GPS, where do I go from here?

[brfathers]

I have spent to past three seasons splashing about on the Blackwater, my longest trip was to West Mersea. Over winter I decided to self teach navigation to give me the confidence to explore the east coast. I have read many books and I'm very much looking forward to this season.

I have learnt some navigation skills from 'Day skipper' book and understand the basic 'long hand' way to do it. I have also purchased a handheld GPS system just in case things go wrong. After reading alot of reviews a decided to buy the GARMIN 12 as it seemed the best within my budget, did I make the right decision?

As I'm going to be single handed and in a 20 footer can anyone suggest a good first trip taking 2-3 days from Stone, so that I can put into practice what I have learnt?

Could I just recommend and thank Stuart Anderson from 'SEATEACH' for getting me underway this year......what a helpful chap!! Alot of chandlers don't seem that interested in you unless you are parting with a small fortune do they?


Thankyou

Ben

 

[zvidoron]

Hello,

Your choice of GPS is excellent. It is a rugged, simple and accurate unit and very reasonably priced.

You can help yourself a lot by entering as waypoints all the lights, buoys, harbour entrances etc. in your area, preferably after measuring their lat and long off a chart. Using the 'map' display and zooming in and out as needed you will always see the 9 nearest of them and will be able to orientate yourself quickly. Use some naming convention like starting all harbour entrances wnames with HE etc. to simplify identification from a list. There are also 16 icons to chose from.

To plot your position on a paper chart which you should always do even with GPS, it is easier to plot bearing and distance from a few close waypoints, crosschecking them, than to plot actual lat and long from GPS to chart where it is easy to make a mistake.

You can enter the compass rose on your chart as a waypint for easy ploting of bearings to it.

Navigation is thrilling and GPS is great. All the best.

 

[Guest]

the secret of single handed sailing is advance preparation, whether it be getting ready to go into harbour or making sure there is ready prepared food in case it roughs up.

the same applies to navigation. you should prepare notes of you route inc waypoints and pilotage at the other end. work out the tides and any tidal gates. write all this down, and enter waypoints in the gps. work out ports of refuge in case of bad weather.

may not be the official rya line, but if you are single handing forget any idea of classic navigation (ie dr, ep etc) - thats for emergency if your gps fails, which it is highly unlikely to do. use the gps all the time (make sure its piped into the boat battery - they dont half get through dry cells) and most important, keep a log. plot the gps position on the chart every half hour max

you need the log in the unlikely event of gps problems causing you to revert to steam navigation. it also helps in judging weather etc.

make sure someone knows your plans and eta etc.

no doubt the above is not comprehensive, but i certainly wouldnt recommend messing about with dr ep etc when single handing with a gps on board. its almost bad seamanship because of the time it takes and the accuracy of the results. and at the risk of stirring up the baggy wrinckle and gaff rig brigade, i think the same comment applies to using a sextant.

 

[webcraft]

You will really need your GPS mounted in the cockpit and connected to ships power. If you cannot do this then either take a lot of batteries or only switch the set on to plot a fix and/or periodically check your XTE.

Life is much easier, though, if you can organise a continuous GPS readout. Suggest that as well as waypoints/map/highway/XTE you become familiar with the COG/SOG functions as these are really useful.

Also, I would personally not set off singlehanded without at least one other GPS and plenty of batteries - securely and dryly stowed - as a backup. You can get a perfectly functional unit for under £80, which has got to be worth it for peace of mind. Conventional nav is essential knowledge, but a working GPS is so much better when the pressure is on.

- Nick



BlueMoment.Com
http://www.bluemoment.com

 

[DanTribe]

Hi
I would suggest you try for Walton Backwaters or if you want "fleshpots", Pin Mill on the Orwell. I think that that would be achievable in 3 days in a 20 footer,given suitable weather.Getting the tide right is important. You want to be off the Naze, say Stone Banks at about low water, both ways to get the best advantage. Watch out for Pye sand if going into the Backwaters and the Eagle going home.Both can catch you out just when you think you are home & dry and start to relax.
Alternatively you could come round to us at Burnham, lots of pubs.
Have fun and avoid Cape Horn on first trip
Dan

 

[DanTribe]

Let\'s not get carried away

I'm sure that what you say is very true, but the man only want's to stick his nose out of the river for a look. Don't frighten him off before his first trip.I used to manage to navigate around that bit of coast for years, armed only with parafin and magnetism. It's sailing. It's for FUN.
Dan

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Let\'s not get carried away

That's very true, no need to turn a relatively short journey into an epic. But I must say that on my first (and last) cruise in the Thames Estuary I got very confused in extremely poor visibility around the Swin/Crouch entrance. At high water there were no landmarks whatsoever and buoys in every direction. I found my GPS invaluable then, but if I had noted a course to steer from my crossing of the Swin I would have been far more confident.

The principle of being prepared is always good advice, whether for singlehanders or crewed boats.

 

[sailorbaz]

Agree completely with above comments. I have used a Garmin 12 for the last 2 seasons. I bought the cockpit mounting with cigar lighter plug which was rather expensive for a bit of plastic but in fact was well worth it because as mentioned above it gets through dry cells at an alarming rate.
I am thinking of buying a repeater with big numbers as I use the GPS as a log and I find the screen difficult to see from the tiller without getting out my reading glasses and leaning forward. Any ideas of which one to buy and can I connect it to the Garmin and still use the 12 volt connection?
sailorbaz

 

[ditchcrawler]

A trip with an overnight at Brightlingsea may suit you before you go up or down the coast.Use Colne Bar (Stbd Green) as a waypoint & then 345comp up to B'sea ent.Harbourmaster brilliant never turns anyone away.You can take a shortcut on a rising tide on the way back between Mersea flat & Bench Head.Pilot says steer 240comp on St Peter's Chapel but I steer roughly 250comp on middle of big Brad well Block & this takes you well to the south of the E Card post at edge of Mersea Flat.You can do Stour Orwell Deben next,as well as Crouch Roach Thames etc.Great cruising ground is it not?

 

[vyv_cox]

Not

.

 

[Plum]

I too do a lot of single handed sailing in your area. Brightlingsea and/or pyfleet creak would be another option just a bit further than West Mersea, but the next step after that would be to sail to Walton Backwaters/Harwich/River Orwell. This is a significant step up from what you have been doing but is really your only low-risk option once you sail out of the Blackwater. (Leave the Crouch and the Thames for later). The thing to watch out for on this trip, which the pilot books do not stress, is the return trip down the coast back to the Blackwater. For this, you will be sailing on a rising tide/SW current and as the prevailing wind is SW'ly you are likely to get a wind-against tide situation. Yes, this is just what you get in the Blackwater at times, but this time you will have to endure it for many hours with no shelter en-route. So, your planning, especially for the return trip, is very important. Set up the GPS with a Route so you do not have to select a waypoint while sailing, get all the weather forecasts you can, ensure you have food and drink to hand, prepare your boat well especially to ensure nothing starts breaking loose in the cabin to distract your concentration when you are having a hard time, etc.

 

[oldharry]

As a regular small boat single hander, I would say the GPS comes very close to being 'essential' as it does all the navigation calculations for you. And your choice of the Garmin 12 is the best, bearing in mind that s/handed shipboard life is such that it will inevitably get dropped/ have things dropped on it and may well end up in the oggin anyway if the oggin hasnt jumped on it!

Solid and with all the basic facilties needed, and yet at a price that nearly pouts it in the 'consumables' bracket, meaning you will not be having kittens every time its dropped, trodden on, or dunked!

And take plenty of spare batteries - mine lasts an average of 8 - 10 hours per set. Plug in to the ships battery if at all possible, but note that the special plug supplied at a price by Garmin has a built in voltage regulator.

£120 is a bit too much just to see whether it blows up when connected directly to 12 volts!