We’ll take you through the path by planning, and plotting, a practical journey.
(You’ll be plotting on a chart within the first hour of the course!)
Duration: This course runs for 12 hours.
Dates: Tuesday 3rd December 2024 from 6pm to 9pm; Thursday 5th December 2024 from 6pm to 9pm and Saturday 7th December 2024 from 9am to 3pm.
Course Overview:
What is navigation? (A method of getting from one place to another, without mistakes or surprises)
What is Pilotage? (Not running into things or running aground – leaving, travelling and arriving.)
Resources we can use
• Charts
• Local knowledge
• Electronic aids
• Your senses
• Weather services (e.g. BOM)
• Weather apps
• Navigation plot, and Deck log, templates (will be provided in hard and soft copy).
The sphere we live on
Why nautical miles? Why degrees and minutes? Ahh. The penny will drop!
We need to know a bit about Buoyage and Rules
• IALA A, IALA B.
• Lateral marks
• Cardinal marks
• Other buoys
• Lighthouses
• Light patterns
• International Regulations for the Prevention of Collision at Sea (COLREGS)
We need to look closer at Charts
• Paper, electronic, or both?
• What does a chart tell us?
• Electronic – the good, the bad and the ugly
Plotting your course
• Big Picture
• Finer detail
• Tools to use
• Measuring distance and bearing
• Preparing a navigation plot
Understanding anchoring
It’s all about technique
Understanding tides and currents, They can be very nice, or very nasty!
Course Prerequisites:
No prior knowledge or experience is assumed or required.
Navigation tools: (aud$150) navigation kit included is the price:
An appropriate chart, a plotter, soft pencil and eraser, and a pair of dividers are included in the course –
Who should do this course?
A stand alone course designed to enable the offshore mariner to safely navigate extended passages using traditional methods. It includes practical navigation exercises and sample chartwork calculations.