Captain John of skippertips.com reminds us to use these simple planning steps for safer sailing.
Did you know that you can complete about 90% of all sailing navigation preparation in the comfort of your home–before you cast off that first docking line? Follow these seven sailing tips for safer sailing navigation–wherever you choose to sail or cruise!
1. Mark Shoals and Set the Alarm!
Use a dark blue pencil to mark any shoal within one to two miles of your sailing tracks. Set your depth sounder alarm to trigger when you sail within a mile or so of any of these shoals. This will give you more time to change course toward deeper water for sailing safety.
2. Look for Ranges (Transits) for “Bulls-eye” Navigation.
Use ranges (also called “transits”)–two objects that line up with one another–to keep in the center of a channel. Look on your nautical chart and see if you can find two charted objects that line up with the channel. Ranges (transits) make sailing easier and safer no matter where you sail!
3. Scan for Wrecks that Could Cause You Harm.
Use your magenta or crimson colored pencil to mark wrecks that you will pass close to the plotted sailing course line. Realize that wrecks can shift position after storms or in strong currents. Charted positions of these hazards may or may not be accurate on older uncorrected charts. Keep your nautical chart corrected and up-to-date with the latest Notices to Mariners. Click here to find out more about these free weekly notices for sailing safety => Notice to Mariners Info
4. Circle Emergency Anchorages to Stand Out.
Use colored pencil to draw an anchor symbol surrounded by a circle to mark emergency anchorages near your sailing route. If you lose engine power in a narrow channel or you need to “pull off the road” when sailing along the coast, an emergency anchorage that’s already marked and highlighted provides a super fast sailing solution day or night.
5. Darken or Highlight Lat/Long Scales for Faster Plotting.
Do you find the Latitude and Longitude scales difficult to read in low light conditions? Use a highlighter to make degrees and minutes stand out. You could use a fine tip laundry marking pen (waterproof) to darken the “tick marks” where the cartographer (chart maker) has written the degrees or degrees and minutes along the scale. Both techniques should help reduce eye strain and plotting errors.
6. Make a Customized Distance Scale.
Make your own distance scales for each coastal or inland chart. We used this technique in the US Coast Guard time and again with great success. Cut out a one inch by eight or ten-inch piece of heavy poster board (or similar stiff paper stock). Lay one long edge alongside the middle of the Latitude scale on your nautical chart.
Mark off distances in nautical miles and tenths. Use your laundry marker to make it stand out. Note at the top the specific chart scale (i.e. 1:80,000; 1:40,000). Tape over the scale to protect it. Your portable distance scale alleviates the need to go back and forth between your plotting area and the Latitude scale. This makes plotting distances faster and easier!
7. Form a “Box of Protection” Around Sailing Courses.
Imagine that your sailing track lies inside a four-sided rectangular shaped structure. Each side lies about two to three miles away from any point of the sailing track. Now, scan out to that distance from each side of this virtual “box of safety“. Do you see any rocks, wrecks, obstructions? How about notes that tell you of tide rips, breakers, or dangerous currents? Highlight any features that will help keep your small sailboat and sailing crew safe and sound.
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Put these seven easy sailing tips into play aboard your small sailboat today for safer sailing on the waters of the world. Keep your sailing crew or partner safe and sound–wherever you choose to sail or cruise!
