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Day Skipper - Part 7 - The
passage
 Let's
consider a passage from Southampton to Cherbourg. It can be divided into
three parts:
- The pilotage out of Southampton as far as the Needles Fairway buoy.
- The navigation passage across the English Channel.
- The pilotage into Cherbourg.
Pilotage is a very personal business. Some will prepare a detailed notebook
listing every buoy or mark to be passed with the distance and course to
the next mark shown. Some may have a chart or pilot book in one hand and
the steering wheel in the other, while those who know the area well may
eyeball it. However you carry out your pilotage, give it some thought
first: the navigation plan may need to be a little more formal.
Once out of sight of land, most will rely upon some form of electronic
help. It is essential that you have a back-up system ready just in case
- you may have to cope without the GPS.
Bearing this in mind, you may feel more comfortable planning to pass
close to one of the mid-Channel marker buoys so that you have a positive
reference at the halfway stage. If you decide to use a buoy as a waypoint
in planning a passage, it is essential to use a waypoint nearby and definitely
not the buoy's exact position. The accuracy of differential GPS - soon
to be freely available - could drive you straight into a buoy. When you
consider that a large cardinal mark can weigh 15 tons, colliding with
one really could spoil your whole cruise, not just your topsides.
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