When voyages of discovery were being made 500 years ago and navigators had to make landfalls without any charts, being able to read the waves was a valuable navigation technique. Indeed many of the ancient sea-going cultures also relied on waves for navigation. The waves breaking on the rocks or reefs of an island would often be the first sign of land, but there are also more subtle and varied ways of reading the waves too. Learning to interpret them is an art rather than a science, but is one that will give you an invaluable sense of your surroundings, and will alert you to danger when something doesn’t feel right.
Electronic navigation has taken over our lives as navigators, even before GPS in the days of Loran C and Decca. Satellite navigation is more accurate than ever, and with the advent of satellite receivers that can derive a position from several separate satellite constellations, they also have redundancy built-in. A Chartplotter screen gives the impression of indubitable accuracy, but datum shifts or, more likely, inaccurate or out-of-date chart data can throw a spanner in the works. Add in shifting coastlines, river mouths, and sandbanks, and it would be foolish to rely solely on what the little glowing screen tells you about your location.
SPOTTING SHOAL PATCHES
Esta historia es de la edición March 2021 de Yachting Monthly.
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How to rig preventers and boom brakes
Rigging a preventer or using a boom brake is just good seamanship when sailing downwind, but doing so badly is asking for trouble, says Rachael Sprot
Don't let Thames sewage kill off this lovely boat
Samuel Pepys mentions oysters in his diaries 68 times, but that was when they were as common as winkles along the banks of the Thames and when they were a source of cheap protein for the masses.
I finally found the magic of the sea
I won’t be in theatres with a notebook as much as usual this month – time for some wider, wetter horizons – but may be musing, as I often do, on how rare it is for theatre to express a convincing reality about the oceans and the trade or pursuit of seafaring.
TECHNICAL GOLDEN OLDIES
Ken Endean looks back on the boats he has owned over 50 years and explains why the hull lines of older yachts continue to offer first-class handling
HOW IT WORKS MARKING
Many cruising yacht skippers mark very little on board their boats.
TECHNICAL INSTALLING A NEW ENGINE
When a mysterious loss of coolant jeopardised his sailing, Andy Du Port knew the time had tome to replace his yacht’s:veteran Volvo Penta
NEW GEAR
Dennis O’Neill rounds up the latest marine innovations, including developments in women’s sailing jackets
MARIE TABARLY HONOURING HER FATHER
Marie Tabarly took line honours in the Ocean Globe Race, surpassing her father’s record while racing aboard his famous 73ft ketch Pen Duick VI
HEATHER THOMAS SMASHING RECORDS
In leading her all-female crew to victory in the OGR, Heather Thomas has broken records and taken women's sailing into the stratosphere
MAIDEN MAKES HISTORY AGAIN
Being the first all-female crew to win a round-the-world race is seismic in itself, but the diverse nationalities of the crew are just as significant for the future of sailing