The Sailing Question: Trusting Charts – with FCS instructor Darryl Hughes

Maybird

Rather than do the dog leg entrance to the River Foyle recommended in the pilot books which necessitates sailing out to the Tuns PHM and then proceeding down the river Foyle some of the pilot books mention the Southern Channel with a least depth of 4 mtrs as a more direct route.

The Southern Channel worked well for us and we used the combination of traditional nav and pilotage techniques-a transit of the radio mast and the outer wall of Greencastle castle on a bearing of 305 degrees true, the use of the log as we knew the channel was some 3 miles in length and the use of the depth sounder.

In addition we used the plotter on an appropriately large scale as a back up.Fortunately the traditional nav techniques and the plotter were all consistent with each other.

As I venture further west in Ireland though I am very conscious that most of the charts are based on 1860 surveys and so one has to be ready to disbelieve the plotter and hold firm to the traditional nav techniques on transits, depths, back bearings etc.

Darryl Hughes

And your question from this voyage… how can you tell what year the survey that the chart is based on took place?

If you want to follow in Darryl’s wake then our courses can help you become a great sailor and the Day Skipper Theory course would be ideal. We have one coming up in September spread over 7 weeks (1 evening a week) and a weekend (more to be confirmed soon). If you would rather do the course from home the RYA Online Day Skipper Theory Course is a perfect option.

Posted by: First Class Sailing