway, adjust the course steered by the angle measured TOWARDS THE WIND. This will
mean turning towards the north by an amount equal to the Leeway angle. By turning slightly towards north
while sailing east, the course steered direction as seen on a compass rose, will be changing anticlockwise -
it will get smaller by the leeway angle:

Plotted or calculated course to steer ‘minus’ leeway when wind from the port side.

If the wind had been from the south, it would be plus the leeway - we would be turning clockwise towards
the wind.

If there is current or tidal stream present, and we experience leeway, we first would plot the course to steer
due to the current/tidal stream, then start sailing, then check for leeway, and if it is present we then adjust
towards the wind by the leeway angle. We can not know in advance what the leeway will be, if any - so the
leeway part of the exercise is always last.

IF leeway is ever plotted on a chart, it is likely to be for or in an examination ONLY - it is not otherwise
plotted. Here is how to show it if plotted; course ‘East’, wind from the north. (A-making allowance for it, B-
ignoring it):

Fig. 37.

Back to Chartwork Symbols.

3. A ‘FIX' POSITION

Fig. 38.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 121
The position of a vessel established as a result of taking measurements from fixed objects on land (or the
seabed, or even celestial bodies - the sun, stars, moon and planets), is termed a ‘Fix’ or a ‘Fixed Position’.
The symbol is a circle around the position, and again it must have the Time, Log reading and Date (if
applicable) written next to it. There are several methods of taking a ‘fix’, and these will be dealt with in the
next chapter.

Transits

A transit is an imaginary line between two fixed objects on land and extending seaward. A vessel can sail
along that line by keeping the two objects in line - ‘in transit’. The symbols used, if a transit is to be plotted
on a chart, are a circle around the object furthest from the water and a circle with a line through it, in line
with the two objects, around the nearer object:

Fig. 39.

Clearing Lines/Bearings

A clearing line/bearing is a magnetic bearing, for use with the hand-bearing compass, from the vessel to
an object on land; it is safe for the vessel to be on one side of that line but unsafe on the other. While on
the safe side of a clearing line, a bearing to the object may be larger or smaller (depending which is the
safe side) than the clearing line direction, BUT NOT BOTH. There can be two clearing lines forming a ‘V’
with the object at the junction of the two sides of the ‘V’, or the two bearing lines could be taken from
separate objects. Either way, two clearing lines can form the sides of a `safe corridor'. It will be safe if the
bearing to the object is either ‘Not More’ than (‘NM’) and/or ‘Not Less’ than (‘NL’) pre-calculated values.

NL 282º M

NM 320º M

Foul

Fig. 40.

OTHER TOOLS

Navigation Drawing Instruments

1. Drawing Compass. A mathematics set drawing compass for arcs of circles and circles. Its use will be
described in the next chapter.

2. Navigator's Dividers. The ‘one-handed’ operation type with the bulge near the pivot point is best,
leaving the navigator's other hand free to hold the chart and other items on the moving chart table still. The
longer the arms, the better.

Fig. 41.
Page 122 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

3. Plotters - only one is necessary. The Portland (Breton) Plotter is recommended:

a. The Parallel Rule. (Graded 6 on a scale of 10 - ‘3/10'.)

Fig. 42.

b. The Douglas Protractor. (Graded 3/10)

Fig. 43.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 123
c. The Rolling Rule. (Graded 1/10! Difficult to use on a moving vessel, but preferred by some people.)

Fig. 44.

d. The Hurst Plotter, showing a True bearing of 288º and Magnetic bearing 296º. (Graded 8/10)

Fig. 45.

e. The Portland (Breton) Plotter. (Graded 9/10)

Fig. 46.

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Page 124 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
f. Navigation Triangles. (Graded 4/10)

Fig. 47.

4. Station Pointer.

Fig. 48.

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shore Based Course Page 125

Stationery

The Navigator will also need:

a. A note pad or jotter for rough work.

b. A pencil with a soft lead (e.g. 2B). If the pencil is not of the ‘clutch pencil’ type, a good sharpener
will be necessary to keep it sharp. Do not press hard on the chart so that all markings can be
erased without trace indentations in the paper. Rule short lines, only as long as necessary.

c. A soft rubber eraser.

Other Aids

Also necessary for the navigator to complete the navigation task are:

i. A sextant.

ii. Tide Tables.

iii. A means of telling the time.

iv. A hand held/hand-bearing compass.

v. Binoculars.

vi. The vessel's log for distance and speed measurements.

vii. A log book being either the vessel's log book, or a separate navigator's log book in which all the
major navigation activities, etc., are recorded. See Part 3, Chapter 8, page .

NOTES

BY HENTON JAABACK INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE AT ‘YACHTMASTERS’

Page 126 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
NOTES

BY HENTON JAABACK -YACHTMASTER OCEAN INSTRUCTOR- RYA AND SA SAILING

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 127

CHAPTER 2

COASTAL NAVIGATION
Introduction

The ways of determining a vessel's position at sea have been described as being either a DR, an EP, or
a ‘fix’. Of the three, the DR is the least accurate as it makes no allowance for a vessel being pushed off its
course by the current or tidal stream, or by leeway due to the wind. The EP does take these factors into
account and is, therefore, more accurate than the DR.

However, the EP is not as accurate as we would like it to be. For example, current or tidal stream
information supplied on the chart or in Tidal Stream Atlases is obtained from studies of the current or tidal
stream over a long period of time. These studies resulted in ‘averaged’ readings. Therefore at a stage of
a year or tide cycle, the readings are not necessarily the same as at the same cycle stage earlier or later.
Averages imply some faster and some slower rates. Therefore, the values we use are not necessarily
accurate at the time we use them. A recent storm can also change the rate of a current or tidal stream.

A vessel's log showing speed and distance is not always 100% accurate - the further the vessel goes, the
greater the error becomes. The ability of some helmsmen or -women to steer a vessel accurately along
a specified course is questionable - and then there are the problems of a compass whose deviation has
changed since the deviation card was issued, or the navigator who may have been a little inaccurate in
calculating the course intended. We need to be more positive, regularly confirming our position by sightings
on land objects. Fixes are positions resulting from (some) measurements taken at the time of the fix.

Techniques of Visual Position Fixing

If one travels a particular route frequently, and knows the area well, whether walking, driving or sailing from
one place to another, one does so without conscious thought as to where one is at any moment, when to
turn or how much to turn. One's eyes are seeing and the subconscious brain is assimilating and giving the
correct controlling instructions. If, suddenly, the eyes could not see, one would stop immediately and the
conscious brain would get involved - ‘Where am I?’ Progress thereafter would be a problem.

The ability to see, and the knowledge of where one is at sea, are most important to the skipper and
navigator. What one sees while navigating at sea, allows one to make instant decisions as to the course
to be steered. Some visual aids to navigation are natural and some man-made; some are very good,
accurate and reliable, while others can be misleading, lack consistency, and be dangerous to safe
navigation. Passing close by a marker buoy is a quick, positive way of knowing the vessel's position (unless
the buoy has been moved or has broken loose from its securing chain!). Two buoys, especially at low tide
and more so if it is a normally shallow area, may appear to be suitable to use as a ‘transit’, but counter-
currents could deceive.

Eddy currents causing buoys

to drift in opposite directions.

A - The direction of the

expected transit.
B - The direction of the
observed transit.

Fig. 49.

So buoys should be treated

with suspicion. Large old buildings and trees which have been in place for centuries, are unfortunately
seldom shown any respect by the modern day developer who can demolish them in minutes - the
navigators' landmark of today is gone tomorrow. Similarly towers, the ‘permanent caravan camp’, masts
and flag poles - in fact anything man has put there, despite being conspicuous and a good, convenient
landmark, can be moved - or removed. A flagstaff or ‘conspicuous building’ shown on a chart is far less

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 128 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
likely to disappear suddenly, but then one must consider ‘Will it be visible from my position?’ The flagstaff
will not be seen from three miles away, or at the angle where it is obstructed by an adjacent building, or
a headland.

On a chart, one hill may appear prominent and show a Trig Beacon at the top - but from the sea, it is not
necessarily obvious which the right hill is.

Fig. 50.

High features may be conspicuous on the chart, but a vessel's position close inshore may shield them from
view.

Fig. 51.

The rule, therefore, is to select objects (from which to take bearings, use as pre-calculated transits and
clearing lines) which are unlikely to be moved by man or nature, and which will be conspicuous from where
the vessel is expected to be. A bend in a cliff may seem a good point for a bearing as seen on a chart, but
from seaward it may be totally different:

Fig. 52.

The Use of Measurements

The further we go using EPs, the less accurately the vessel's position is known. We can rectify this by
‘taking a fix’ - determining the vessel's position by taking measurements, using basic navigation tools, to
or of fixed objects on land that can be seen AND POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED, and the sea bed. (In ‘astro’
or ‘celestial navigation’, measurements are taken from the sun, moon, stars and planets - see our
Yachtmaster Ocean - A Complete Syllabus Course).

There are several ways or methods of taking a fix, some more accurate than others and some easy and
quick to do, others needing a bit more effort and time. What is important though, is that THE SKIPPER

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 129
AND NAVIGATOR MUST KNOW THE VESSEL'S POSITION AT ALL TIMES - on the sea and on the
chart. If ever there is doubt, and the vessel may be near an obstacle, `STOP' - do not proceed. If
necessary, turn about and go back. The recent maiden voyage of a cruising yacht from Cape Town to the
port of Natal, Brazil, ended in its being wrecked on a reef because this rule was ignored. BE SURE THE
COURSE AHEAD HAS ADEQUATE DEPTH, INCLUDING SAFETY CLEARANCE before continuing. If
entering an unfamiliar harbour or marina for the first time, do so only in the hours of daylight, and exercise
‘Pilotage’ - see Part 2, Chapter 6.

Make sure the hand-bearing compass is reading accurately - to test it, try doing a ‘Swinging the Compass’
exercise and making a deviation card for it - you may just get a shock. Take bearings from the nearest
possible objects because, the further away the compass is from an object, the bigger the inaccuracy of the
reading obtained, as the compass is not a precise measuring tool. Movement on a swaying deck also
makes accuracy hard to achieve - if necessary, read the upper and lower values of the direction as the
compass disc or ‘card’ swings from side to side, then ’average’.

Fig. 53.

Where two bearings are taken to get an intersection, try to select land objects which will result in the
intersecting bearings being at or near a right angle - the area of possible error is smaller.

Fig. 54.

Where three bearings are taken, the angles formed between them should, as near as possible, result in
an equilateral triangle.

Fig. 55.

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 130 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
METHODS OF TAKING A FIX

Actions Common to All Methods. USE THE LARGEST SCALE CHART AVAILABLE. When taking
readings for a fix, ALWAYS make a note of the time, the log (distance) reading, and, if within range, the
depth from the depth sounder. Course and speed noted will assist in DR or EP navigation subsequent to
the ‘fix’. When using depth, the reading obtained, after correction for depth of transducer, must be reduced
by an amount which is the height of tide at that time - obtained from the Tide Tables (see Chapter 4). The
remainder is the depth using the same reference level as the chart's ‘Datum’.

WARNING: The object(s) on land used to take bearings MUST be POSITIVELY identified, both by
sight AND on the chart. Do not assume, hope or accept an object to be what you want it to be - BE SURE.

1. One L.O.P. and Depth. Take a bearing with the hand-held compass on the nearest prominent feature
on land. As it is a magnetic value, use the inner ‘magnetic’ ring in the compass rose, or change it to a ‘True’
value so that it can be plotted on the chart. (Remember charts are printed with their ‘north' orientated to
‘True North' so all the lines drawn by a navigator on a chart MUST be ‘True' - even if labelled with the
equivalent magnetic value of degrees.)

From the object as seen on the chart, rule a pencil line to seaward passed where you imagine the vessel
to be. As this line represents an LOP, use the correct chartwork symbol and draw an arrowhead at the
seaward end of the LOP. Note the time, log and depth (corrected for transducer depth) at the time of taking
the bearing. The height of tide is subtracted from the depth sounding and the remaining figure compared
with depth contours and depth ‘numbers' as shown on the chart. By interpolation if necessary, PROVIDING
the sea bed slope or shape is not a straight line at a shallow angle (where a small depth error could mean
a large error in position of the vessel), we can ascertain where along the LOP the correct depth applies -
the Fix Position. Draw the chartwork symbol of a circle around the point, and write next to it the date,
time and log (reading).

Assume a bearing taken with the hand-held compass on Eddystone Lighthouse (chart 5050 - or see the
illustration below)) was seen to be 060º M when the depth sounder read 55 metres. If the (magnetic)
variation is 8º West, the True bearing would be 052ºT. This can be ruled on the chart as an LOP GOING
IN THE DIRECTION 052º T FROM THE VESSEL TO THE LIGHTHOUSE - do not make the common
mistake of regarding it as 052º T from the lighthouse to the vessel.

Fig. 56.

Subtract the height of tide (let's say 4 metres) from the

sounding and you are left with 51 metres - look at the chart and
by interpolation assess where the 51 metre depth is on the
LOP, it may be on a depth contour making it easy. Make a dot,
circle it, and write the date, time and log applicable.

Fig. 57.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 131
2. Two L.O.P.’s. The magnetic bearings for two LOPs taken in quick succession such that they cross at
as near 90º as possible, will ‘fix' the vessel's position at the intersection point with the least possible error.
The magnetic bearings are converted to True bearings and the two resulting LOPs are plotted on the chart.
The fix symbol, a circle, is drawn around the intersection point and the Date (if at sea for more than one
day), Time and Log are written next to the symbol. If, while sailing out of San Diego (chart 2885),
bearings recorded were ‘Chimney at Coronado Yacht Club’, 018ºT and the light at the southern point of
Point Loma, 281ºT, the plotted fix would be as shown below:

Fig. 58.

NB: When taking two (or more) bearings with the hand-held compass, bearings to objects abeam should
be taken first as they will be changing more rapidly than bearings to objects near the fore and aft line of
the vessel which change slowly. Also choose closer objects rather than objects further away.

3. Two L.O.P.’s and Depth. The two LOP fix is plotted as explained in method 2 above. Remember that
common to all fixes, the navigator may note, among other details, the depth at the time of taking the two
bearings for a two LOP fix. He or she is able to adjust the depth sounding by subtracting the height of tide
at that time to get the depth as shown on the chart. This third factor, depth, as determined by the sounding
and corrected for the state of the tide, is now compared with the depth as seen on the chart at the LOPs
intersection point - whether it is obvious, being on a depth contour, or by interpolation/ assessment.

If the corrected sounding and chart indication of depth at the intersection point are the same or nearly so,
the fix is good. The corrected depth may be ‘out' by a small percentage of the chart depth (or one or two
metres or just a few feet if the vessel is in shallow waters) - this is because the depth sounders are never
100% accurate, and the ‘transducer' (see Chapter 3) which is mounted below the vessel's water line is not
giving a sounding from the water surface as expected (unless adjusted for this).

If the corrected sounding (depth) and the depth as indicated on the chart at the LOPs intersection point
differ by more than a small percentage, one two metres or about five feet, when in shallow waters,
SOMETHING IS WRONG. If and whenever there is doubt about any one factor of a fix not matching the
pattern of the other factors, DO NOT IGNORE IT. Check and re-check until the mistake is identified and
corrected.

Let's assume that when the two bearings as plotted in Fig. 58 above were taken, the depth was also read
from the depth sounder. Lets say that after correction for the depth of the transducer below the water line
(which is added) and the height of tide (which is subtracted), the depth was seen to be 50 feet. The depth

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 132 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
as seen on the chart at the fix is a little over 48 feet. The difference between the chart depth and the depth
from a sounding was less than 2 feet - quite acceptable, so the fix from the intersection of the two LOPs
can be accepted as good.

4. Three L.O.P.’s - The ‘Simple Fix’. Probably the most common and popular fix method - some
authorities say that the previous methods mentioned are not really recognised ‘fix’ methods whereas the
simple fix is - it allows the navigator to get an idea of how accurate he or she is being.

Three objects, positively identified on land and on the chart, are selected so that the resulting LOPs will
cross to form a triangle which is close to an equilateral triangle. If the navigator is very accurate, and the
hand-held compass is good, or it has been a ‘fluke’, the three LOPs will cross at the same point. The ‘fix’
will be at that point.

Fig. 59.

If the three LOPs do not all cross at the same spot, they form the three sides of a triangle. This triangle is
called the ‘Triangle of uncertainty’, or as it is better known, a ‘Cocked Hat’.

The centre of the triangle is the logical place to select for the fix. A navigator can assess his or her accuracy
by the size of the triangle - THE SMALLER THE TRIANGLE, THE MORE ACCURATE THE
MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN. (Use the largest scale chart possible.)

In coastal navigation, because we are always near land, we are always near danger. To increase our safety
margin we do not use the centre of the triangle as the ‘fix’ - we take the corner of the triangle closest to land
or to danger as the ‘fix’ position. We circle and label it with the ‘Date, Time and Log’.

5. The Simple Fix and Depth. The same ‘simple fix’ procedure as above can go one better - at the time
of taking the bearings for the LOPs, the reading of the depth sounder (as well as Log and Time) is
automatically noted. As with the ‘Two LOPs and Depth’, the depth comparison is done with the fix obtained
from the three LOPs ‘simple fix’. So long as the depth indication is approximately the same on the chart
as the depth sounder, the ‘fix’ is good. If not, even with a small triangle formed by the three LOPs, check!
And re-check. Only when all measurements agree is it safe to accept the resulting ‘fix’.

6. The ‘Running Fix’. A great deal of coastal sailing is on courses approximately parallel to the general
coastline. Often only one object on land can be seen and positively identified (and too often, none - when
DRs or EPs are used in lieu of ‘fixes’). A ‘One LOP and Depth’ fix can be done, but if the sea bed is flat and
horizontal for miles around, or if the sea bed is too deep for the depth sounder to register a depth, then
another method is called for. One such option is the ‘Running Fix’. ...

Plot the course being steered anywhere near where it is guessed to be. As the vessel comes in sight of
HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 133
the identifiable object on land, take a bearing on it using the hand-held compass and plot the resulting
LOP so that it crosses the plotted course line. Note the Time and Log (and depth if a further check, later,
is required). Let's say the course is 340ºC (using the deviation card, Fig. 20, on page 114, deviation is near
enough nil, so it = 340ºM, and lets assume variation is 10ºW; -10ºW variation becomes 330ºT), and the
first LOP bearing (#1) on an island lighthouse is 055ºM (= 045ºT). Let the time be 10h00, and the Log be
3456,7 M. The course direction is ruled in anywhere at random.

Fig. 61.

When the vessel has moved a distance such that a new LOP from the object and the original LOP will form
a reasonable angle (say from about 30º or more - up to about 150º), take the bearing for, and plot a
second LOP. Note the Time and Log (and if you wish to do the extra check, the depth).

What is the difference between the two log readings? The difference is the distance the vessel has moved
along its course direction in the time between the two LOPs being recorded. Remember that the course
direction line is only an arbitrary line at this stage.

In our example, the difference in log readings is 4,5 M.

If we therefore measure, from the intersection of the (arbitary) course line plotted and the plot of the first
LOP, in the direction the vessel moved, the distance it travelled (4,5') between the taking of the two LOPs,
we can mark on the course line where we think the vessel may be. Let's say the second LOP was 105ºM
(= 095ºT) and Log 3461,2 M at 10h45 when the corrected depth was recorded as 40 m.

Fig. 62.

Since, at the time of the first LOP, the vessel's position was somewhere along that line, and at the time of
the second LOP the position is somewhere along this second LOP line, if we move the first LOP the
distance the vessel moved, the actual position must be where the moved LOP intersects the second LOP.
The moving of an LOP in this way is called ‘Advancing’ or ‘Transferring’ a LOP.

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 134 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

Fig. 63.

This intersection is the ‘fix’. We label the ‘fix’ with the Date, Time and Log. (The ‘Time’ being that of the
second LOP).

We can also if we wish, check the depth at the ‘fix’ to see that it conforms with that expected from the depth
reading taken at the time of the second LOP. If it does not, check the depth as at the first LOP. The vessel's
position having been fixed, the course line can now be ruled in the correct place from the ‘fix’. Extend the
newly ruled course line backwards to intersect with the first LOP and check the depth as at that time - do
the chart-indicated and the recorded depths agree?

If one of the depths recorded does not agree with the chart depths at the respective places they were
recorded, it is possible that there is an isolated hole or tall reef/rock which is not shown on the chart which
is responsible for the confusing depths. If both depths checked do not match the chart depths, be very wary
of accepting the ‘fix’ - rather take another fix, even if it just confirms the first as correct.

In our example, the recorded depths, adjusted for height of tide and depth of transducer, match the chart
depths at those places. We can relax in the knowledge that our fix is good!

NB: The depth check aspect described above is NOT part of the standard Running Fix - it is included here
as an extra check you can do if you wish. The same depth check MAY also be carried out when doing ANY
‘fix’.

7. Fix by ‘Dipping’ or ‘Bobbing’ a Light. We all know the earth is round and that, therefore, if we travel
on the sea in a straight line towards an object which is initially beyond the horizon, a stage will be reached
when we can first see the top of that object. If the top of that object is the light of a lighthouse, as it first
comes into view, we say we are ‘dipping’ or ‘bobbing’ the light.

Fig. 64.

If the height of an object (a lighthouse light or the observer's eye) is known, the distance from that object
to its natural horizon can be calculated. Since the curvature of the earth is near enough constant and its
diameter and circumference are known, the following formula gives the distance between the object and
its horizon.
Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — Height (m)
where the 2,04 is a constant.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 135
So if the light of a lighthouse is 9 metres above sea level, its horizon is:

Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — 9 (m)

= 2,04 X 3
= 6,1 n.m. (to the nearest single decimal)

A navigator on the average size sea-going yacht will see the lighthouse when his or her eyes are about 3
metres above the water line. The navigator's horizon is therefore:

Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — 3 (m)

= 2,04 X 1,73
= 3,5 n.m. (to the nearest single decimal)

The vessel is 9,6 M (6,1 M + 3,5 M) from the lighthouse when the light is ‘Dipped’ (or ‘Bobbed’), as
illustrated in Fig. 64.

What effect does the Height datum have? In the UK this datum is MHWS, but in South Africa it is MSL.
These terms and abbreviations are explained in Chapter 4, Tides.

If it had been high tide at that time, and ‘Springs’ as well, then at low tide the light could be 14 m above sea
level (assuming a difference of 5 m between high and low tides). The horizon distance would then be:

Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — 14 (m)

= 2,04 X 3,74
= 7,6 n.m.

The state of the (low) tide has made a difference of 1,5 n.m. - a 25% increase on the high tide’s 6,1 n.m.!

So, where the tide is significant, and especially where the object on land is not high up, remember to allow
for the state of the tide.

In parts of England, especially near Bristol, the tidal range can be more than 10 metres. If a light is ‘10 m’
as shown on the chart measured from the high water mark or Mean High Water Springs mark - see the
chart statement of the chart in use - its height above the sea level at the low tide stage could be over 20
m. The ‘horizon’ distance will be:

At Low Water:
Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — 20 (m)
= 2,04 X 4,47
= 9,1 n.m. (to the nearest single decimal)
At high tide it could be:
Distance (n.m.) = 2,04 X — 10 (m)
= 2,04 X 3,16
= 6,5 n.m. (to the nearest single decimal)

A difference, due to the tide, of 2,6 n.m.! Clearly the tide is relevant. EXAMINATION CANDIDATES
REMEMBER - many aspiring Yachtmasters fail the test the first time due to this type of mistake.

In South African waters the tidal range is small (just over 2 metres at the worst) and most lighthouses are
high, so the tide variations are negligible, especially when their square roots are used e.g. a lighthouse
shown as ‘47 m’ means it is 47 metres high measured from mean sea level (on South African charts). So:
At high tide:
— 46 m = 6,8 (to the nearest single decimal)
At half tide:
— 47 m = 6,9 (to the nearest single decimal)
At low tide:
— 48 m = 6,9 (to the nearest single decimal)

A difference of less than 1,5% - it can be ignored.

The distance from the vessel to the light at the time the light is ‘Dipped’ (or ‘Bobbed’) is determined. If at

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Page 136 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
the time a bearing was taken on the lighthouse and the resulting LOP plotted, we can measure along the
LOP from the lighthouse the distance calculated by the ‘Dipping’ formula and a make a mark on the LOP
at that point. The point marked is where the vessel was when the light was ‘Dipped’ - it is the ‘fix’. The ‘fix’
symbol is drawn around the point and the Date, Time and Log reading written near the symbol.

There is a Dipping Distance Table alternative method to the calculation. See Appendix J.

Now, if we had also checked the depth at the time of ‘Dipping’ the light, we would have a cross check to
confirm the ‘fix' is good.

There are other methods of determining the ‘fix’ position of a vessel at sea, and these will be explained in
Chapter 3.

L.O.P. by Radio

When a vessel starts to close with the coast which is still not visible, or when fog, poor visibility or lack of
detail due to distance prevents a navigator from seeing enough to identify an object on land from which a
bearing for a LOP can be taken, a RADIO DIRECTION FINDER (RDF) can be used to get a LOP.

A place where a radio beacon is located along a coast is marked on a chart by a purple or magenta
coloured circle which has the letters RC next to it. The detail applicable to that radio beacon is to be found
in the ‘Admiralty List of Radio Signals’ (‘ALRS’) Volume 2 for beacons world wide, and for the South
African coast only, in the South African ‘List of Lights, Fog Signals and Radio Services’, SAN HO-1.

The detail for a beacon is shown like this:

‘1830 Danger Point LtHo (D6320) 34º37,45'S 19º18,05'E

Frequency 308,5 A2A Range 100 miles

Characteristic: Period 30 seconds

ZDP * 6 seconds *
Silent 2 seconds
Long dash 20 seconds
Silent 2 seconds
Period 30 seconds
Beacon Service: Continuous.’

The 1830 is the beacon number and D6320 the number of the lighthouse at which it is located, the
lighthouse being at Danger Point. The latitude and longitude enable one to find it easily on a chart. The
‘A2A’ refers to the type of radio signal and the range is ‘for the average receiver’. Many of the cheaper
yacht-type Radio Direction Finders (RDFs) will only receive the beacon's signal a lot closer to the
transmitter, typically 75% of the range stated.

The 30-second cycle breakdown needs no further explanation, and the transmitted signal cycle is normally
repeated 24 hours a day. Some beacons are part of a chain of beacons; these latter beacons transmit on
the same frequency but each has an alloted number of minutes of each hour to transmit.

The frequency units are ‘kilohertz’. The vessel's RDF is turned on and tuned to the frequency and the call
sign, in the above example ‘ZDP’, is listened for. When a morse code signal is heard, from the morse code
for ZDP shown in the beacons' detail book, try and identify the code. It is not difficult because the code is
transmitted very slowly.

If the code is not ZDP, adjust the frequency tuner on the radio slightly up and then down from where you
had set it initially until you hear ZDP. Adjust the volume and frequency to get the best signal, even if this
means the radio, held so that it is vertical and therefore the antenna inside is horizontal, has to be turned
in the horizontal plane. When the signal is strong or as good as you can get it, wait for the start of the 20
seconds ‘long dash’, then slowly turn the RDF (or its antenna if separate) in the horizontal plane until the
weakest signal is heard. It may be necessary to turn down the volume control to hear a decrease in signal
strength, or a weak beacon signal may result in an arc of no signal.

The direction to the weakest signal or to the average of the bearings on each side of the ‘no signal’ arc, is
HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 137
the direction from which the RDF receives the long dash tone - if the radio wave has not been bent on its
way to the vessel, it is also the direction from the vessel to the beacon. It could alternatively be 180º in the
opposite direction as the RDF only reacts when its antenna is in line with the transmitter, off either end.

While sailing along a coast line, it is easy to tell which of the two possible directions is the correct one.
However, an attol mid ocean or a low island's beacon to one side of a course can be located by plotting
two LOPs a few hours apart and plotting them across the course line - the correct side is the converging
LOP’s side.

RDF receivers have a means of giving direction information to the user - either by a built-in compass or a
scale to give an angle relative to the vessel's heading. This is then compared with the vessel's steering
compass to get the direction to the beacon.

The direction bearing obtained is converted to a True bearing and it is plotted on the chart. It is an LOP and
it was obtained by radio - the RDF.

At sunset and at dawn, and to a certain extent during the night, the path of the radio waves is often bent
so that when it arrives at the receiver, it is not coming in the direction of the beacon. The amount and times
of the bending varies from day to day and there is no way to know ‘when’ or ‘how much’. The navigator
must therefore be wary of results obtained from a RDF at these times.

Routine for Coastal Navigation

Actions Prior To Departure

The first steps in making a coastal voyage should be an examination of the questions:

a. ‘What?’ What vessel is to be used and is it and all its equipment ready for and up to making the
voyage? What needs to be done to get it ready, what has to be inspected, checked, bought, fitted , fixed,
amended, loaded, serviced or replaced to make the vessel seaworthy?

b. ‘When?’ How much time is available for the planning and preparation? The date of sailing may well be,
and often is, dictated more by time required to get ready and weather than any other factor. The number
of ‘things to do’ may take too long for one person, so...

c. ‘Who?’ Decide on what is to be done and who is to do it. The crew for the voyage must be chosen,
informed/invited, and if agreeable to the venture, should where possible become involved at an early stage.
They may need advance notice so that leave can be arranged in time.

d. ‘Why?’ The boat must be seaworthy, correctly prepared, loaded and crewed before departure. All safety
equipment must be checked and all publications to hand and studied. Charts must be checked for the latest
updating ‘Notices to Mariners’ corrections, and the state of the tide checked, if relevant, so that departure
can be arranged to be at high tide. The state of tide at a nearby destination after a short voyage may be
relevant, e.g. Saldanha Bay to Port Owen, or Chichester Harbour to Buckler's Hard - arrival should be at
high tide and this may affect departure time.

e. ‘Where?’ Where is the start point and where is the voyage to? Therefore what route is to be used, where
are the obstacles and dangerous areas to be avoided, as well as the good natural and man-made
navigation aids to be used on the voyage? What waypoints are to be used and where are they to be? On
arrival at the destination, where can the vessel be moored or berthed? Is any advance booking required?

f. ‘How?’ How is all the preparation work to be done? Some may be delegated to crew members, some
the skipper must do and some he can do, and other tasks may have to be done by contractors as it
involves specialists' attention. A control is probably best facilitated by making a list of everything to be done
and how it is to be done, right down to Customs and Immigration clearance and the departure form
submission.

LISTS of things to be done on a boat, NEVER have an end. As one task is completed and struck from the
list, so two new items are added. Do not be surprised - it will happen to you! See Chapter 8, ‘Passage
Planning’, for an ‘in depth’ look at this subject.

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 138 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
Actions While Under Way

g. Log Book Entries. From the moment of departure, the vessel's Log Book must be entered at regular
intervals, hourly for coastal sailing, every three to four hours for trans ocean sailing, and whenever there
is a course change, duty watch change, or anything significant happens on the voyage.

h. A ‘Duties List’ should be prepared so off-duty crew know when they can go and rest - and when to
come on watch. As meal times near, unless someone has been nominated or has volunteered for the galley
work, spare crew disappear in case the task of getting the meal is given to them. Meals then become
irregular, and often consist of packets of biscuits or similar. Cleaning duties should also be specified.

i. Cleaning. A vessel at sea gets dirty quickly and needs to be cleaned - AND TIDIED. ‘An untidy ship
becomes a dangerous ship’. Put away personal kit when it is not in use, and put all vessel's kit and
equipment back in its respective stowage places so it can be easily found later if needed in a
hurry/emergency.

j. Plotting. The course, allowing for tides, obstacles and waypoints, and current or tidal stream influences
as well as leeway, and frequent DRs, EPs or ‘fixes’ should be plotted unless the skipper (and navigator)
are very familiar with the route. Even then, progress along the route should be plotted - REMEMBER: the
skipper and navigator should know where the vessel is, both on the sea and the chart position, at all times.
Use the ‘Publications’ - they are there to help e.g. Sailing Directions.

k. Routine maintenance checks while under way are recommended. Check the engine oil and coolant
levels, that all engine parts are tight, there are no fuel, oil or air/exhaust gases leaks, the electric wiring and
equipment is secure, and that wires and pipes are not being subjected to chafe or excessive heat. The bilge
should be checked periodically for water level and for smells of gas if gas is leaking. Standing rigging can
be checked for turnbuckles/bottlescrews that may be coming loose and for signs of stay or shroud wires'
strands starting to part. Split pins are not always opened correctly and can drop out leaving clevis pins free
to work loose and then a stay or shroud's support is lost. Checks and continual maintenance are well worth
the trouble, and they amount to good seamanship.

l. Weather watch. Monitor the weather pattern, forecasts, reports and bulletins as well as the vessel's own
barometer and the wind and cloud activity so that the crew and vessel are ready in advance for any rough
conditions.

m. Stock Control. Keep a check on the rate of consumption of drinking water and victuals so that they last
the duration of the voyage, even if delayed en route.

n. Crew. As a skipper, keep a watch on the health and morale of the crew - they are your most important
resource.

o. Duty Crew. Make sure the helmsperson is familiar with the ‘Rules of the Road’, especially the need to
keep an ALL ROUND LOOK-OUT at all times, and that all crew know that they are to call you whenever
the vessel approaches within a specified distance of any other vessel or an obstacle. They must feel free
to call you at any time if they are in doubt about any aspect of the navigation or safety of the vessel.

p. Lights at Night. From sunset to sunrise, remember to display the appropriate lights for other vessels
to see.

Actions After Tying Up

One of the actions after a voyage, while events are still fresh in one's mind, is to think back about the
navigating process and see if we could have done better. Were any mistakes made or any ‘close shaves’
experienced during the trip? If so what lessons can be learnt from them? Was there any danger at any
stage and if so, why? Was there too much reliance on any one navigation aid when others could and
possibly should also have been used? Was any confusion experienced regarding the navigation at any
stage? If so, why? What could have been done to avoid the confusion? Were log book entries and the
plotting satisfactory?

Finally, all charts used must have any pencil markings erased so they can be put away clean for the next
time they are needed. The log book entries are closed off and the skipper should then check and sign at
the bottom of the entries to signify ‘journey complete’. It also shows that he or she is familiar with all the
HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 139
entries, especially any involving the crew's comments or aspects about the vessel which may need
attention.

Strategy for Course Laying

It is considered important to emphasise that a skipper is responsible for the safety of the vessel and all the
people on board. For any voyage it is his or her decisions only that count. These decisions result from the
consideration of various factors, including inter alia:

1. The probable duration of the voyage. Short journeys of less than 24 hours require far less planning and
preparation than longer trips. Longer trips need more charts, therefore more chart checking for the latest
corrections from ‘Notices to Mariners’, more reading up in advance and more chart checking for obstacles
along the intended route; weather forecasting en route becomes involved, night sailing becomes necessary,
and more victualling is involved. Reserves of water and victuals (25% minimum) must be included and
possibly also reserves of fuel.

2. The date of departure. Adequate time must be allowed for thorough preparation - nothing should be
overlooked because of a rush to get going.

3. The best time for departure or arrival. A day start gives all on board several hours of daylight to settle
in and get the routine started. Night departures do not, however, present any special problems, but night
arrivals can be dangerous unless the skipper is already familiar with the destination. Some harbours' lights
do not work and no effort is made to get them working - and the unsuspecting skipper is none the wiser!
The same also applies to radio beacons. It is a fundamental rule of Pilotage (see Chapter 6) to wait out at
sea rather than to enter a strange harbour at night.

4. The height of tide wherever shallows may be experienced. Allow for a generous safety clearance if the
shallow area can not be circumvented.

5. Currents and tidal streams can be used to advantage. If possible, choose the time so that the tidal
stream will be flowing in favour of the vessel's course, not against it. Currents far off shore are often in the
opposite direction to inshore ‘eddies’ - use the flow going your way!

6. Weather forecast. A study of the weather pattern before departure must be kept up to date by constantly
monitoring forecasts and doing one's own forecasting, especially by observing the vessel's barometer.

7. Traffic to be encountered and traffic lanes. If separation schemes are to be joined or crossed, remember
that a sailing craft has no rights in such areas - try and cross in daylight when visibility for all vessels is best.
Avoid areas where large fishing fleets set their nets - rope from a net or a net in the rudder or around the
propeller is a problem!

8. Obstacle areas are to be avoided. Foul ground, shallow reefs, pipelines near the surface and anything
in the water that can interfere with the boat's progress are to be avoided.

A study of the charts' detail in advance, as well as ‘Sailing Directions’ and books such as the relevant
volume of the Ocean Pilot will show most of the obstacles. Beware; obstacles like shark nets off beaches
have caught more than sharks! Select a safe course away and around obstacle areas.

9. Navigational aids to be used. Choose navigation marks that will be easy to use and which permit the use
of the easy position-fixing methods. Lighthouses' ‘Dipping’ distances can be scribed in as arcs using a
drawing set compass. Areas where there are few if any navigation marks can be identified so that the
navigator will know in advance to be ready to use other methods of navigation.

10. Limitations imposed by Customs and Immigration clearances. Some countries' Customs and
Immigration authorities do not work at week-ends, nor from late afternoon to mid morning. Clearances in
these cases must be done at the right moment. Once cleared make sure actual departure occurs within
the time allowed or the clearing procedure may have to start all over again.

11. The submission of a Voyage Plan or Departure Form (‘Flight Plan') to the local Club, Marina, or Port
Authority. Nearly all ports from which one will depart, have a form of some type that has to be completed
before a vessel may depart. It has space for the adequate identification of the vessel, details of the route
BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION
Page 140 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
to be sailed, and details of the skipper's identity and all persons on board and their next-of-kin detail.

(Local rules vary slightly from place to place. For example, in South Africa, only in the case of Cape Town
and the immediate surrounds - a 100 mile radius around Cape Town - may a yacht leave one port to go
to another nearby port WITHOUT first submitting a Departure Form. A booking out, and in, book is kept in
the club in lieu - see Fig 65 below. In all other South African harbours, a form similar to that shown at
Appendix A must be used. Leaving from Cape Town for a destination more than 100 miles distant requires
the use of the form shown at Appendix B. Check with the authorities nearest you for the type and useage
circumstances for using the equivalent form.)
Booking In/Out Register
Date Vessel m Skipper Sail # Route ETR Phone Returned
#

Fig. 65.

The Sextant
So far we have examined, inter alia, the significance of charts, compasses and navigating by DRs, EPs and
some of the methods of obtaining a ‘fix’ position. There are more ways to determine a vessel's position
accurately, and we will soon examine the remaining methods - when we are done, you will know every
possible method, whether navigating on a yacht or an ocean liner. Two of the coastal ‘fix’ methods involve
the use of the sextant*, so we need to find out what it is and how to use it. We will also examine a few other
related aspects. *It may be that the need for and knowledge of the use of a sextant is no longer required
by the testing authority in your area. I recommend that you DO NOT buy one unless you have to or you
intend deep sea sailing away from the coast. In the latter case, it is still optional according to many
authorities.

The Composition and Uses of the Sextant

Let's deal with the use of a sextant first. A sextant measures angles. Accurately. To one decimal place
of a minute of arc (1/10th of 1/60th of a degree, or 1/10th of a minute). It does nothing else, unless you
throw it at someone!.

Next, its composition. Look at the illustration on page 141. Read the labels naming the parts and identify
the equivalent parts on your sextant.

The FRAME holds the HORIZON MIRROR, the EYE PIECE, the INDEX SCALE and HANDLE, while
providing a pivot for the INDEX ARM to be able to move through the arc of the scale. The HORIZON
MIRROR has two adjusting screws behind it. The adjustable EYE-PIECE allows the user to focus on distant
objects. The INDEX ARM has a graduation mark next to the INDEX SCALE to enable the user to read off
whole numbers of degrees, and a rotatable DRUM to show the fractions of a degree as ‘minutes’ and
decimals of a minute.

Near the drum is a QUICK RELEASE mechanism to enable coarse adjustments of the INDEX ARM setting.
The INDEX MIRROR is mounted on the INDEX ARM at the pivot end and therefore moves with the INDEX
ARM when it is moved. This mirror has only one adjusting screw behind it.

Check the mirrors' alignments and therefore INDEX ERROR before using it to measure any angle(s).

Calibration Adjustments

Begin by setting the INDEX ARM to zero degrees, zero minutes. Hold the sextant in your right hand and
hold it up to the eye so that the frame is vertical and the eyepiece enables you to see a distant object ...

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 141

Fig. 67.

... which has a distinct horizontal line. The horizon is best - it is far away. If the object chosen is not far
away, you may get a false reading. You will see one of these three images:

A B C
Fig. 68. A IMAGES IN LINE - MIRRORS PROBABLY SET CORRECTLY
B and C IMAGES NOT IN LINE - MIRRORS NEED ADJUSTING

The reason we see these images is because the left half of what we look at is viewed directly from the
eyepiece but the right half involves the visible picture reaching the eye after reflecting off the mirrors:

Fig. 69.

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Page 142 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course
If the two halves, the left and the right, of the distant horizontal line are in line, incline the sextant 45º to one
side and then to the other - the images must remain in line. If they do, the mirrors are correctly set. If at any
of the three positions the images are not in line the mirrors' settings need checking - one or both will need
adjusting.

Setting the INDEX MIRROR

Set the index arm at about 50º. Now hold the sextant (see Figure 70) so that the frame is in an
approximately horizontal plane with the index mirror between your eye and the index scale. You need to
be able to see over the pivot point, past the index mirror's right edge (as seen when the sextant is
horizontal - the same edge which would be its bottom side if the sextant were held in the vertical plane),
to the index scale near the zero degrees part of the scale. At the same time look into the right (normally
bottom) part of the mirror to see the reflection of the index scale near its maximum reading. The far edges
of the index scale arc should be in line.

If they are not, turn the adjusting screw (there is only one) behind the index mirror. The two images of the
far edges of the index scale will either get closer or further apart as you turn the screw. Turn the screw in
the direction that brings them together. When they are in line, the index mirror will be vertical or
PERPENDICULAR to the plane of the frame of the sextant - the index mirror will be correctly aligned. If they
are not in line you will experience the ERROR OF PERPENDICULARITY - a tendency to see double
images, one higher than the other.

A B C

Fig. 70. ALIGNMENT OF THE INDEX MIRROR

A. IMAGE TOO HIGH
B. IMAGE TOO LOW
C. IMAGE AND INDEX SCALE IN LINE

Setting the HORIZON MIRROR

(The index mirror must be correctly adjusted before starting these adjustments.)
Set the index arm to 0º and the drum to 0'. Hold the sextant in the right hand, bring it to the eye so that it
is in the vertical plane, and look at a far distant object or horizontal line selected earlier (preferably the
horizon). Are there two images of the object or line, or is there only one image or line? You will see one of
the three images shown in Figure 68. When using the horizon or a distant line, if the two images are in line,
tilt the sextant to one side, 45º off the vertical. Are they still in line? Now tilt the sextant 45º to the opposite
side of the vertical. Are they in line? If at any of the three positions the images were not in line, the horizon
mirror will need adjustment. It will need to be set exactly parallel to the plane of the index mirror which was
set PERPENDICULAR to the frame of the sextant. ‘Double’ images, side by side, must be removed. These
double images are called SIDE ERROR.

Checking that the drum is still on 0.0', hold the sextant so that you can see the distant object or horizontal
line through the eyepiece. If viewing a distant object (e.g. a cliff, the moon, a street lamp), keep the sextant
vertical as you adjust the two screws behind the horizon mirror to get the two images to become one i.e.
they overlap exactly. If viewing the horizon, with the sextant tilted 45º to the right, note the difference in
levels between the left and right halves of the distant horizontal line. Now by turning the higher of the two
adjusting screws behind the horizon mirror, reduce the difference in the two levels BY HALF. If you turn the
top adjusting screw the wrong way, the difference in levels will increase - turn the adjusting screw in the
opposite direction.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 143

A B C
Fig. 71. THE RIGHT TILT ADJUSTMENT
A. THE TOP ADJUSTING SCREW
B. THE DIFFERENCE BEFORE ADJUSTING
C. THE DIFFERENCE AFTER ADJUSTING (DIFFERENCE REDUCED BY HALF)

Now tilt the sextant 45 degrees to the left of vertical and do the same again, this time using the bottom of
the two adjusting screws behind the horizon mirror.

A B C
Fig. 72. THE LEFT TILT ADJUSTMENT
A. THE BOTTOM ADJUSTMENT SCREW
B. THE DIFFERENCE BEFORE ADJUSTMENT C. THE DIFFERENCE AFTER ADJUSTMENT

REMEMBER ONLY TO REDUCE THE DIFFERENCE IN LEVELS BY HALF AT EACH TILT ANGLE. Now
repeat the process with the sextant inclined 45º to the right. ONLY REDUCE THE DIFFERENCE IN
LEVELS BY HALF AT EACH ANGLE OF TILT. Now repeat again, with the sextant tilted to the left.
Continue the left and right tilting adjustments until the difference in levels is eliminated.

With the sextant held in the vertical plane, check the left and right halves of the distant horizontal line. They
should be in line. They should be in line whether the sextant is vertical, or tilted 45º to either side. If they
are not, re-check the index mirror as it is possible you turned its adjusting screw by mistake while adjusting
the horizon mirror. If this is the case, start again. If the index mirror is still correctly aligned, re-check the
horizon mirror and re-adjust.

INDEX ERROR

It is possible that you do not have time to complete the mirror adjustments, or while you are still getting
used to the procedure, you get close to ‘in line’ but not exactly ‘in line’. There will be a small amount of error
remaining at the time you wish to use the sextant to measure an angle (take a sight?). You therefore need
to know what this error is. It is called the ‘Index Error’ (IE).

Hold the sextant to the eye so that it is vertical and you can see the distant horizontal line. While KEEPING
THE SEXTANT VERTICAL, adjust the drum until the left and right images of the distant horizontal line
come in line while KEEPING THE SEXTANT VERTICAL. Note the reading on the drum. It will either be
a few minutes (and/or decimals?) of an angle greater than zero (zero degrees, zero minutes) i.e. a positive
angle (‘ON’ the scale), or less than zero, i.e. a negative angle (‘OFF’ the scale). Note that the ‘scale’ we
refer to is, on the drum, from zero minutes, towards 55' (off the scale) or towards 5' (on the scale).

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 144 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

A B C

Fig.73. INDEX ERROR: A, NO INDEX ERROR B, ‘OFF’ THE SCALE. C, ‘ON’ THE SCALE

The index error found must now be added or subtracted to any angle measured with the sextant. If the error
was 3.5' ‘ON’ the scale, this would represent the zero position of the sextant at the time. The sextant over
reads by 3,5'. So any angle measured will include this error. The true angle required must therefore have
this error subtracted; we say ‘Index Error "on" the scale, subtract’.

Fig. 74. INDEX ERROR ‘ON’ THE SCALE, SUBTRACT

If the index error was 3.5' ‘OFF' the scale, we must add it to any angle measured. We say ‘Index Error
"off" the scale, add’.

Fig. 75. INDEX ERROR ‘OFF’ THE SCALE, ADD

Index error should be checked just before a sextant is used - it can be dangerous to assume that it will be
the same as the last time the sextant was used. Anything can happen to alter it and plastic sextants will
have index errors which change with temperature changes - plastic sextants' errors should be checked
before and after use and the average taken as the index error for the angle measured.

COLLIMATION ERROR

Collimation error is the error which results when the axis of the telescope or eyepiece not being correctly
aligned with the plane of the sextant. A good sextant will not have any collimation error, and the average
sextant used in the present day does not have any means of adjusting for it.

OTHER ERRORS

There can be other errors caused by the pivot point on the index arm not being correctly aligned with the
index scale, incorrect graduation of the index scale, or imperfect lenses used in the telescope eyepiece.
They cannot be adjusted and the manufacturer normally supplies a table of values to be used to
compensate for these errors. The values one would see in a good sextant's table would be very small and
for the yachtsman or yachtswoman who is not needing the accuracy used by oil rigs (!), they can be
ignored.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 145
Practical Tips

Before we end the subject of the sextant we need to cover tips for its practical use and care at sea. So:

1. A sextant is an expensive, delicate and accurate measuring instrument - treat it with care and
respect, keeping it in its box when it is not needed. Store the box in as dry a place as possible and
where it cannot get knocked about, or have heavy things dropped or placed on top of it.

2. Keep the sextant in the box until you are in the cockpit. You do not want to stumble or fall with it in
your hands while on your way out of the saloon.

3. As soon as you remove it from the box, place the lanyard around your neck (if your sextant does not
have a lanyard, fit one immediately - a strong, thin, nylon cord, one metre in length tied as a loop
around the handle such that the loop length is just less than half a metre). If you then stumble and
have to grab on to the yacht as it lurches, the sextant will not fall and it is very unlikely that it will get
damaged.

4. When handling the sextant, do not apply any pressure or force(s) to any part of it. To reduce the risk
of applying unintentional force, keep it held in the right hand, using the handle at all times except
when necessary to hold it otherwise, for example, when calibrating/adjusting for index error, etc.

5. When using a plastic sextant, take your left hand off the drum after rotating it for fine adjustment, so
that no twisting force is applied to the frame giving incorrect readings.

6. Check index error often but only adjust to reduce this error when it is greater than 4.0'.

7. In rough weather or with a big swell running, try to take sights from the top of swells as a more
accurate view of the horizon is possible - sometimes it cannot be seen at all!

8. As soon as you have finished using the sextant, clean it and put it back in its box and the box back
in its proper stowage place. To clean a sextant, wipe it over with a soft dry or just off-dry cloth. If the
cloth is damp, it should be because of fresh water, not sea water. Remove any sea spray that may
have splashed on to the sextant. A wipe with a light oil on a cloth will help to keep it in good condition.
Do not do this for plastic sextants.

9. Periodically check that no screws, bolts or nuts are coming loose. If any are, tighten them so that they
are just tight - be careful not to over-tighten them.

10. Keep the sextant box clean and dry!

SUPERVISE CHILDREN/NOVICES WHO ARE LEARNING TO USE A SEXTANT.

NOTES

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Page 146 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 147
APPENDIX A
EXAMPLE OF A VOYAGE PLAN/DEPARTURE FORM - RECORD OF SAILING

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 148 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 149
APPENDIX B
VOYAGE PLAN
ROYAL CAPE YACHT CLUB

BY HENTON JAABACK - AT YACHTMASTERS’ - FOR ADVANCED INSTRUCTION

Page 150 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course

NOTES (Continued)

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 151

CHAPTER 3

MORE COASTAL NAVIGATION

Introduction
Knowing what a chart is and how to use it to advantage, and knowing the elements of determining a
vessel's position at sea by DR, EP, some of the fix methods and how to use a sextant is all very well - but
can this knowledge be used in practical navigating situations? The closest we can come to finding out is
to set a series of ‘Test Yourself’ questions and supply the answers for you to check yourself. In working
through these practice exercises and seeing the correct answers, a valuable learning experience is
achieved. But first let's look at the remaining ‘fix’ methods and other outstanding aspects.

Remaining ‘Fix’ Methods

1. Distance-Off by Vertical Sextant Angle. If three of the six dimensions applicable to a triangle are
known, the remaining dimensions can be calculated, so that the lengths of all three sides and the
magnitude of the three angles are obtained.

If a chart shows that a lighthouse is a number of metres above the height datum, it is a vertical
measurement from the datum level to the top of the lighthouse. By adjusting for the height of the tide at the
time, the height of the lighthouse at that time is obtained. This vertical dimension makes a right angle (90º)
with the sea level, on which a vessel is located (or near enough anyway so as to make no difference). The
vertical height measured at 90º to sea level, and the plane of the sea level can be sides; an angle and two
sides respectively of a triangle - the third side being a line from the navigator on the vessel some distance
away, to the top of the lighthouse:

Fig. 76.

Knowing there are:

1. a right angle,
2. the height of the lighthouse (adjusted for the state of the tide) (BC), and
3. if measured accurately, the angle at the navigator, A (âº), between the bottom side of the triangle
(AC) (the distance from the lighthouse to the vessel) and the side from the navigator to the top of the
lighthouse (AB), three of the triangle's dimensions are known. The remaining sides and angles can be
calculated.

The answer to only one of the dimensions - the length of the bottom side - is needed. In trigonometry it is
obtained using the formula:

Tan (of the sextant angle) = Opposite (height in metres)

Adjacent (distance in metres)
Therefore:
Adjacent (distance in metres) = Opposite (height in metres)
Tan (of the sextant angle)

The answer in metres is divided by 1 852 (there are 1 852 metres in a nautical mile) to get the distance in
nautical miles from the navigator to the base of the vertical height of the lighthouse, which is the chart
distance ‘lighthouse to vessel/navigator’.
In addition to the trigonometric method, there is an easier way of simply looking up the answer in a set of
tables designed for the purpose:
(This is a copy of a part of one page of the Tables from Reed's Nautical Almanac - get the book; lots of its
contents never get old.)
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REED’S NAUTICAL ALMANAC
TABLE FOR FINDING DISTANCE OFF WITH SEXTANT UP TO 7 NAUTICAL MILES
Distance Distance
in miles
HEIGHT OF OBJECT, TOP LINE METRES-LOWER LINE FEET in miles
& cables & cables
85 88 91 94 97 101 104 107 110 113 116 119
280 290 300 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390

m c º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ º ‘ mc

0 1 24 44 25 30 26 16 27 01 27 46 28 29 29 13 29 56 30 38 3119 32 00 32 41 0 1
0 2 12 58 13 25 13 52 14 08 14 45 1511 0 2
0 3 8 44 9 02 9 20 9 39 9 57 1015 0 3
0 4 6 34 6 48 7 02 7 16 7 30 744 0 4
0 5 5 16 5 27 5 38 5 49 6 01 612 0 5

0 6 4 23 4 33 4 42 4 51 5 01 510 0 6
0 7 3 46 3 54 4 02 5 10 4 18 426 0 7
0 8 3 18 3 25 3 32 3 39 3 46 353 0 8
0 9 2 56 3 02 3 08 3 15 3 21 327 0 9
1 0 2 38 2 44 2 49 2 55 3 01 306 1 0

1 1 2 24 2 29 2 34 2 39 2 44 249 1 1
1 2 2 12 2 17 2 21 2 26 2 31 235 1 2
2 02 2 06 2 10 2 15 2 19 223 etc.
1 3 1 3
1 53 1 57 2 01 2 05 2 09 213
1 4 1 4
1 46 1 49 1 53 1 57 2 01 204
1 5 1 5

1 6 1 39 1 42 1 46 1 50 1 53 157 1 6
1 7 1 33 1 36 1 40 1 43 1 46 150 1 7
1 8 1 28 1 31 1 34 1 37 1 40 144 1 8
1 23 1 26 1 29 1 32 1 35 138
1 9 1 9
1 19 1 22 1 25 1 28 1 30 133
2 0 2 0
1 15 1 18 1 21 1 23 1 26 129
2 1 1 12 1 15 1 17 1 20 1 22 125 2 1
2 2 1 09 1 11 1 14 1 16 1 19 121 2 2
2 3 1 06 1 08 1 11 1 13 1 15 118 2 3
2 4 1 03 1 06 1 08 1 10 1 12 115 2 4
2 5 2 5
1 01 1 03 1 05 1 07 1 10 112
2 6 0 59 1 01 1 03 1 05 1 07 109 2 6
2 7 0 57 0 59 1 01 1 03 1 05 107 2 7
2 8 0 55 0 57 0 58 1 00 1 02 104 2 8
2 9 0 53 0 55 0 57 0 58 1 00 102 2 9
3 0 3 0
Fig. 77.

As an example, let's assume a ‘Trig’ beacon on a hill is seen on the chart to be 85 m high (above height
datum being mean sea level) when it is low tide and the tidal range is 2 m. It is therefore 86 m high at the
time of the sighting. The sextant angle measured at the vessel, between the water line below the hill and
the hill top, is seen to be 1º 16'. Using the Table in Figure 77, 86 m is between the two vertical columns of
85 m and 88 m, and looking down these two columns we see 1º 16' is between 1º 15' and 1º 18' - so by
interpolation we can deduce that 86 m and 1º 16' results in a distance of 2 miles and 1 cable (2,1 n.m.).
At the time of the measurement the vessel was a horizontal distance of 2,1 n.m. from the top of the hill. An
LOP plotted from the hill as at that moment allows us to measure 2,1 n.m. from the hill to the ‘fix’ position.
We circle the ‘fix', and label it with the Date, Time, and Log.
Using trigonometry, the distance off would be calculated as:
Tan 1º 16' = 86 m
Distance

So: Distance = 86 m
Tan 1º 16'

= 86 m
Tan 1,2666 º

= 86 m
0,022111

= 3 889,467 m

= 2,1 n.m. (after dividing by 1 852 m)

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 153
A navigator may need to be able to know accurately that the vessel does not get closer (to danger) than
a specified distance to an object whose height at a stage of the tide is known. He or she can look up the
angle applicable to that height and distance, then monitor the angle as seen through the sextant - the angle
must not become greater than the angle found from consulting the tables; the vertical Danger Angle.

If the requirement was to ensure that the distance of the vessel does not get greater than a specified
amount from the object whose height at a time is known, the navigator can find the applicable sextant angle
in the tables, then monitor the actual angle to ensure that it remains more than the angle from the tables.

2. Fix by ‘Horizontal Angles’ Method. This method can involve the use of the hand-bearing compass
or the sextant - far greater accuracy will be achieved if the sextant is used.

While at sea when the coast is visible, three objects on land, and which are also clearly marked on the
chart, must be positively identified. The magnetic bearing to each must be noted, or the angles between
the left and centre objects and the centre and right hand objects must be measured using the sextant in
a horizontal plane.

The result is two angles having one common side - the line from the navigator to the centre object, and a
common intersection point (where the navigator/vessel was located). These angles can be reproduced on
tracing or thin paper, or they can be set up in a Station Pointer which is intended for this purpose.

Fig. 78.

The tracing paper or Station Pointer (do not let the ‘arms’ slip/angles change) is then placed over the chart
and the three sides of the two angles manoeuvred so that the line of each passes through the centre of
each respective object, as shown on the chart.

The three ‘arms’ will all ‘fit’ with the paper or Station Pointer in one position only. When in this position, the
common intersection point is the chart position from where the measurements were made - it is the ‘fix’
position (by the ‘Horizontal Angles’ method).

If, at the time, the navigator did not have thin or tracing paper, nor a Station Pointer, a mathematics set
drawing compass can be used to help find the ‘fix’.

To understand the method, a little revision of geometry is called for.

A straight line joining any two points on the circumference of a circle is the base of an isosceles triangle

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Page 154 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore shore based course
whose two equal length sides meet at the centre of the circle. The sides are therefore radii. Using the same
base line, an isosceles triangle whose equal-length sides meet at the centre of the circle, has an angle at
the centre of the circle twice that of the third angle of a triangle whose sides meet at the far circumference:

ABC = CAB Angle D, Xº, is the same

wherever D is on the
circumference of the circle
ACB = 2 x ADB (providing D is on the
same side of AB as C).
AND D is half the angle at C.

Fig. 79.

Angle ADB is half the angle ACB. If we can measure the angle at D with a sextant (or by other means), we
can find, by doubling that angle, the angle at the centre of the circle, namely ACB.

Since the three angles of a triangle add up to 180º, if we subtract the doubled angle D (=C) from 180º, we
get the balance which will be shared equally (ABC is an isosceles triangle) by angles ABC and BAC. So
we can calculate angles ABC and BAC.

On the chart we rule a line joining A and B.

Using a protractor, we measure off the angle
at A and at B and rule the lines which
become the radii intersecting at the centre of
the circle. Now we use our drawing compass
and scribe the circle. Our position, D, Is
somewhere on this circumference.

Fig. 80.

Now we repeat the process using place A or B as one of the places on the circumference of a new circle,
and a third place, E; lets say B and E. We now go through the same procedure for the two places B and
E. We will get another circle whose
circumference contains B, E, and the
navigator’s position, D. The two circles’
circumferences intersect at two places.
These two places will be at B and at D. Since
the navigator (and therefore the vessel) can
only be at one place on both circumferences
at one moment, he (and the vessel) have to
be at D. The vessel’s fix position is D; we
circle the point (it is a fix) and label it with
the Date, Time, and Log reading which
were recorded when the angles were
measured.

Fig. 81.

3. The ‘Four Point’ Fix. The old method of describing a direction using the ship's compass was to use
various combinations, shown on the compass face, of the names of the cardinal points, North, South, East
and West. Young sailors had to learn to ‘box the compass’ - to describe these directions, from north,
clockwise, all the way round, in jumps of one ‘point’ (11º15') at a time:

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 155
360 º 00' = North
011 º 15' = North by East
022 º 30' = North, North East
033 º45' = North East by North
045 º 00' = North East
056 º 15' = North East by East
etc. (See Figure 82.)

So ‘four points’ is a way of saying 45 º, e.g. ‘Alter course "four points" to starboard’:

Fig. 82.

A navigator on a vessel, seeing an object on land which is also marked on the chart, can monitor the
bearing to it and note the log reading when the angle between the vessel's course line and bearing to the
object is 45 º (or ‘four points’).

Fig. 83.

The angle between the course line and the bearing to the object will be seen to increase as the vessel
continues along its course. When this angle becomes eight points, or 90º, the log is again noted and the
distance travelled from the first to the second bearing is obtained. The angle between the course line and
bearing to the object has changed by 45º (‘four points’).

Fig. 84.

A triangle's three angles total 180 º. If one angle is 45º while another is 90 º, the third angle must be 45º.
If two of the angles of a triangle are the same (e.g. 45º), it must be an isosceles triangle, and the length of
the two sides not common to both angles must be the same length - if we know the length of one side from
the comparison of the log readings, we know the length of the other. The second bearing from the course
line to the object is that side of the triangle - the distance of the vessel from the object is therefore now
known, and the bearing is plotted on the chart. The distance measured along that line from the object gives

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the ‘fix’ position of the vessel, by the ‘four point fix’ method. We draw a circle around the spot to show it is
a ‘fix’, and we label it with the Date, Time and Log.

In practice, the navigator, having established the first bearing (and log reading at that time) to the object
when it is 45º off the bow, plots this ‘LOP’ across the assumed course line. The second bearing direction
is then calculated when it will form an angle at the bow of 90º. Knowing what the second bearing must be
for the angle to double, the navigator watches the land object via the hand-bearing compass until the
second bearing applies, then a note is made of the log and time. The rest is as above.

4. Fix by Doubling The Angle at the Bow. This method is exactly the same as the ‘four point fix’,
except that the first angle (at the bow) between the course line and the bearing to the object on land can
be ANY angle - not just 45º. At the time of the second bearing, the angle between the course line and a line
to the object on land must be double the first angle (at the bow) with the first bearing. Therefore there is
still an isosceles triangle so the logic of the ‘four point fix’ applies equally with doubling the angle at the
bow.

Fig. 85.

5. Position from a Line of Soundings. If a navigator has a fair idea of where a vessel is, and as its
course is known, a record of the depth soundings at regular intervals can help establish the vessel's
progress along the course line.

This is only possible where the sea bed shape is distinctive, having easily recorded changes to depth,
preferably in an irregular pattern. It is not possible if the sea bed is flat and smooth and has little, if any,
change in charted depth. Soundings (and the time and log reading for each) are recorded at regular
intervals, say every 0,1 n.m. as per the log or, if one is able to measure equal, shorter distances, more
regularly. The depths as per the depth sounder are then adjusted by subtracting the height of tide in order
to ascertain the charted depth at each sounding. Using a plain piece of paper having a straight edge, the
distances between soundings are marked off to scale on the paper's edge and the chart depth at each
place is written next to its applicable mark.

The piece of paper's straight, marked edge is then placed over the chart and manoeuvred around in the
general area the vessel is thought to be, keeping the straight edge of the paper in line with the course being
sailed as per the chart. The markings showing the depths as recorded are compared with the depths and
depth contour lines on the chart, until a ‘match’ is obtained. A position can then be taken from the most
recent sounding (when time as well as log were noted) as marked on the chart from the paper's straight
edge. See page 157.

Finally, Practice, Practice, Practice

We still need to learn one or two navigation techniques. However, all possible methods of coastal
navigation have now been explained. To master the art of navigation completely, practice with navigation
questions is essential. Questions for practice purposes, and their worked solutions, can be found in
elsewhere on this CD and in Navigation Exercises books, obtainable from all nautical book retailers.

The Associations' (RYA, ASA, AYF, and other national sailing associations) books of practice questions
are recommended - try all the questions, including those which involve the use of the Exercise Tables - they
help in getting used to extracting relevant information as will be the case in actual navigating, e.g. the use
of the Tide Tables and Sailing Directions. However be warned - the South African Sailing book, after years
of their attempts to get it right, still (January 2000) contains many errors, especially in the solutions
supplied.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 157

Fig. 86.

Navigation Publications

a. Admiralty list of Radio Signals - 1993 (ALRS). A set of six volumes, some of which consist of two
parts (books) each. They contain, inter alia, world-wide details of:
i. Volume 1. Coast Radio Stations; Medical Advice by Radio; INMARSAT Maritime Satellite Service;
Regulations for the use of Radio in Territorial Waters; Distress, Search and Rescue
Procedure; and a brief extract of the International Radio Regulations.
(This volume is in two parts - for two halves of the world.)

ii. Volume 2. Radio Beacons; Radio Direction Finding (RDF) Stations; and Radar Beacons (Racons
and Ramarks). Radio Time Signals, and Electronic Position Fixing Systems including
satellite systems.

iii. Volume 3. Radio Weather Services and Navigational Warnings, in two parts. (The weather forecast
and weather bulletin recording forms, and the weather areas map used for waters around
the United Kingdom, are shown in Appendix A and B; Appendix C shows the schedule
for radio weather broadcasts around South Africa and Appendix D shows the forecast
areas around South Africa.

iv. Volume 4. Meteorological Observation Stations.

v. Volume 5. Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).

vi. Volume 6. Matters related to port Traffic Management; Pilot services; Port Operations and
Information. (Volume 6 is in two parts, one for each half of the world.)
Handy for the long distance yacht skipper are Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 5. However, they are big, heavy, and
expensive, and only a few pages from each apply to a voyage. Most cruising yachts manage without these
books - maybe you can borrow them before a voyage and extract only the detail you will need.

b. Almanac.
i. Nautical Almanac. A nautical almanac is used only when you are involved with celestial
navigation.
(See our Yachtmaster Ocean - A Complete Syllabus RYA and SA Sailing Course.)

ii. Yachtsmens' Almanacs. ‘Reed's’ and ‘MacMillans’ Silk Cut' are two of the best known yachtsmens'
almanacs in the UK. Many other countries have their own equivalents. They contain a wealth of
information of direct use to the skipper and to the navigator. Included are extracts from Tide Tables
and abbreviated celestial tables applicable to the year's edition.

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c. Charts and Chart Catalogues. Charts are produced by many countries having a coastline, for their own
coast areas. The British Admiralty and the United States of America Hydrographic Offices produce almost
identical styled charts covering the whole world. The Australian, South African and other authorities
produce similar charts for their coast lines. Charts numbered “INT .. (number) ...” are International Maritime
Organisation approved charts - their logo appears next to the standard logo. Charts are available in a
variety of scales, and adjacent charts overlap. When choosing charts for a voyage, consult a Chart
Catalogue (see example below) and allow for the journey having to ‘over- or under- shoot'. Get the largest
scales possible (Large scale, large detail, small area), eg: Large Scale 1:10 000, Small Scale 1:250 000.

Fig. 87.
SAN chart numbers are an indicator of scale - two digits is a small number/is a small scale/large area of
coastline. Three digits is ‘intermediate’, and four digits is a big number, big - large - scale, small area of
coastline. Private commercial chart producers, such as Imray, also produce a catalogue:

Fig. 88.

d. Chart Symbols and Abbreviations. British Admiralty publication number 5011 explains all the symbols
and abbreviations used on Admiralty charts. They save an incredible amount of chart space and therefore
enable more information to be shown on charts at the right place than would otherwise be possible. See

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 159
the extract in Chapter 1, pages 108 to 110. The symbols and abbreviations used on South African charts
are available in chart or book form, both having the South African Navy publication number SAN-HO 3001.

e. “Admiralty List of Radio Services” (ALRS) and “List of Lights, Volume ...” (UK, for world wide
coverage), and the “List of Lights, Fog Signals and Radio Services - 1999", the South African Navy
publication equivalent of some of the volumes of the Admiralty's ‘ALRS’. Navigation lights' and lighthouses'
locations and characteristics around the South African coast are listed from the north west border around
the Cape to the Mozambique border. Examples of the contents are as follows:

i. Using Admiralty List of Lights, Volume J (Caribbean) the light at Bermuda, St Davids:

N/W
4472 St Davids. Mount Hill 32 21,8 Fl(2)W 20s 65 15 White 8 - sided tower, red 2 fl of 0,4s. RC 031( 380 m from
(BE) 64 37,6 band light. Partially obscured over land

.. F RG 63 20 Same structure R 135(-221((86(), G221(-276((55().

R276(-044((128(), R044(-135((91()
unintens and partially obscuredoverland.
Fig. 89.

ii. The detail for a fog signal is normally included with the detail for the navigation light at which it is located
- if it is located separately from any light, it will be listed in the lights section, as if it were a light, in the
sequence anticlockwise around the country:

Fog Signal at a Navigation Light: Fog Signal Located Independently:

Fig. 90. Fig. 91.

The books (UK) or sections (SA) on Radio Services lists the names of the transmitting stations, their call
signs and frequencies, the type of modulation used (how the radio wave signal is constituted), and the
times for each transmission type. The times stated are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT or UTC - Universal
Time Co-ordinated), so allowance must be made for the navigator’s time zone adjustment (e.g. add 2 hours
in South Africa). The full schedule for South Africa is reproduced at Appendix C and a diagram showing
the demarcated weather forecast areas referred to in UK forecasts is shown at Appendix B; American
(USA), Australian, Mediterannian, New Zealand, and South African forecast areas are shown at Appendix
D. Also in other countries equivalent books are details of ‘Racons' (radar beacons and how they work),
definitions on ranges of lights (Luminous, Nominal, Visual and Geographical), Notes on Fog Signals, a
Geographical Range Table (horizon distance depending on observer's height), a schedule of Time, Station
and Frequency for regular ‘Navwarnings’, a ‘Table of Broadcasts of Immediate Navigational Warnings’, a
diagrammatic schedule of the coastal stations transmissions of weather forecasts and bulletins on FM, the
international distress signals, distress radio signal transmitting procedure, Air Search and Rescue, and, in
the South African book, a diagrammatic chart catalogue of Namibian and South African charts.

f. Nautical Tables. See ‘a. Almanac’, above. The Nautical Almanac is an essential reference for astro- or
celestial navigation. The identical British and American versions have, since 1989, contained their own
‘Concise Sight Reduction Tables’ which are intended for use when more elaborate tables are not available.
They are, in fact, excellent in their own right, making reference to the Air or Marine Sight Reduction Tables
unnecessary. For the celestial navigator used to other methods, there are Norries' Tables, Inman's Tables,
and Burton's Tables. Norries Tables also contain tables which are very useful in coastal navigation e.g.
‘Distance-Off from Vertical Sextant Angle’, etc.

g. Pilots and Sailing Directions. The British Admiralty and the American Hydrographic Authority have both
produced their own set of books called ‘Ocean Pilots’ - or just called ‘the Pilot’ - one book for each ocean
or part of an ocean. Some countries like South Africa have produced their own set of books, but not for the
BY HENTON JAABACK - KNOWLEDGE IS USELESS WITHOUT PRACTICAL SKILLS
Page 160 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore shore based course
ocean; for the coastal areas around the country's coastline and these books are called ‘Sailing Directions’.
‘Pilots’ and ‘Sailing Directions’ both describe the applicable area of coastline in detail, with photographs
of what the mariner will see, sometimes from several directions and ranges. They contain advice regarding
routes, seasonal variations, currents, obstacles, good and poor anchorage areas, harbours, and they make
a point of explaining the detail of what on a chart would be briefly listed under the headings ‘Warnings’,
‘Cautions’, or ‘Notes’. In addition, Pilots describe conditions at sea in the applicable ocean or part of the
ocean covered by the volume. An example from the ‘Africa Pilot, Volume 3' (Mombasa) is shown on the
next page. On page 160 is an example from South African Sailing Directions, Volume 2, for Saldanha Bay.

h. South African Harbour Regulations. Specific to South African harbours only, but very similar to most
countries ports, they contain regulations which, in the main, apply to larger vessels. The book also contains
an appendix which is a reproduction of the ‘Collision Rules’ (ColRegs). Most of the rules and regulations
applicable world wide to small craft and to pleasure craft are repeated at Appendix E.

i. Tide Tables and a Tidal Stream Atlas. The importance and application of Tide Tables and a Tidal
Streams Atlas are explained in Chapters 4 and 5.

j. Other Books.

i. Any book containing the ‘Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea’ (ColRegs or Rules of the
Road) - this subject, the rules, are reproduced in many books, including Harbour Regulations. See
Part 4, Chapter 10.

ii. The International Code of Signals. This is a listing, in groups by subject matter, of two or more letters,
with or without a number following, each having a specific meaning, e.g. RY together, even as a flag
display of R over Y, means ‘Do not make a wake, pass slowly at a safe distance’.

iii. First Aid for Yachtsmen, or similar. Also the Ship Captains’ Medical Guide.

iv. Engine Repair manual.

v. The Yachtsman's Cook-Book.

vi. A ‘Ship's Log Book’.

vii. Ocean Passages of the World.

viii. The complete set of Henton Jaaback's notes from "Yachtmaster Ocean Services CC".

ix. World Cruising Routes and other Jimmy Cornell books.

x. Ropes, Knots and Splices.

xi. Sail Repairs for the Yachtsman.

xii. Equipment owners' Handbooks. (e.g. GPS, autopilot, plotter, Radar, the wind instruments and log,
the gas cooker, bilge pumps, toilet servicing, fridge/deep freeze operation, etc.).

xiii. An atlas, and an atlas of the oceans.

ivx. A multi-language words and phrases dictionary.

vx. A file containing all yours, and the vessel's important papers.

vix. A library of general reading books - fiction or whatever your fancy. Allow for all the crews' tastes.

HENTON JAABACK, MASTER OF YACHTS TO 200 TONS (U.K./RYA; DECK OFFICER, S.A.)
Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 161
Electronic and Mechanical Aids to Navigation

1. The Log. This is one of the most important of all pieces of equipment on board to help a navigator.
There are essentially three types in common use:

a. The Trailing Log.

Fig. 92.

A torpedo-shaped weight, fitted with offset fins so that it will spin in the water when towed, is pulled
behind a moving vessel. The tow line is forced to rotate, and it is connected to a revolution counter whose
dial does not show revolutions but is calibrated to show miles and cables moved. The ‘Walker Log’, (the
latest models also have the ability to indicate speed) is regarded by many as the most reliable and accurate
of logs available - BUT, the ‘spinner’ is occasionally removed by over-optimistic sharks or fish, it can get
fouled by debris (e.g. submerged floating dead trees), and, if not recovered on deck before the vessel stops
and starts manoeuvring, the tow line will lose an argument with the propeller! Spare tow line and spinners
should be carried.

b. The Paddle Wheel Log.

Fig. 93.
The paddle wheel is mounted as low as possible below the water line and approximately 25% of the
vessel's water line length from the bow. The bottom half of the wheel protrudes outside the hull's surface,
and is, therefore, turned by the flow of water as the vessel moves. The paddle wheel has a magnet
mounted in the wheel, passing the centre axis at right angles so that one end or magnetic pole is at the
wheel's circumference and the other is 180º away at the other side of the wheel's circumference. As the
wheel turns, the magnetic poles are alternating, passing a point above and inside the hull. At that point is
either a transistor three-wire sensor which is made to ‘open - close - open - close’ a DC circuit, or the
turning magnet causes inductive reactance changes (an increase - decrease - increase - decrease) in the
strength of a low-voltage circuit. Either way, pulses are conveyed via the wires to the log counter, and as
it is electric (battery-powered) it usually has an in-built clock. The time and number of revolutions are
computed as ‘distance travelled’ and ‘Speed’ which are displayed at the instrument's dials. For racing (or
general cruising use if required) there is also a dial which shows whether the vessel is accelerating,
remaining at the same speed, or slowing - adjustments made to sail trim can then be measured as to their
correctness.

c. The Mini Skeg-Mounted Propeller.

Fig. 94.

BY HENTON JAABACK [email protected] FOR ANY HELP YOU NEED

Page 162 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course

This propeller is forced to rotate by the passing of the water as the vessel moves. A cable inner, like the
cable of a bicycle's brake, is connected to the propeller directly or via a right angle gear system. This inner
cable is connected at its other end to a counter which shows speed and distance travelled.

d. The Electronic Doppler Log.

Fig. 95.

The two transducers, A and B, are always in opposite conditions, one transmitting while the other is
receiving. They are both rapidly alternating in unison between transmit and receive respectively, to receive
and transmit, and back again. At any one stage, the time taken for a transmitted pulse's wave to get from
the one transducer to the other (say, from the front to the back), is compared with the following time of the
signal in the opposite direction (from the back to the front). Any difference in the times measured is due
to the vessel's movement. A continuous input of time differences can be displayed electronically as
‘Speed’, and with a built in clock, ‘Distance Travelled’ can also be computed and displayed. It has the
advantage that there are no moving parts, and therefore there is less likelihood of anything going wrong.
They are expensive units and are best suited to vessels longer than the average yacht.

e. The ‘Old-fashioned’ Method. Before the luxury of the types of logs described above, ‘speed’ was
measured by allowing a plank of wood, the ‘Log’, when thrown overboard and attached to a line, to pull the
line out behind the ship. The time was measured against the flow of sand from full to empty in an-hour
glass. The length of line pulled overboard by the log in the fixed time, was a measure of speed. The line
had knots tied in it at specific intervals, and the number of knots pulled overboard was the vessel's speed
in ‘Knots’.

A similar method can be used by the crew or navigator on a vessel whose normal log is not serviceable.
Knowing the length of the vessel, a buoyant object can be thrown into the water from the bows and the time
taken for it to pass the stern measured by stop-watch. Knowing the length and time, speed is easily
calculated:

Speed = Distance
Time

2. Depth Sounders. An electronic depth sounder emits a low-frequency wave pulse from a ‘transducer’
fitted low down in the hull of a vessel. The same transducer receives the echo back from the sea bed and
the instrument can measure the time ‘out and back’. Since the speed of such a wave through water is
known, a measure of the time is computed into distance, half the ‘there and back’ time being the time taken
to get to the sea bed, and half the total distance being the distance from transducer to sea bed i.e. depth
will be that distance plus the depth of the transducer from the water line.

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 163

Fig. 96.

If the power of the transmitted wave is too strong, the returning echo will rebound off the hull and return
to the sea bed, only to be reflected back up to the vessel for a second time. This will result in the depth
sounder indicating a ‘second trace’ echo - two depths will be indicated simultaneously. In shallow waters
and with a strong transmitted wave, third and fourth trace echoes are possible. Therefore, in shallow
waters, the power of the transmitter is decreased. Conversely in deep waters, the power is increased to
ensure the wave gets to the sea bed and back to the hull.

The wave spreads out from a transducer at an angle of approximately 30º; 15º either side of the vertical.
It should therefore be mounted sufficiently to one side of the centre line so as not to let the wave strike the
keel. If a yacht heels more than 15º, one can expect the depth indication to be lost. Most yacht-type depth
sounders will indicate depths up to 75 to 100 metres, and the very good quality, more expensive types will
indicate up to approximately 150 metres.

3. The ‘Wind Instruments’. Part of the ‘kit’ for electronic logs purchased nowadays is a masthead unit
which also measures the apparent wind speed and apparent wind direction. (With the boat’s speed, true
wind speed and true wind direction can be computed.) It is an unfortunate side-effect of having this type
of instrumentation, that many yachtsmen and women today are unable to sail properly without these
instruments - they have either lost or never had the ability to tell by feel where the wind is coming from! The
direction steered when on the wind (beating/close hauled/on a close reach) is taken from these
instruments, as is the wind strength for reefing purposes. If your ability to read the wind in the sail is lacking,
fit ‘tell-tails’ and get used to sailing by watching the sails. Reefing decisions should be made on the amount
of heel of the vessel, not from the wind speed indicated on an electronic instrument which does not know
how much wind a specific yacht can take before reefing is necessary, and which is unlikely to be accurately
calibrated anyway.

4. Radar. Without a modern day Log, a yachtsman or woman can get by - navigating even by DR is still
possible. In restricted visibility such as thick fog, one is blind. Totally blind. Blind to any danger that may
arise. Arriving at or proceeding among atolls and small islands at night where no navigation lights or any
lights exist to aid the mariner, one is again blind. Proceeding in or crossing shipping lanes at night or in fog,
blind, is potentially as dangerous, if not more so, than experiencing a hurricane at sea. Most experienced
yachtsmen and women agree - a radar is one of the most desirable navigation aids to have on board - a
higher priority than GPS, Decca, or any other navigation system. A radar if used and interpreted correctly,
is the eyes of the navigator. The proper use of a radar is explained in ‘A Guide To The Planning And
Conduct Of Sea Passages’, British Department of Trade, and is available from Her Majesty's Stationery
Office, London, or on order through any reputable book store. The operation of any particular type of radar
is described in the owner's manual for that set.

5. Global Positioning System (GPS). The Global Positioning System effectively commenced service for
the US Department of Defence from the start of the 1990's, and it became fully operational in 1993. Its main
features are the very high degree of accuracy of the position fixes, and the high speed of updating fixes.

The system has been arranged so that at any one moment at least eight out of the 24 (plus 4 spares

BY HENTON JAABACK [email protected] FOR ANY HELP YOU NEED

Page 164 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course
already in orbit) satellites are in a suitable and accurately known position for their signals to be received
at one place on the earth’s surface. There is, therefore, no delay in receiving updating information due to
satellite availability. The time interval of a GPS receiver’s updating information as seen by the user is
measured in seconds - or fractions of a second, depending on the brand and model.

The key to this accuracy is in the ability of the satellites to transmit, at extremely high precision, signals
which can be timed by the receiver to determine the time taken from the satellite to the GPS receiver. Since
the speed of a radio wave through space is known, the distance travelled in the time measured can be
calculated by the receiver’s computer. This distance, accurately calculated, is the radius of a circle around
the satellite. The GPS receiver is somewhere on the circumference of that circle. If the receiver is receiving
several satellites’ signals simultaneously, and if the exact position of each satellite at the time is known,
the resulting circumferences of circles around each satellite all intersect at one place - the location of the
GPS receiver. This position is calculated by the receiver and shown as a Latitude and Longitude. Updated
positions are very quickly displayed, and changes in position are calculated to give course and speed over
the ground.

Fig. 97.

Accuracy, in addition to the speed of update, are the two main features which delight the users. The
accuracy from tests taken in the UK (see Practical Boat Owner magazine, No 297 of September 1991 and
316 of April 1993) was such that comparisons of position fixes from various makes of GPS differed by only
a few metres. However, the US have now cancelled the “Selective Availability” (a facility to downgrade the
accuracy for non US military users to a nominal 100 metres) and much greater accuracy is now normal.

Manufacturers were able to overcome this accuracy downgrading by getting the receiver to hold in memory
the last 50 position coordinates and to average them, showing only the average. As number 51 position
is received by the GPS, number one drops out, so there are always the latest 50 fixes used to get the latest
average. Equipment made this way still averages so the resultant position is very accurate.

Differential GPS uses two GPS linked by radio and computer; one is at an exact known position on land
(e.g. on a trig beacon) and the other could be on a vessel at sea. When a fix is received giving an error of
a distance and direction from known position, this error is communicated to the other GPS (on a vessel at
sea?) and the latter’s fix is then corrected for the known error. Since the two are in the same general area
they will be using the same satellites and therefore they are receiving the same data and getting the same
fix error.

7. Other Systems. In the northern hemisphere, and in some parts of the southern hemisphere, some of
the other systems such as Omega, Consol, Loran (LOng RAnge Navigation), and Loran-C exist. They are
mainly for use in and near European coastal waters and northern oceans, and are not for global use.

They mainly rely on the timing of synchronized timed transmissions from a Master and then slave
transmitters, in sequence. The time the signal takes to arrive at the receiver is used in a calculation to
compute distance away from the transmitters. These distances are all radius’ of circles around the
transmitter sites, each of which has its location accurately recorded by the receiver. Where the
circumferences of the circles all intersect is the position of the receiver.

Their accuracy and area covered do not compare with the GPS, and as with Decca, they are inferior
systems. Some have already been declared obsolete in many countries.

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 165
NOTES

BY HENTON JAABACK [email protected] FOR ANY HELP YOU NEED

Page 166 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course
APPENDIX A
WEATHER BULLETIN (TOP) AND FORECAST RECORDING FORMS (UK)

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 167

BY HENTON JAABACK [email protected] FOR ANY HELP YOU NEED

Page 168 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course
APPENDIX C
SCHEDULE OF SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO TRANSMISSIONS OF WEATHER
BULLETINS FOR SHIPPING
(As amended 12/99)

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 169

APPENDIX D
WEATHER FORECAST AREAS FOR SHIPPING
a. Americas USA, East Coast:

BY HENTON JAABACK - KNOWLEDGE IS USELESS WITHOUT PRACTICAL SKILLS

Page 170 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course

b. Australia

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 171

d. South Africa

BY HENTON JAABACK - KNOWLEDGE IS USELESS WITHOUT PRACTICAL SKILLS

Page 172 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore - Shore based course

APPENDIX E
TYPICAL HARBOUR REGULATIONS APPLICABLE IN MANY COUNTRIES
TO SMALL CRAFT AND TO PLEASURE CRAFT

1. Vessels must be registered with the local authority for the current year.

2. Vessels must be seaworthy.

3. The skipper must hold the applicable qualification for the size and type of vessel and for the voyage.

4. The skipper must be sober at all times while underway.

5. There must be adequate competent crew on board to manage the vessel under the control of the
skipper.

6. On duty crew must be sober.

7. The total number of people on board must not exceed the design limit for the vessel nor the scale of
safety equipment.

8. Vessels under way within port limits must monitor the port authority’s radio channel at all times, and
they are to get radio authority to leave moorings and depart to sea, or to enter the port on their way
back to their moorings. In fog, a vessel MUST report by radio, its position, course and speed.

9. The vessel’s speed is limited to 8 knots in the harbour, and 3 knots in the small craft areas with the
proviso that it must not make a wake.

10. No anchoring is permitted within a harbour unless:

a. There is a designated anchoring area within the harbour, or
b. It is essential by virtue of an accident or emergency situation.
In the latter case, the port authorities must be informed by radio as soon as possible to inform them
of the situation.

11. No vessel may tie up to a buoy unless in an emergency, in which case the port authority is to be
informed of the situation as soon as possible.

12. There is to be no fishing where such action may in any way impede the passage of other vessels.

13. The International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (IRPCS) must be adhered to except
where there are local rules in force; in the latter case local rules, where they may conflict with the
IRPCS, take precedence.

14. No small craft or pleasure craft may cross the bow shadow of a ship under way: small craft and
pleasure craft are to keep out of the way of all other vessels under way.

15. No waste matter nor pollutants are to be discharged into, nor be allowed to enter the water of the port.
This includes the discharge of black water/toilet outlets which must be contained in holding tanks for
removal by the applicable agencies using containers designed for the purpose, or which may be
pumped overboard when more than 3 nautical miles offshore.

16. There is to be no diving in any waters of the port unless written permission is obtained in advance from
the Port Captain’s staff.

17. There is to be no swimming in any part of a port unless a designated swimming area is established
by the port authorities.

HENTON JAABACK - GET ON A BOAT AND DO IT; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 173
APPENDIX F
COMPASS CHECKING BY THE SUN'S RISING OR SETTING AMPLITUDE:
HENTON'S AMPLITUDE TABLES
Some reference books have what are called Amplitude Tables. These tables tell one, depending on one's
latitude and the date, how many degrees north or south of east the sun will appear at sunrise, or how many
degrees off west it will be at sunset. If, at a place on a date the amplitude was seen to be 6º North at
sunrise, it means it will be 6º north of east which will be 084ºTrue. By adding 'west' variation we get what
the compass bearing to the sun will be if there is no deviation. Any difference noted when taking the
bearing to the rising sun will be the deviation (on that heading). We can do a similar check with the setting
sun.

To be strictly correct, the bearing by compass from/to the sun at sunrise or sunset should be when the
bottom arc of the sun's circumference is one radius (half the sun's diameter) above the horizon.

The date enables us to find the declination on that day, to the nearest degree - see the graph below. Our
Latitude can be rounded off to the nearest whole number of degrees. With these two numbers, we can look
up the tables, (see page 117), to find an angle which is called the Amplitude of the Celestial Body (i.e. the
sun in our case).

The 'Rising Amplitude' refers to the angle, as seen by the observer (you/the navigator) between true east
and the direction of the sun, north or south of true east (the sun rises in the east). If we know this angle,
we can determine the true direction of the sun in terms of the 360 º notation. For example, if our DR is
28 º 15' N, 57 º 50' W on 18 June at sunrise, we can look up the Declination of the sun in the Almanac and
see that it is, to the nearest degree, N 23 º. Our latitude to the nearest degree is 28 º N. When we look up
the Amplitude Tables, we see (next page) the angle is 26 º (when Dec is 23 º and Lat is 28 º).

(Note that whether Dec and/or Lat are North or South is of no relevance in the make up of the tables.)
This means the direction (True) to the sun from that latitude, is 26 º north (because Declination is North)
of east, i.e. 26 º north of 090 º = 064 º. If the Declination had been South, this angle, and therefore the
direction to the sun, would be south of east, i.e. 116 º True (090 º + 26 º).

Knowing the true direction and the magnetic variation from the chart for the area, we can compare the
magnetic direction with the observed compass direction to the sun at that time - if the compass and
magnetic directions are the same, there is no deviation. If they are not the same, there is Deviation; the
Deviation is the difference between the two values. If the compass value is the larger, the Deviation is
'West'. If the magnetic number is the larger, the Deviation is 'East'.

The Amplitude Angle of the setting sun can be as useful a check of your compass deviation. From the
same DR and date above, i.e. when the Amplitude Angle is 26º, the true direction to the sun will be 244º
if Declination is South (270 º - 26 º), or 296 º if Declination is North (270 º + 26 º).

Fig. 102. TRUE DIRECTION OF THE SETTING SUN.

See page 175 for a graph to determine Declination on a date.

BY HENTON JAABACK - KNOWLEDGE IS USELESS WITHOUT PRACTICAL SKILLS

Page 174 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore - Shore based course
AMPLITUDE OF THE RISING AND SETTING SUN: LATITUDES UP TO 57º N/S
Lat Declinationº (nearest degree) North or South
º 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

0- 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

11 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24
12 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24
13 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
14 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
15 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

16 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
17 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
18 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
19 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25

21 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25
22 0 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25
23 0 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
24 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
25 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26

26 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26
27 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26
28 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26
29 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27
30 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 27

31 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27
32 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27
33 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 27 28
34 0 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28
35 0 1 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 29

36 0 1 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 14 16 16 17 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 28 29
37 0 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 13 14 16 16 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 27 28 29
38 0 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 30
39 0 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 28 29 30
40 0 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 24 25 27 28 29 31

41 0 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 13 15 16 17 19 20 21 23 24 26 27 28 30 31
42 0 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 14 15 16 18 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 29 30 32
43 0 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 12 14 15 17 18 19 21 22 24 25 26 28 29 31 32
44 0 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 14 15 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 27 28 30 31 33
45 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 11 13 14 16 17 19 20 22 23 24 26 27 29 31 32 34

46 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 25 26 28 30 31 33 34
47 0 2 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 15 16 18 19 21 22 24 25 27 29 30 32 33 35
48 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 15 17 18 20 21 23 24 26 28 29 31 32 34 36
49 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 15 17 19 20 22 23 25 27 28 30 31 33 35 37
50 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 13 14 16 17 19 21 22 24 25 27 29 30 32 34 36 37

51 0 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 14 16 18 19 20 23 24 26 28 29 31 33 35 37 38
52 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 11 13 15 16 18 20 20 23 25 27 28 30 32 34 36 38 39
53 0 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 20 22 24 26 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41
54 0 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 15 17 19 21 23 25 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42
55 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 18 19 21 24 25 27 29 30 33 35 37 39 41 43
56 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 25 27 29 30 33 36 38 40 42 44
57 0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 19 20 22 25 26 28 30 31 34 37 39 41 43 45
In practice we all know that a yacht 'zig zags' at sea - it is impossible to keep her on a perfectly straight
course, and the bigger the swell or rougher the sea, the worse it is. So this exercise could only be done in
relatively calm conditions. A well adjusted compass will have no or small amounts of deviation which for
practical purposes can be ignored - we cannot steer to an accuracy of a degree or two anyway. DO NOT
leave on a voyage when the vessel's compass deviation involves large numbers. Something is wrong. Get
it professionally checked.

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 175

GRAPH FOR FINDING SUN’S DECLINATION ON A DAY

24 º

20 º

15 º
NORTH
10 º

5º

0º

5º

10 º
SOUTH
15 º

20 º

24 º

22 23 22 23 22
31 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30
D J F M A M J J A S O N D
E A E A P A U U U E C O E
C N B R R Y N L G P T V C
E U R C I E Y U T O E E
M A U H L S E B M M
B R A T M E B B
E Y R B R E E
R Y E R
R

Fig. 103. DECLINATION OF THE SUN - GRAPH FOR ANGLE ON A KNOWN DATE

HENTON JAABACK - ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP: [email protected]

Page 176 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore - Shore based course

APPENDIX G
FINDING A RHUMB LINE COURSE BY MERIDIONAL PARTS
When sailing distances of up to only a few hundred miles, the effect of the curvature of the earth is small
and a chart of the area can be assumed to cover a section of the globe which is flat. If the absence of a
suitable scale chart, latitude and longitude scales can be regarded as equal and the use of plane
trigonometry can be employed to resolve a Rhumb Line course and distance. Hence the term ‘plane
sailing’.

If, however, the distance to be sailed is more than a few hundred miles (say over 300~500 n.m.), then the
curvature of the earth cannot be ignored. A Rhumb Line course must take into account the changing
vertical scale of a Mercator Projection Chart, and a suitable chart may not be available. If this is the case,
we can use trigonometry after applying the ‘meridional part’ conversion to the vertical scale - the difference
in the latitudes between the point of departure and the destination, is measured in units of ‘minutes of
longitude’ or ‘Meridional Parts’.

By definition, 1 Meridional Part = 1' of Longitude (A fixed length regardless of latitude, when using Mercator
charts).

If we are going from a place on the equator to a place whose latitude is 15 º 00', the number of minutes of
latitude difference between the two places will be:
15 º x 60' = 900'

But if we are to measure the same latitude difference using Meridional Parts (minutes of longitude) as the
scale, we will get:
15 º = 904,41 (Meridional Parts - see page 173)

As we will not be venturing far from the equator, the difference between minutes of latitude (900) and
Meridional Parts (904,41) is small.

But, as we get further from the equator, the difference gets larger due to the expanding or stretching length
of a minute of latitude on the vertical scale.

If the two places (A and B) are at 15 º and 60 º latitude respectively, the difference in latitude minutes will
be:
(60 º - 15 º) x 60 = 2 700'

From Nautical Tables containing Tables of Meridional Parts (extracts are shown on the next two pages),
we see that, whereas 0 º to 15 º of latitude equals 904,41 Meridional Parts, 0 º to 60 º of latitude contains
4507,08 Meridional Parts. So the difference in the two latitudes' in Meridional Parts will be:
4507,08 - 904,41 = 3 602,67

As you can see, there is a big difference between the latitude minutes difference of 2 700 and 3 602,67
Meridional Parts (or minutes of longitude).

So what? What is the relevance of this difference?

Knowing the longitudes of the two places, A (say 5 º 30,0'W) and B (say 36 º 45,0'W), and therefore the
difference in the two longitudes (36 º 45,0' - 5 º 30,0') expressed as minutes of longitude (2 205 - 330 = 1
875,0'), and the difference in their latitudes' Meridional Parts (units of ‘minutes of longitude’ - 3 602,67),
gives us the two sides of a triangle as measured in the same units; the angle at their intersection (C) is 90º:

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 177

Knowing three of the six values of a triangle, we can calculate the others by trigonometry. We want to know
the distance from A to B and the Rhumb Line Course to steer.

We calculate the angle BAC - which can easily be converted to a True direction for AB (relative to True
North) by subtracting it from 360 º:
Tan BAC = BC = 1 875,00 = 0,520
AC 3 602,67

BAC = 27,474 º

= 27 º 28,4'

Rhumb Line Course to steer = 360 º - 27 º 28,4'

= 332 º 31,6' True
To the nearest degree = 333 º T

Since distances are in nautical miles, the difference in latitudes (AC) in minutes/nautical miles was 2 700'
(n.m.). And in the triangle ABC:
secant BAC = AB (secant = cos x 1 )
AC X
Therefore AB = secant BAC x AC
= secant 27,474 º x 2 700 n.m.
= 3 043,2 n.m.

Tables containing ‘Meridional Parts' are too space consuming to include here, and are not included in most
of the books of tables found in the average yacht's library. However, they can be seen in older tables such
as Nories' Tables.

There is no logical reason why a Yachtmaster should know this procedure nor have the tables, but the
question ‘Define a Meridional Part’ has been asked of some examination candidates: Deck Officers are,
however, expected to know this procedure.

HENTON JAABACK - ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP: [email protected]

Page 178 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore - Shore based course

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 179

HENTON JAABACK - ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP: [email protected]

Page 180 Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore - Shore based course

APPENDIX H

INTERCEPT COURSE
When necessary to determine a course to steer to intercept another vessel which is itself moving, e.g. a
vessel in distress which is able to move slowly towards the coast or a harbour, we go through the following
steps:

1. Plot your vessel’s latest position, or position at the time the other vessel’s position was stated.

2. Plot the other vessel’s position as at the same time of the plot of your vessel’s position.

3. Rule a line joining these positions.

4. Rule in the course (True) of the other vessel.

5. Measure along the other vessel’s course line its DR after one hour.

6. From the DR just plotted, insert a line whose length is, to scale, equal to the speed your vessel will
be moving at, so that it just reaches the line ruled between the two vessels’ original positions.

7. This new line’s direction is the course you need to steer; rule a line parallel to it from your vessel’s
position as marked on the chart, so that it crosses the other vessel’s course line.

8. Where this intersection is, is where intercept will take place.

9. Measure the length of the line your vessel is to sail along, and divide it by your speed: the answer
is the amount of time it will take from the time of the initial position plot until intercept occurs.

Disregard current or tidal stream as it will affect both vessel’s in the same way and have the effect of being
in slack water. Tidal stream sets and rates would only have to be taken into account if, by virtue of their
different locations to begin with, the tidal stream in one vessel’s area was different to that of the other
vessel. One would then have to resolve each to their equivalent Ground Track/Course over the Ground/
Course made Good.

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 181
APPENDIX J

DIPPING DISTANCE/GEOGRAPHIC RANGE TABLE

Distance in nautical miles of light/lighthouse when first dipped/seen:

Distance (n.m.) = D + d D = 2.04 x — Height of Lighthouse (m),

and d = 2,04 x — Height of observer’s eye (m)

Height Height of observer’s eye m/ft; (Observer’s horizon distance):

of light
m/ft: 2/7 3/10 4/13 5/16 6/20 7/23 8/26 10/33
(d = 2,9) (d = 3,5) (d = 4,1) (d = 4,6) (d = 5,0) (d = 5,4) (d = 5,8) (d = 6,5)

10/33 9,4 10,0 10,6 11,1 11,5 11,9 12,3 13,0

15/49 10,8 11,4 12,0 12,5 12,9 13,3 13,7 14,4

20/65 12,0 12,6 13,2 13,7 14,1 14,5 14,9 15,6

25/81 13,1 13,7 14,3 14,8 15,2 15,6 16,0 16,7

30/97 14,1 14,7 15,3 15,8 16,2 16,6 17,0 17,7

35/114 15,0 15,6 16,2 16,7 17,1 17,5 17,9 18,6

40/130 15,8 16,4 17,0 17,5 17,9 18,3 18,7 19,4

45/146 16,6 17,2 17,8 18,3 18,7 19,1 19,5 20,2

50/162 17,3 17,9 18,5 19,0 19,4 19,8 20,2 20,9

55/179 18,0 18,6 19,2 19,7 20,1 20,5 20,9 21,6

60/195 18,7 19,3 19,9 20,4 20,8 21,2 21,6 22,3

65/211 19,3 19,9 20,5 21,0 21,4 21,8 22,2 22,9

70/227 20,0 20,6 21,2 21,7 22,1 22,5 22,9 23,6

75/244 20,6 21,2 21,8 22,3 22,7 23,2 23,6 24,3

80/260 21,1 21,7 22,3 22,8 23,2 23,6 24,0 24,7

85/276 21,7 22,3 22,9 23,4 23,8 24,2 24,6 25,3

90/292 22,3 22,9 23,5 24,0 24,4 24,8 25,2 25,9

95/309 22,8 23,4 24,0 24,5 24,9 25,3 25,7 26,4

100/325 23,3 23,9 24,5 25,0 25,4 25,8 26,2 26,9

105/341 23,8 24,4 25,0 25,5 25,9 26,3 26,7 27,4

110/357 24,3 24,9 25,5 26,0 26,4 26,8 27,2 27,9

115/374 24,8 25,4 26,0 26,5 26,9 27,3 27,7 28,4

120/390 25,2 25,8 26,4 26,9 27,3 27,7 28,1 28,8

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Page 182 Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore shore based course

PRACTICE NAVIGATION QUESTIONS

(Questions involving tidal streams appear after Chapter 5. See also EXERCISE QUESTIONS and
ANSWERS TO EXERCISE QUESTIONS for USA, UK, Australia and South Africa elsewhere in this CD.)

Use the Deviation Card in Chapter 1, page 114, Figure 20.

1. British Admiralty Chart 5050

It is ‘Springs’ and the High Water, Plymouth, is at 14H40. A vessel leaves Mevagissey at 08H00 GMT when
the log was reading 1 234,5 M, bound for Plymouth, heading 096º C. Her speed over the water is 5 knots.

a. Assuming no tidal stream or leeway, what is her position at 09H30?

b. What would her position have been at low tide when she ‘Dipped’ Eddystone Lighthouse, then
bearing 115 º M?

c. What time would the lighthouse have been ‘dipped’?

d. At 09H30 a bearing to the light at Downend Point was 048 º M when the log was 1 242,0 M. At
10H30 the bearing to the same Point was 349 º when the log was 1 247,0 M. Establish the vessel's
position at 10H30, assuming no change to her heading, and no tidal stream.

e. From the position as at 10H30 in d. above, assume the same speed and heading were maintained.
If, at 11H30, a ‘Simple Fix' was obtained from the bearings below, what would the set and rate of
the tidal stream have been during that hour? (Assume no leeway.)
i. The tower at Portwrinkle 025 º M,
ii. South point of Rame Head 080 º M,
iii. Eddystone Lighthouse 162 º M.

f. At 12H00 the south end of the headland of Rame Head bore 063 º M when the depth sounder
indicated a depth of 52 metres. From the Tide Tables it was established that the height of the tide
was 4 metres. Comment on the accuracy of the fix obtained.

g. From the fix at 11H30 (in f. above), the same heading was maintained and when the log was
1255,0 M, a line from the vessel to Rame Head formed an angle of 30 º to the port of the vessel's
heading. When the angle off the port bow doubled to 60 º, the log reading was 1256,5 M. (Assume
a ‘slack’ tidal stream.) Plot the vessel's fix. What time would this fix have taken place?

h. You are sailing north west of Eddystone Light and wish to ensure you do not come within 4,5 m
of the lighthouse so that you avoid the overfall (any disturbed surface water) over the shallows of
‘Hand Deeps’. You decide to use your sextant to determine the ‘distance off’. Assuming a height
of tide of 2 metres, what maximum sextant angle will you accept in order not to get closer than the
4,5 M ? (Use the formula on pages 149/150.)

2. Chart SAN 3002

a. You are the navigator on a yacht sailing in Table Bay. You are on deck practising with the sextant
when fog starts to appear. Knowing the ‘drill’, you decide to take a quick fix, but the hand bearing
compass has somehow got a large air bubble in it and it is as good as useless! You therefore
decide to get a fix using the sextant and the ‘horizontal angles’ method. You determine that the
angle between Robben Island Lighthouse and the building at Bloubergstrand is 113º, and the
angle between that building and the Port Office in the harbour is 136º. Plot the fix.

b. From the fix in a. above, you decide to sail slowly (at 3 knots) towards shallow waters to your east.
If it is in the period ‘2 hours before HW Cape Town’, and it is half way between springs and neaps,
what course will you steer (compass) to achieve a ground track of 090 º T ? What will be the SMG?

c. While steering a course of 245 º C from Table Bay in a current of 1,5 knots setting 350 º, you are
making a speed over the water of 5 knots. SE winds result in a leeway of 5 º:

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN

Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course Page 183
i. what will your COG/CMG be ?

ii. what will the SOG/SMG be ?

iii. what course should one steer, allowing for this current and leeway, to make good a course
225 º T?

d. Your vessel's position is "260 º T, Robben Island Lighthouse, 4,7 M".

i. what is your course to steer to get to the harbour entrance ?

ii. how far is the entrance from your position ?

iii. at 4,5 knots, how long will it take to get to the entrance ?

iv. what speed must the vessel do in order for it to take one and a half hours ?

e. You require a COG/CMG of 060 º T from the South Cardinal marker buoy when a tidal stream sets
330 º at 2,5 knots. Your boat speed is 6 knots. The wind is strong from the south east giving you
a leeway of 7 º.

i. what compass course do you steer ?

ii. if you ignored the tidal stream and the leeway, what would be your COG/CMG ?

f. If, when close hauled on either tack, you experience 5 º of leeway, and the compass indicates your
tack angle to be 95 º, what is the change in your COG/CMG when you tack ?

See also the EXERCISE QUESTIONS and ANSWERS TO EXERCISE QUESTIONS for USA, UK,
Australia and South Africa elsewhere in this CD.

Get books on practice navigation exercises for more questions - get as much practice as you can. The RYA
navigation exercise books are recommended.

ANSWERS TO PRACTICE NAVIGATION QUESTIONS

GET MORE EXERCISE QUESTIONS, AND PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Page 184 Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore shore based course

1. a. 096ºC = 094ºM, (Dev = 2ºW). Var (1992 - 2000) = 7ºW. Course steered 087º, at 5 knots, after
1,5 hours (08H00 to 09H30), distance travelled = 7,5 M. Position 50º 16,5' N, 4º 35,1' W.

b. Height = 41 m (above MHWS). It is now Low Water, and ‘Tidal Level referred to Datum of
Soundings’ shows that at low tide (springs or neaps), Plymouth (nearest mentioned place in this
table to Eddystone Lighthouse) is ‘nil’, but 5,5 m at high tide -the level heights are measured from.
So at the time of the dipping/bobbing exercise, the lighthouse is
41 m + 5,5 m = 46,5 m high.

Its horizon distance is therefore 13,9 M, and observer's horizon distance is 3,5 M i.e. the position
is 17,4 M from the lighthouse in the direction 115ºM - 7ºW Var = 108ºT (i.e. from the lighthouse
to the position it is 180º opposite, namely 288ºT). Position is 50º 16,3' N, 4º 41,7' W.

c. The position is 3,3 M from the start. At 5 knots it will take 2/3 hour which is 40 minutes. time 08H40.

d. This is a running fix. Position 50º 15,7' N, 4º 28,7' W.

e. The fix is the northern corner of the ‘cocked hat’ (nearest land/danger). The set is the direction from
the 11H30 DR to the fix, which is 023º (set direction is always stated as ‘true’). The distance the
set has affected the vessel's position is 0,8 M in the time span 10H30 to 11H30 i.e. 1 hour. The
rate is therefore 0,8 knots.

f. Depth soundings (52 m) = Chart Datum + Height of Tide (4 m). Therefore Chart Datum is 48 m.
Along the LOP 056ºT (063ºM - 7ºW Var) the sea bed is 48 m for a long way - the one LOP/depth
method of getting a fix cannot be used - the position obtained would be too vague.

g. The fix is 1,5 M (1256,5 M - 1255,0 M) on a bearing of 027ºT to Rame Head. (Course is 087ºT,
30º off the port bow is 057ºT and 60º off the port bow is 027ºT.)

h. Height of tide is 2 m, i.e. 3,5 m below the 5,5 m MHWS level from which heights are measured.
So at the time the lighthouse height is 41 m + 3,5 m = 44,5 m. From the tables similar to those
shown on page 150 (available in Yachtsmen's almanacs and Norries Tables, etc.), or from the ‘Tan’
formula, the sextant angle must not get bigger than 0º 18,3'.

2. a. The position is 33º 49,8' S, 18º 25,8' E.

b. The set is 167º and the rate is midway between 1,0 and 0,5 knots. With boat speed 3 knots,
course to steer is 075ºT (098ºM). Speed made good is 3,1 knots.

c. i. 245ºT.

ii. 4,2 knots.

iii. 215ºT.

d. i. 119ºT (+ 23ºW = 142ºM, Dev = nil, steer 142ºC).

ii. 8,7 M.

iii. 1 hour 56 minutes.

iv. 5,8 knots.

e. i. 111ºC + 7º Leeway = 118ºC.

ii. 030ºT.

f. 105º (5º + 95º + 5º).

HENTON JAABACK - RECOMMENDS COMPASS DEVIATIONS BE CHECKED OFTEN