November 23, 2020

Navigational charts

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/725363519″][vc_column_text]Navigational charts are produced by the Hydrographic authorities of a country. In our case the authority is the SA Navy Hydrographic Office. The headquarters of the hydrographer is situated at Silvermine in Cape Town. The charts are compiled and printed according to international standards and conventions and are therefore […]
November 23, 2020

Passage planning

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/725363805″][vc_column_text]Need for Passage Planning. Just as you would not make a long journey by car without proper planning beforehand, so is it with sea voyages. In fact it is even more essential. Remember there are no roads at sea and the surface of the sea is not smooth and […]
November 23, 2020

Measurement of position and distance on the earth’s surface

So far we have covered the basic definitions and concepts used in nautical navigation. We will now look at a number of simple problems to demonstrate our understanding of these definitions/concepts. This practical assignment assumes that you have access to a physical copy of a nautical chart for the Table […]
November 23, 2020

Measurement of direction – three figure notation

Three figure notation. All bearings and headings (courses) are expressed in three figures. For example: North is expressed as 000°. South is expressed as 180°. North-west is expressed as 045°. Five degrees to the right of north is expressed as 005°. The reason for this is to avoid confusion with […]
November 23, 2020

Cardinal and intercardinal points

In the days of sail it was virtually impossible to steer a course accurately to within a degree. As a result the compass was divided into thirty two equal “points”, each 11¼° wide. The four major points, namely north, south, east and west, are referred to as the four cardinal […]