I can't believe that "Navigating with grains of salt" thread I started
is still going on. I feel like I'm in a Road Runner cartoon watching
two little dust clouds vanish over the horizon. Do you think those
guys will ever give up?

I was amused to have someone post and email me privately asking if I
would pass on my "special knowledge". I was even more amused when a
second post from the same fellow revealed that he's probably done more
serious piloting and navigating than I have. Duffing around in Maine
is actually pretty easy. There are so many hazards that they serve as
navigation aids and the coast is so complex that you can almost always
find an alternative route out if you misjudge something.

Meanwhile, the road runner and the coyote, who do appear to have Ph.D.
level knowledge compared to my navigational high school GED, just keep
going and going and going..

It did make me realize though that there are some readers of this
group that are new to all this so I'll pass on a bit of very basic
stuff that I haven't seen well covered in any of the texts I've read.
It was the cause of my closest calls when I first started sailing and
an almost universal problem among my sailing students. I haven't paid
much attention to anything written about piloting in over 20 years so
forgive me if it is now obvious.

The simple process of sailing straight towards an objective is a lot
more error prone than new sailors realize. Tell nine out of ten new
helmsman to, "sail straight towards that buoy", and they will line the
stemhead up with the objective. Since you sit to one side in a
sailboat, the geometry will cause your course to be a curve as the
relative angles change. If you are in a channel or have plotted a
course close by a shoal area, this can get you in trouble.

The first lesson is to have them sight along the centerline and see
how far off their aim point is. The companionway edge on most
sailboats is a very convenient sight. Show them how to pick another
landmark on the bow, such as a lifeline stanchion, that is parallel
with their eye along the centerline.

Next is the concept of maintaining a constant compass bearing towards
the objective. Again, this only works if the boat is actually pointed
where you think it is. To hold a precise course without the track line
in a magic box, you may need a very good compass bearing. A brief
squint along the companionway edge, which may require a brief heading
change in a sailboat or when there is current, will give you the most
precise bearing you can get.

When heading towards buoys, islands, or other marks in coastal waters,
there will usually be something visible beyond. A primary skill that
must be drilled in until it is unshakable habit, is to look at the
land beyond when sailing towards a mark. When you first establish the
course, pick the landmark that lines up with it and then adjust your
heading so that it always remains in line. Then leeway or current can
not be setting you off your intended track.

In 36 years of sailing I've never run hard and unexpectedly aground
but, almost every time I was startled by the sight of a swirl of water
or flash of weed and ledge I didn't expect, it was because I was still
learning these simple concepts.

--

Roger Long