Coastal Passage Planning. Be a navigator.

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Navigation is the study of planning, executing and monitoring journey on land, sea, in the air and in space. Yes, rally racing cars, passenger planes and space ships all have navigators. 

Let's talk about navigator pride for a second. A navigator is never lost, she always knows where her boat is. The degree of certainty might vary. A good, well trained navigator will never make her boat touch the sea bed or go aground. 

Next, we can introduce one of the most important nautical regulations. That rule is that: every boat must keep a proper lookout using eyes, ears and available equipment.

So a navigators primary is to keep a lookout, and she gets some interesting equipment to do it with.

The modern navigator has to trained in using electronic maps of the sea, called "nautical charts". These charts show the details of what is under the surface of the sea like the depth of the water and the type of sea bed. 

The nautical map also shows landmarks and lights that help the navigator know where the boat is located. The nautical map also gives the navigator information about currents.

A navigator needs to know what kind of binoculars are best suited for the marine environment.

The modern navigator is also trained to use of the many instruments that aid navigation. 

These include the GPS, Radar, Echo sounder, Radio and Weather information receiver. 

The navigator looks at the nautical maps and plans the voyage. She then draws the lines on the map. These are like the road the boat will follows. She inputs data from the map into the GPS. During the voyage, the navigator monitors both her surroundings and the GPS to keep the boat safe. 

The navigator uses an echo sounder to monitor how deep the water is under her boat. She compares the depth displayed on the echo sounder with the depths on the nautical map. Remember that the bigger a boat is, more of the boat is below the water. So more care and use of the instruments when navigating a big boat in shallow water.

This is just a snack. For an appetizer, check out SSNT's Essential Navigation and Seamanship videos on our YouTube channel and sign up for our beginner navigation course.