Aerial Photographs

[Guest]

Why do the publishers of pilot books make such a song and dance out the aerial pictures. To my mind, they are useless. Can't tell you any more than the chart can. After all, one is sailing at sea level, not 2,5000 ft.

Far more useful are the views taken from a boat. Prehaps they don't want to go out in all that tishy stuff, and what is more, do the whole pilot book in a day or so.

Best of all where the engraved views that occasionally appear on old charts, complete with the artistic licence of the odd sailing ship or two.

 

[JamesS]

Perhaps it's because the pictures taken from a boat, I refer to those black and white pics that used to appear in the Shell Guides, always seem to be taken in a F6 and are scarcely going to encourage you to make a visit!

Cheers

 

[oldharry]

In Nelsons day, apparently part of the Sailing masters skill was to draw perspective pictures of the entrance to the various ports etc they visited to supplement the charts (which were all hand drawn and hand copied anyway), to aid identification from offshore. So the chart gave a seagulls eye view, and the drawing showed the navigator what he would actually see.

 

[oldharry]

In Nelsons day, apparently part of the Sailing masters skill was to draw perspective pictures of the entrance to the various ports etc they visited to supplement the charts (which were all hand drawn and hand copied anyway), to aid identification from offshore. So the chart gave a seagulls eye view, and the drawing showed the navigator what he would actually see.

Aerial Pictures are really only a very inferior form of charting , giving far less info than even the most basic chart can, with no means of pinpointing your exact position, distance to the next mark, depth of water, hidden hazards etc etc. Pretty, but useless!

 

[oldharry]

OOOPS - sorry!

 

[romany123]

Re: OOOPS - sorry!

You realy must get that stutter sorted out Harry

Dave

 

[yachtcharisma]

I think I disagree, actually. The photos do show what things actually look like, and let you pick out that "distinctive white house" etc in advance. The advantage of them over the view from sea level is that they spread things out into a semi-plan view, so that one photo covers the whole approach whereas otherwise the appearance can be very different depending on which direction you're approaching from, how far out you are and so-on.

Plus they're great for armchair sailing during the winter!

Cheer
Patrick

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Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[DoctorD]

I find aerial photos useful. But I admit it may be due to a failing of mine in looking at charts and converting them into reality. Aerial photos do show the buildings, chimneys, hills etc. and what they look like and their relationship to other things in a way that is quite difficult to do just from a chart.

Graham

 

[robp]

Agree. Makes the book much more interesting and useful.

 

[incognito]

In 2010, the first Reed's Almanac with a complete set of holographic port views. The first fully-electronic 2009 edition (yes, the one with the built in GPS, and fully recorded pilot voice-overs) carried the first few 'samples' showing the entrances to Falmouth, Plymouth and Chichester Harbour. The addition of the virtual reality holographic views made this the ultimate 'wannahave'.

(Excerpt from 'The Rise and Fall of the Amateur Yachtsman', Ed Simon Jinks. 2021).

 

[Guest]

Aerial photos can be quite useful if looked at in conjunction with other information.
I once talked my good lady into buying an Irish Sea and Bristol Channel pilot book at Earls Court.It cost her £25 about 15 years ago.The only bit Iwas really interested in was the Bristol Channel bit (I say bit rather than section as it is more truthful) Most of the pilotage photographs in the Bristol Channel bit were taken from the land which was about as much help as a fart in a spacesuit.