Chart Corrections?

[jimbaerselman]

I suppose the green lumpy bits dont move very often.

Except in a few earth-movement prone areas - and then they're often discovered by bumping them!

Estuaries are another trap. Shifting sandbars after the winter floods or the big gale. Sadly, again, it might be you discovering the change.

But the biggest source of uncertainty is the change in port/marina layouts and new breakwaters.

With fully corrected charts in 2007 (give or take a year) I arrived at Bilbao from the east in a strong northerly expecting an easy entry to a port of refuge at night. I could make no sense of numerous yellow lit buoys, but GPS did give me a clue as to where the starboard entrance green may be. But what about all those yellows en route? Gulp . . . Kept outside all the yellows until very near the green, then turned south when we could see the end of the westward breakwater.

It turned out yellows marked a (then new) sunken breakwater - leading to a new red light - which hadn't yet been lit - as we later discovered. The trouble is, it wasn't so easy to pick up NOTAMs before reliable internet.

Nowadays, the CA's Captains Mate seems to fill that gap. Thousands of reports a year note the nasties as they're discovered. And the nice bits, too.

 

[James_Calvert]

Estuaries are another trap. Shifting sandbars after the winter floods or the big gale. Sadly, again, it might be you discovering the change.

But the biggest source of uncertainty is the change in port/marina layouts and new breakwaters.

Rafted alongside a dismasted Belgian yacht in Ramsgate in 1985. In the dark the previous night he'd hit the outer breakwater then under construction.

Our brand new chart agent corrected Admiralty charts didn't show the works either, maybe because they'd only been announced on a Temporary NTM?

Our first season, so blithely ignorant of such possibilities. Luckily we encountered the works in daylight.

I became an assiduous corrector after that, but have largely given up since with GPS it became pretty much impossible to get lost. Instead I buy new charts if I haven't been somewhere, or not for a long while.

 

[Daydream believer]

Our brand new chart agent corrected Admiralty charts didn't show the works either, maybe because they'd only been announced on a Temporary NTM?

Our first season, so blithely ignorant of such possibilities. Luckily we encountered the works in daylight.

I became an assiduous corrector after that, but have largely given up since with GPS it became pretty much impossible to get lost. Instead I buy new charts if I haven't been somewhere, or not for a long while.

I still find it annoying to purchase a "new" Imray chart complete with a large sheet of corrections to be applied myself, as if I am supposed to like doing it

 

[Poignard]

I still find it annoying to purchase a "new" Imray chart complete with a large sheet of corrections to be applied myself, as if I am supposed to like doing it

I remember buying one that became obsolete a few weeks after purchase. I tried to persuade the seller to replace it but he wouldn't and he was within his rights to do so. Annoying though.

May be there's a lot to be said for doing as yachtsmen like Eric Hiscock used to do and heaving-to offshore until daylight before entering a strange harbour.

 

[Robert Wilson]

You and me both then, I've never corrected any chart!

Well, that's at least three of us prepared to be honest :shame:, although I did once start to correct mine.

I am somewhat relieved to find that I'm not the only lazy booger! :hopeless:

 

[fredrussell]

I've only ever updated mine once. At the far edge of the chart where it said "Thar be monsters" it now reads "Thar be not monsters".

 

[STATUE]

How many of you correct your charts & how many of your charts are exactly as when purchased?

I have a rule - I only allow myself whisky when doing my chart corrections !

 

[Roberto]

Funny these distinctions between "honest" people and -likely- "not honest" who state they correct their charts.
FWIW, I have a handful of charts for my usual sailing area, south brittany are 3/4 imray plus a few more detailed ones, total less than 10: chart by chart internet queries for NTM are done in a few minutes, a lot of corrections can be discarded (like "lesser depth reported, 8m instead of 12m"), others more important like changes in firing range zones, disappeared beacons after winter storms, navaids where ais is slowly replacing physical features, etc.
Less than a couple of hours of very untruthful work once a year

 

[alant]

Funny these distinctions between "honest" people and -likely- "not honest" who state they correct their charts.
FWIW, I have a handful of charts for my usual sailing area, south brittany are 3/4 imray plus a few more detailed ones, total less than 10: chart by chart internet queries for NTM are done in a few minutes, a lot of corrections can be discarded (like "lesser depth reported, 8m instead of 12m"), others more important like changes in firing range zones, disappeared beacons after winter storms, navaids where ais is slowly replacing physical features, etc.
Less than a couple of hours of very untruthful work once a year

Not done monthly?

 

[Poignard]

Funny these distinctions between "honest" people and -likely- "not honest" who state they correct their charts.
FWIW, I have a handful of charts for my usual sailing area, south brittany are 3/4 imray plus a few more detailed ones, total less than 10: chart by chart internet queries for NTM are done in a few minutes, a lot of corrections can be discarded (like "lesser depth reported, 8m instead of 12m"), others more important like changes in firing range zones, disappeared beacons after winter storms, navaids where ais is slowly replacing physical features, etc.
Less than a couple of hours of very untruthful work once a year

I hope you got that yellow buoy that was plonked in the middle of Quiberon Bay not that long ago. It wasn't on my (uncorrected ) chart and I almost discovered it the hard way on a murky evening!

 

[LadyInBed]

But the biggest source of uncertainty is the change in port/marina layouts and new breakwaters.

With fully corrected charts in 2007 (give or take a year) I arrived at Bilbao from the east in a strong northerly expecting an easy entry to a port of refuge at night. I could make no sense of numerous yellow lit buoys, but GPS did give me a clue as to where the starboard entrance green may be. But what about all those yellows en route? Gulp . . . Kept outside all the yellows until very near the green, then turned south when we could see the end of the westward breakwater.

It turned out yellows marked a (then new) sunken breakwater - leading to a new red light - which hadn't yet been lit - as we later discovered.

So uncorrected charts would have served you just as well!

 

[jimbaerselman]

So uncorrected charts would have served you just as well!

Exactly, which, is my general point.

The day by day port/marina development activities (affecting smaller craft) too often don't touch the formal mapping service correction systems. So the bush telegraph becomes more reliable. Word of mouth between yotties tells of "changes", but not necessarily in the detail needed for challenging arrivals. That's why I like the CA app. It's quick, if not necessarily precise. "It's changed here, watch out", contributed to by 6000 members. Great for Europe, thinner over the pond though.

JimB

 

[LadyInBed]

Exactly, which, is my general point.

Once CP's came out and the cartridges became more affordable , I guessed that the writing was on the wall for paper charts.

 

[pagoda]

Once CP's came out and the cartridges became more affordable , I guessed that the writing was on the wall for paper charts.

I collect recent NTMs via Navtex. It is easy to check up on what is going on in your area- and many of the yachting relevant stuff like harbour works ongoing/ temporary NAV lights etc are covered quite well. The sort of things that may well be started and finished between any chart changes that could capture them .