i cant see my next buoy

[ddgtr]

This is a good thread, and everyone has good info to share!

Chart plotting using a compass and parallel ruler is best done in a wheelhouse with a flat table, light and ideally dry conditions. On a rib, even a larger one, it would be nearly impossible, at least for me. Some of the best captains I know still use the parallel ruler and still make a lot of mistakes and errors while using it - not because they don't know how to use it, but their eyes are not what they used to be, etc. It's hard enough to do it at a kitchen table, but when you're calculating the set and drift on a rocky boat it is soooo easy for that ruler to slide off a bit...

[jwalker]

Can't find my next buoy actually happened to me... A number of years ago I crossed the Minch to the fairway buoy of the Cope Passage with a view to camping on one of the islands overnight before passing through the Sound the following day, except I didn't find the buoy. The mist had come down, it was evening twilight and getting dark fast and I was alone. Am I where I think I should be? Did I make a nav error? Is the GPS playing up? Am I at an alternative entrance to the Sound? Am I completely lost? etc.

I had an idea of what I would be seeing in daytime, so checked the radar and it kinda made sense but radar images are not always as clear as one might want. Anyway, out with the paper chart and, presuming I am where I should be, checked the bearings to the wee islands and rocks that the chart showed to the bearings of the returns on the radar, all seemed plausible but there were some narrow passages through the maze so progressed slowly giving a little sea room to the radar targets. They popped out of the mist, one by one, where I reckoned they should be and I eventually got the boat into the small anchorage for the night.

Next day, Notice To Mariners said Cope Passage fairway buoy 'Off Station'.

So, saved by the radar.

I've said it a number of times, the radar is the only instrument that actually shows you a real image of your position, everything else just shows you where it thinks you should be.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Can't find my next buoy actually happened to me... A number of years ago I crossed the Minch to the fairway buoy of the Cope Passage with a view to camping on one of the islands overnight before passing through the Sound the following day, except I didn't find the buoy. The mist had come down, it was evening twilight and getting dark fast and I was alone. Am I where I think I should be? Did I make a nav error? Is the GPS playing up? Am I at an alternative entrance to the Sound? Am I completely lost? etc.

I had an idea of what I would be seeing in daytime, so checked the radar and it kinda made sense but radar images are not always as clear as one might want. Anyway, out with the paper chart and, presuming I am where I should be, checked the bearings to the wee islands and rocks that the chart showed to the bearings of the returns on the radar, all seemed plausible but there were some narrow passages through the maze so progressed slowly giving a little sea room to the radar targets. They popped out of the mist, one by one, where I reckoned they should be and I eventually got the boat into the small anchorage for the night.

Next day, Notice To Mariners said Cope Passage fairway buoy 'Off Station'.

So, saved by the radar.

I've said it a number of times, the radar is the only instrument that actually shows you a real image of your position, everything else just shows you where it thinks you should be.

Kudos to you sir, we transited the cope passage a couple of years back on our way to St K. We had good conditions & visibility, still a twitchy exercise though.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Kudos to you sir, we transited the cope passage a couple of years back on our way to St K. We had good conditions & visibility, still a twitchy exercise though.

Well it's tricky when you did it cos they've removed a lot of the buoys. I have the advantage of having older Garmin charts and they still have the buoys marked. IIRC, I think I have the co-ordinates for the change of direction points still in my plotter. If you need them I'll dig them out for you - just motor until you reach the first point then turn to motor to the next one etc. and wend your way through.

The fairway buoy no longer exists but I'll have that co-ordinate too.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Well it's tricky when you did it cos they've removed a lot of the buoys. I have the advantage of having older Garmin charts and they still have the buoys marked. IIRC, I think I have the co-ordinates for the change of direction points still in my plotter. If you need them I'll dig them out for you - just motor until you reach the first point then turn to motor to the next one etc. and wend your way through.



The fairway buoy no longer exists but I'll have that co-ordinate too.

Thanks for the offer, but I still have my waypoints too. I plotted it on the paper chart first, transferred the waypoints to the plotter & kept the resulting track for future reference. Can't see me doing it again in the near future tbh. Saying that, the Sound looked stunning as we went through, well worth further exploration.

[lakelandterrier]

Originally Posted by Poly

GPS was too vulnerable. Solar flares, rogue states, terrorist organisations were all issues he postulated about but jammers on stolen goods in shipping containers were something he seemed to imply was a very real issue. Obviously you’d be very unlikely to be affected by that and low visibility at the same time - but it does no harm to plan ahead.

I think solar flares rogue states, terrorists, or jammers in containers, are not things I'd worry about.

If I lost my plotter AND fog came down, I'd have to undeestand if it'sa plotter fault or wider electrical problem affecting VHF, nav lights etc....

As back up I carry an old battery powered Garmin handheld in the emergency kit. I also carry paper charts and have compass fitted so second back up is these.

Low speed use of foghorn, aim to steer clear of shipping lanes and wide berth of any obstructions would be my careful way forward.

Always important to have in your head your position at any time so you can relate it by VHF or onto chart if plotter & visibility both fail - unlucky combination.

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Thanks for the offer, but I still have my waypoints too. I plotted it on the paper chart first, transferred the waypoints to the plotter & kept the resulting track for future reference. Can't see me doing it again in the near future tbh. Saying that, the Sound looked stunning as we went through, well worth further exploration.

Apologies for the brief thread hijack but the Cope Passage and the Sound of Harris in general are well documented in the Clyde Cruising Club guide to the Outer Hebrides.

[matata]

You'd be a brave man to lose sight of your last buoy heading into a fog. you've no idea how thick the fog is and you said you were already off course. Buoys are not easy to find in other than ideal conditions. Add a bit of a swell, cross wind, tide, and things can go wrong pretty quickly. I'd go back to the pub and finish my Guinness! Nik

[Portnahaven]

I always carry a small handheld Garmin GPS which i keep on all the time, along with two spare rechargable batteries.
Might not plot you around nav obsticles like the big plotter, but gives good enough detail when scale is expanded.
And yes as soon as i leave port always note compas bearing to destination.