On last year’s cruise to the Channel Islands and northern France I insisted on carrying a ‘proper’ chart, but the truth is I only used it once: and that was to give my mainly novice crew an overview of the area we were sailing in.
A TRADITIONAL APPROACH
In the August 2019 edition of Yachting Monthly Bruce Jacobs made the following observation:
‘Course to steer (CTS), much beloved of RYA theory courses, is barely used in truth as the wind, current, tacks, traffic and timings are always different to the plan.’
He’s right, of course. On most shortish passages, it is enough to keep an eye on the course over the ground and make sure the boat’s heading keeps you on that track. If it doesn’t, ask the helm to tweak the course by a few degrees until it does.
On a longer passage such as a Channel crossing that lasts long enough to see the tide turn, you could theoretically still use this approach, and your ground track would show as a nice straight line, suggesting efficiency.
This story is from the January 2021 edition of Yachting Monthly.
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This story is from the January 2021 edition of Yachting Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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