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KAARTPASSEN
1. CHART FUNDAMENTALS
1.1 What’s a nautical chart?

 Paper Charts
Traditional nautical charts have been printed on paper.
The Britsch Admiralty (UKHO) has over 3000 paper charts covering the world
Navigating => to make positions plots on the chart at regular intervals, keeping the vessel on
planned track.

 ARCS (Admiralty Raster Chart Service)

It is produced by digitally scanning a paper chart image.
It may than be displayed in an electronic navigation system (ECDIS) where the vessel’s position,
derived from electronic position fixing systems, can be shown.
The image has the same standards of accuracy and reliability as a paper chart.
WHEN USING ARCs => MARINER MUST STIL MAINTAIN PAPER CHARTS

 ENCs (Electronic Navigation Charts)

EncS are vector charts ( Are the ONLY vector charts that may be used for primary navigation in
place of paper charts)
ENCs are intelligent: system using them can be set up to give warning of impending danger ( in
relation to the vessel’s position and movement)
Mandatory carriage of ECDIS begins on 1st July 2012 for new buildings and passenger ships and
will be phased in for existing ships from 1st July 2014 till 2018.

1.2 A little history of charts

The earliest maps can be found are clay-maps from the old Babylon (3,500 years ago)

Although established on land, the mariners equivalent, the nautical

chart, did not evolve until the end of the thirteenth century.
Mariners who plotted coastlines along constant compass bearings
created them.

These kinds of charts are called portolan charts; a cartographic

revolution named after portolani, the Italian type of sailing direction,
which appeared after that the compass was introduced in western
navigation at the end of the twelfth century.

Drawing a network of direction lines or ‘rhumbs’ created Portolan charts

In 1759 the British Admiralty became responsible for the Hydrographic Office of its imperial.
=> thus was the start of modern cartography
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1.3 Geographical Coordinates

The earth can be regarded as a spherical object

It is covered with imaginary lines calles meridians and parallels.

All this lines together form a grid which enables us to describe any positions in longitude and latitude

All meridians and the equator form great circles.

The remaining parallels form small circles

 Prime meridian: 0° or the Greenwich meridian

 Date line: The 180° meridian. ( when crossing time and date changes)
Geodesy = a branch of earth sciences that deals with the measurement and representation of the earth.

Geoid= an imaginary surface, which is everywhere perpendicular to the plumb line and on average
coincides with the MSL => It will determine the vertical datum of a chart.

The geoid is used as reference surface for heights/depths

Ellipsoid= A horizontal datum is defined by the size and shape of an ellipsoid

It is important to realize that geodetic positions are defined and thus chart projections made respect to a
horizontal datum. (also referred to as geodetic datum)

The ellipsoid is used as reference surface for locations

1.4 Chart Projections

1.4.1 Types of projections

 Cylindrical Projections
 Mercator projections
 Oblique Mercator projections
 Transverse Mercator projections
 Rectangular projections

 Conic projections
 Simple conic projections
 Lambert conformal projections
 Polyconic projections

 Azimuthal projections
 Stereographic projections
 Orthographic projections
 Gnomonic projections
 Azimuthal equidistant projections

 Polar projections
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1.4.2 Cylindrical Projections

Mercator projections

If a cylinder is placed around the earth, tangent along the equator,

and the planes of the meridians are extended, they intersect the
cylinder in a number of vertical lines (See Fig.1).
These lines of projection are equidistant from each other, unlike
the terrestrial meridians from which they are derived which
converge as the latitude increases.

On the earth, parallels of latitude are perpendicular to the

meridians, forming circles of progressively smaller diameter as the
latitude increases.

On the cylinder they are shown perpendicular to the projected

meridians, but because a cylinder is everywhere of the same
diameter, the projected parallels are all the same size.

But where the meridians converge on the globe they run parallel in
the projection (See chart below), indicating the distortion.

Look, for example, at a high parallel. The length of such a parallel

on the globe is much smaller than the equator. Yet, on the chart
they have exactly the same length creating a distortion, which
gets bigger near to the poles.

At the equator, a degree of longitude is approximately equal in

length to a degree of latitude.
As the distance from the equator increases, degrees of latitude
remain approximately the same, while degrees of longitude
become progressively shorter.
In order to have an orthomorphic chart, the distance between
successive parallels must be increased by the same amount that
the actual length of the parallel has been extended in keeping the
meridians the same distance apart on the chart.
The expansion is equal to the secant of the latitude, with a
small correction for the ellipticity of the earth.
Because the meridians on the chart are parallels, the departure
has been stretched on the chart following the formulae: De . sec l = Dg

Disadvantages
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 Sec 90° = infinity , the projections cannot include the poles

 Great circle tracks appear as curved lines concave to the equator
 Small areas appear in their correct shape but increased size unless they are near the equator

Advantages

 The projection is conformal, expansion is the same in all directions and angles are correctly
shown!
 Directions can be measured directly on the chart
 Distance can be measured directly using the vertical scale if the spread of latitude is small
 Rhumb lines (= lines of constant heading) appear as straight lines

Transverse Mercator projections

Constructing a chart using mercator principles but with the cylinder tangent along a meridian

(also calles “Lambert’s third projection” and ‘Gauss

projection’)

This projection is mainly used for topographic mapping:

representing a small area in an exact shape such as a harbour
or anchorage area (large-scale charts).

These projections use a fictitious graticule similar to, but

offset

from, the familiar network of meridians and parallels. The

tangent great circle is the fictitious equator. Ninety degrees from it are two fictitious poles. A group of
great circles through these poles and perpendicular to the tangent great circle are the fictitious meridians,
while a series of circles parallel to the plane of the tangent great circle form the fictitious parallels
(constant scale along central meridian).

The actual meridians and parallels appear as curved lines.

A straight line on this projection makes the same angle with all

fictitious meridians, but not with the terrestrial meridians.

Oblique Mercator projection

A Mercator projection in which the cylinder is tangent along a great circle other than the equator or a
meridian is called an oblique Mercator or oblique orthomorphic projection.This projection is used
principally to depict an area in the near vicinity of an oblique great circle.

Rectangular projections
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A cylindrical projection similar to the Mercator, but with uniform spacing of parallel.

The principal navigational use of this projection is for the star chart of the Almanac, where coordinates
representing declination and sidereal hour angle plot positions of stars.

1.4.3 Conic Projections

Transferring points from the surface of the earth to a cone or series of cones produce a conic projection.
This cone is then cut along an element and spread out flat to form the chart.

Simple Conic Projections

= A conic projection using a single tangent cone

The distance along any meridian between consecutive

parallels is in correct relation to the distance on the
earth.

A circle represents the pole.

The scale is correct along any meridian and along the

standard parallel (= no distortion).

All other parallels are too great in length, with the error
increasing with increased distance from the standard parallel.

Thus, this projection is not conformal and not useful for navigation.

It is used for mapping an area covering a large spread of longitude and a narrow band of latitude.

Note: when the axis of the cone is oblique to the plane of the equator, we have an oblique conic
projection.

Lambert Conformal Projection (1772)

Using a secant cone intersecting the earth at two standard parallels can increase the useful latitude range
of the simple conic projection.

The area between the two standard parallels is compressed, and that beyond is expanded.

Such a projection is called a secant conic projection.

If in such projection the spacing of the parallels is altered, the projections becomes
conformal : each small shape is correctly shown so that all angles are correct about any
given point.

This modification produces the Lambert Conformal Projection

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Polyconic Projection

The latitude limitations of the secant conic projection can also be minimized by using a series of cones =>
poly(more than one)conic projection.

Each parallel is the base of a tangent cone

The scale is correct along any parallel and along the central
meridian of the projection.
along other meridians the scale increases from the central
meridian.

When the number of cones increases to infinity, each strip

infinitesimally narrow, the result is a continuous polyconic projection.

Parallels appear as non-concentric circles

meridians appear as curved lines converging to the pole and concave to the central meridian.

This projection is the basis for continental maps (atlases).

BUT: not conformal => not used in navigation

1.4.4 Azimuthal Projections

If points on the earth are projected directly to a plane surface, a map is formed at once.

These projections are called azimuthal/zenithal because all directions of any point of tangency are
correctly represented.

 The great circle path is shown as a straight line on the map

Gnomonic Projection

= A plane tangent to the earth and points are projected

geometrically from the centre of the earth (gnomonic or central
projection)

In an oblique gnomonic projection the meridians appear asstraight

lines converging toward the nearer pole.

The parallels, except the equator, appear as curves.

The distance scale, however, changes rapidly.

The projection is neither conformal nor equal area.

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Stereographic Projections

It results from projecting points on the surface of the earth

onto a tangent plane, from a point on the surface of the earth
opposite the point of tangency.

 Not all the world can be shown

 Also called azimuthal orthomorphic projection
 Conformal
 The scale increases with distance from the point of
tangency (more slowly than gnomic)
 Can show an entire hemisphere without excessive distortion
 Used for charts of the polar region

Orthographic Projection

 Terrestrial points are projected from infinity to an tangent plane

 Not conformal
 Doesn’t result in an equal area representation
 Used in navigational astronomy, useful for illustrating and
solving the navigational triangle, illustrating celestial bodies
 If the plane is tangent at a point on the equator, it becomes an
equational orthographic projections
 Equator an parallels appear as straight lines

1.4.5 Polar Projections

 Conformality: when the projection represents angles correctly, the navigator can plot directly on
the chart.
 Great circle representation: they are more useful than rhumb lines at high latitudes, project GC as
straight lines.
 Scale variation: constant scale over the entire chart
 Meridian representation: shows straight meridians to
facilitate plotting
 Limits: small area

The most useful projections for marine

charts:
Mercator charts
Gnomonic Projections
Polar Stereographic
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2 CHART INFORMATION
2.1 Chart scales
Scale of a chart= ratio of a given distance on the chart to the actual distance on the earth.

A chart covering a large area -> small-scale chart

A chart covering a small area -> large-scale chart

Chart Classification by scale

Small-scale charts are used for route planning and for offshore navigation.
Large-scale charts are used as the vessel approaches land.

 Sailing charts: smallest scale charts used for planning/fixing position at sea/plotting the dead
reckoning while proceeding on a long voyage.
Scale < 1:600,000

 General charts: intended for coastwise navigation outside of outlying reefs and shoals.
Scale 1:150,000 to 1:600,000

 Coastal charts: intended for inshore coastwise navigation, for entering or leaving bays and for
navigating large inland waterways.
Scale 1:50,000 to 1:150,000

 Harbor charts: intended for navigation and anchorage in harbors and small waterways
Scale > 1:50,000

On small-scaled charts -> accurate within one minute/naut mile

On larger scaled charts -> accurate within a tenth of a mile

2.2 Factors relating to accurarcy

Accurarcy of a chart depends upon the accurarcy of the hydrographic surveys used to compile it and the
suitability of its scale for its intended use.

Based upon very old surveys => use with caution

The navigator should use the largest scale chart available for the
area in which he is operating, especially when operating in the
vicinity of hazards.

After receiving a chart => user is responsible for keeping it updated.

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2.3 Colours

Minimum 4 colours:
Black
Magenta
Gold
Grey
Blue
Green

Pale gold is used for land areas on a metric Mercator chart

Darker gold often used to indicate more urban areas

On a fathom/feet chart the land area will be Grey

Black is used for most symbols and printed information/ also used for all borders

Magenta is used for attracting attention:

• Routeing measures: traffic separation zones,

recommended courses…
• Safety zones
• Ice limits
• Compass roses
• Lights and light ranges
To assist in the identification of a lighted buoy of any colour, a
magenta disc appears over a portion of its symbol.
• Radio reporting points
• Caution notes

Blue is used for water areas

Water areas that are white are save!

Pale blue is used for shallow water.

How darker the blue colour, how shallower the water!

Green is used for drying heights: areas that are submerged during some tidal stages
and not submerged during others.
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2.4 Shoreline
= the line of contact between land and water at a selected vertical datum.
In areas affected by tidal fluctuations => shoreline is usually the mean high-water line.

 Symbolized by a heavy line

 Broken line indicates charted position is approximate only
 If the low water line differs considerably from the high water line => dotted line represent low
water line
 If bottom is composed => type of material will be indicated
 Composed of coral or rock => appropriate symbol will be used
 Area alternately covered and uncovered is shown in green

2.5 Soundings
Charts show soundings in several ways. Numbers denote individual soundings.

The depths are indicated by a normal-sized sounding figure with a

smaller figure below and to the right of it.

The marked depths, known traditionally as soundings, are reduced to the lowest mean low tides
experienced in the area. Thus, it is safe to say that with only rare exceptions, the soundings on the
chart indicate the least water over the sea bottom that will be experienced in a normal tidal cycle.

Or, to put it more practically, there will rarely be less water than that indicated by the soundings.
Large block letters at the top and bottom of the chart indicate the
unit of measurement used for soundings.

DEPTH IN FATHOMS indicates soundings are in fathoms or

fathoms and fractions.
DEPTH IN FATHOMS AND FEET indicates the soundings are in
fathoms and feet.
A similar convention is followed when the soundings are in meters
or meters and tenths. (DEPTH IN METERS)

Soundings are supplemented by depth contours => lines connecting points of equal depth

Solid line depth contours are derived from intensively developed hydrographic surveys.

A broken or indefinite contour is substituted for a solid depth contour whenever the reliability of the
contour is questionable.
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All depths indicated on charts are reckoned from a selected level of the water => chart(-sounding) datum

 Chart datum is always a level so low that the tide will not freq fall below it
 On charts of BA this level is LAT (lowest astronomical tide)

Observed depth = charted depth + tide

Since the chart datum is generally a computed

mean or average
height at some state of the tide, the depth of
water at any particular
moment may be less than shown on the chart.
For example, if the chart datum is mean lower
low water, the depth of water at lower low water
will be less than the charted depth about as often
as it is greater.

A lower depth is indicated in the tide tables by a minus sign (–).

2.6 Dredged channels

 Side limits are indicated by broken lines
 Project depth and the date of dredging are shown
by a statement in or along the channel
 In selection of soundings, least depths are shown
first

2.7 Drying heights

 Heights above chart datum (=low water) of features that are periodically covered and exposed by
the rise and fall of the tide.
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2.8 Heights
 Shoreline shown on charts is generally mean high water
 Heights of lights and overhanging obstruction are usually reckoned from mean high water
 A high-water reference gives the mariner the minimum vertical clearance expected.
= height above the datum of the highest part of the underside of the span of a bridge or the
lowest part of an overhead cable.

Therefore if the existing height of tide is below MHW, there will be greater clearance. If the
existing height of tide is greater than MHW, there will be less clearance.

Since heights are usually reckoned from high water and depths from some form of low water, the
reference levels are seldom the same.
The reference levels are always mentioned on the chart and should therefore always be checked!

2.9 Title Block

 Schould bet he first thing a navigator looks at when reading a chart
 Underneath the title you wil find:
o The title itself tells what area the chart covers
o The limits/boundaries of the area
o The Authority: publisher responsible for the information in the chart
o Chart’s scale
o Projection used
o Chart (sounding) datum
o Reference for heights
o Horizontal (geodetic) datum

o Source notes or other diagrams will list the date of surveys

o Other relevant information
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2.10 Information on the chart

 International chart number

 Title
 Scale
 Type of projection
 The compass rose
 Date of publication

 New edition: same area, same Nr., but important corrections are made (previous edition is
cancelled)
 New Chart: new area or metric/fathoms conversion (previous edition is cancelled)
 Reimpression: chart out of stock, reimpression with only small corrections made (previous edition
is still valid).

 Dimension of the chart

 Method & date of impression

e.g. Z 8 – 02 => Z = zinc, 8th month of the year 2002

C = copper
A = aluminium

 Corrections of the chart

 Weekly
 News sheet: Notices to Mariners
 Small corrections: done o/b in ink
e.g. 2011 - 103 - 1224 - 3454 - 2012 - 54 - 457
Year Nr. Corr.

 Temporary & Preliminary corrections: underneath the small corrections, done o/b in pencil
e.g. 2012 - 345(T) - 1260(P) – 2376

2.11 Chart symbols

SEE NP 5011: Symbols & Abbreviations used on Admiralty Charts

• Geographical Positions
• Tides & Currents
• Depths & Depth Contours
• Intertidal Areas
• Rocks, Wrecks & Obstructions
• Submarine Cables
• Routeing Measures
• Radio Reporting
• Areas & Limits
• Pilotage
• International Abbreviations (see annex page 120)
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3 PLOTTING AND PILOTING

3.1 Introduction
Coordinates and positions

 Use nautical dividers twice to get longitude and latitude

Distance

 Use nautical dividers

 Use only vertical scale!
 Take a distance -> walking with deviders -> small part left
 Are measured in naut miles= 1’ on the vertical scale = 1852
metres

Tracks, courses and bearings from graduated parallel rules

 Track from A to B -> need parallel rules

 Line between A/B = track or course (Rv)
 Move parallel rules to the true compass rose
 Bearings (↗v) can be drawn by the same method

3.2 Dead Reckoning

 Technique to determine a ship’s approximate position by applying to the last established charted
position a vector (or series) representing true courses and speed.
 Crucial! It can provide us an approximate position in the future
 DR position will be plotted:
o Every hour on the hour
o At the time of every course change or speed change
o For the time at which a fix is obtained, also a new course line will be plotted
o For the time at which a single LOP is obtained
o Never draw a new course line from an estimated position!
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3.3 Lines of Position (LOP)

 A line drawn on a chart somewhere on which the vessel is situated.
 They may be obtained in a variety of ways and may be straight lines (bearings) or curved lines
(distances)

Any bearing that can be plotted is necessarily a position line since the observer must be situated
somewhere along the bearing.

A precise way to obtain a LOP (and without a compass) is to locate two navigational aids in line. The image
above shows us four examples of LOP’s, each consisting of two navigational aids.

One of the four consists of two lights that are intentionally placed to provide a LOP. These pairs of lights
are called Range lights or Leading lights.

3.4 The Postion Fix

 Fix= ship’s position on the earth at some given point in time
 To construct our position we need minimum two of these lines
 Fixed objects are preferred over floating objects
 A fic may be obtained from:
o Cross bearings
o Bearing and angle
o Bearing and distance
o Two or more ranges
o Horizontal angles
o Astronomical observation
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Example: position by cross bearings

 A&B are two fixed objects ashore

 DA & EB are the respective bearings (observer)
 Point C will be the TRUE POSITION
 Note that:
o More distance between A&B enhances
accuracy
o Perfect angle is 90°
o Less distance between the vessel and the
closest navigational aid also enhances
accurarcy
o If the LOP’s do not intersect at one point
A triangle occurs ‘cocked hat’
There is than at least one mistake (bearing)!

If the cocked hat is small, the ship’s position is

taken as the centre
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3.5 Chart Principles

 In still water a vessel will make good the course she is steering
 When there is wind/current a force will push the vessel.
Thus the track made good (Rv) may differ from the course steered (Cv)
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3.6 Running Fix (Transfer of a Position Line)

 Under some circumstances (low visability), only one position line can be obtained.
In this event, a line of position obtained at an earlier time may be advanced to the time of the
later LOP. These two LOP's should not be parallel to each other, remember that the optimal
angular spread is 90°.
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3.7 The Estimated Position

 Sometimes possible to obtain more than one LOP
To determine the ship’s position using only one navigation aid, we can use a running fix
However if a running fix is not possible, we can determine an estimated position

 An estimated position is based upon whatever incomplete navigational information is

available, such as a single LOP…
 This is done by drawing a line from the DR at the time of the LOP perpendicular to the LOP
 Do NOT rely on an EP as much as a fix!
 the scale of reliability (best -> worst)
o Fix
o Running Fix
o EP
o DR position
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3.8 Relative Bearing

 A bearing expressed as an angular distance from the heading
 Interconversion of relative and true bearings is accomplished by means of heading

3.9 Danger Bearing

 Important tool to keep the ship out of trouble
 First, the navigator identifies the limits of safe water and determines a bearing that is marked as
“No More Than” (NMT) or “No Less Than” (NLT)
 When a distance instead of a direction is used a danger range is plotted much the same way as
the danger bearing.
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3.10 Turn Bearing

 Is constructed in the chart in advance
 Used as a means of anticipation for sailing out of safe waters TB
 As you pass the object its bearing will slowly change. When it reaches the Turn bearing turn the
vessel on her new course. This type of bearing is also used for selecting an anchorage position.

3.11 Double Angle Fix

 Method of obtaining a running fix by measuring the distance a vessel travels on a steady course
while the relative bearing of a fixed object doubles.
 Distance from the object at the time of the second bearing = the run between bearings, neglecting
drift.

3.12 Four- Point Fix

 If the first angle on the bow is 45° (45° = 4 points on the compass)
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3.13 Special Angle Fix

 A construction using special pairs of relative angles that give the distance travelled between two
bearings as equal to the navigation aids’ range abeam
 Know the distance a vessel will pass abeam of an object before it is bearing abeam.
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4 NP 131 – CATALOGUE OF ADMIRALTY CHARTS AND PUBLICATIONS

4.1 The Paper Catalogue
 The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) had built up a global reputation for providing
safe and accurate marine navigational information across the world

Why?
o Global coverage
o Information
o Language
o Organization
o Uniformity
o Supply

 Full range of charts and publications by HO is listed in “the catalogue of admiralty charts and
publications”
 Updated/published annually
 UKHO also developing digital charts

4.1.1 Part 1: General Information

 Arrangement of Catalogue
 Products and services
 List of Admiralty Authorized Chart Agents (locations, contact & products)
 ENC Software Suppliers
 Index Chart for the world
 Admiralty collection

 International Admiralty Chart Agents IACAs

o Maintain a comprehensive and worldwide stock of Admiralty charts and publications
o Provide a range of services based on Admiralty series of products
 Immediate supply of both digital and paper Admiralty products from an extensive
stock
 Assurance that your ship has all the correction
 Ensuring all charts are fully corrected at time of dispatch to you
 Supplying correction-tracing sets each week
 Assurance that you are aware of the latest Admiralty products
 Supplying weekly lists of appropriate corrections specific to those Admiralty
products held on board.
 Control and inspection routines for ships owners and operators
 Admiralty Chart Agents/Distributors hold in stock a broad range of digital and/or paper products.
All are corrected for the latest NTM
 Admiralty Retailers: stock a small selection of local charts (uncorrected) and have a full range of
Admiralty Leisure products appropriate to their area
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4.1.2 Part 2: Digital products

 Admiralty e-Navigator
 AVCS- Service
 ARCS- Service
 ECDIS-Service
 Digital Catalogue
 Digital Publications: DLL, ALRS vol 6 & Total Tide

4.1.3 Part 3: Nautical Charts, paper & digital

 World is divided into zones A-W, each zone contains chart numbers for the area concerned
 Means that a chart also exists in digital version (ARCs)

o General charts of oceans

o Planning charts
o Admiralty chart Folios

4.1.4 Part 4: Thematic Charts

Routeing charts (Pilot Charts)

 Essential for use in Passage Planning and ocean voyages

 Include routes and distances between major ports, ocean currents, ice limits, load lines and wind
roses, with expected meteorological and oceanographic conditions for each month of the year.
 Five Routeing Charts cover the oceans of the world; North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific,
South Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

Time Zone Chart

 Any mariner could relate their local time to GMT

Planning Charts

 Ideal as planning tools and can also be used for educational, travel and decorative purposes.
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Load Line Regulations Chart

 Cover the draught to which vessels subject to SOLAS regulations may be loaded in designated
zones across the world.

Astronomical Charts

 Used for traditional navigation

 Facilitate the accurate plotting of a ship’s position from Astronimical observations

Gnomonic Charts

 Used in Passage Planning to plot great circle routes as a straight line

 Useful for devising composite rhumb line courses
 15 charts over the world at scales 1:13,500,000 and 1:26,500,000

Magnetic Variation Charts

 Show the variation of Magnetic fields

 This series provides more detailed coverage on a worldwide level

Meteorological Charts and Diagrams

 Form a series of 27 Meteorological working charts

 Used to plot weather information

Bathymetric Charts

 Bathymetric = science of the measurement of marine depths

 Show Ocean Floor data

Instructional Charts

 Collection of navigational charts selected for training school use

 NEVER be used for navigation!
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Ships’ Boats’ Charts

 The oceans of the world are covered by a set of 6 small-plasticized charts for use in lifeboats.
 Each chart shows the coastline, the approximate strengths of and directions of prevailing winds
and currents, limits of ice and isogonic lines. On the reverse of each are directions for the use of
the chart and general remarks on lifeboats and weather.

Plotting Sheets

 Radar Plotting Diagram

 Ocean Plotting Sheets: 6 Mercator graduated sheets with compass roses printed on and 2 Polar
Regions on a stereographic projection

Climatic Charts

 Show average conditions for elements such as pressure, winds, currents, temperature, ice, fog and
rainfall

4.1.5 Part 5: Nautical Publications, paper

 Tidal Publications
 Sailing Directions
 ALL & FS: Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals
 ALRS: Admiralty List of Radio Signals

4.1.6 Part 6: Admiralty Notices to Mariners and Update Services

Leisure Products

 These are Standard Admiralty Charts adopted for the benefit of leisure Craft Users
 The Folios contain charts covering popular sailing areas
 Each Folio includes useful symbols, abbreviations, local marine & tidal information such as
harbours, anchorages water depths, aids to navigation
 Designed for use on smaller chart tables
 Reprinted annually

4.1.7 Part 7: Countries with established Hydrographical Offices

4.1.8 Part 8: Index of Advertisers

4.1.9 Part 9: Numeric Index & Price List

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4.2 The Admiralty Digital Catalogue

 Provides a comprehensive and up to date reference in graphical and textual form of the range of
Admiralty products and services. Including:
o Standard Navigational Charts and Publications
o AVCS
o ARCS
o Admiralty ECDIS Services
 Features comprehensive search functionality by product type, scale or user defined route with
weekly updates available online to keep you fully up to date.
 Simplifies the Passage Planning process by displaying all the charts and publications relevant to
the intended voyage.
 Allows T&P (temporary) Notice to Mariners to be displayed geographically and viewed, saved and
printed

5 TIDES AND CURRENTS

5.1 Origin of the Tides
 Tide= vertical rise and fall of the sea lever surface caused primarily by the change in gravitational
attraction of the moon, and to lesser extent the sun, and centrifugal effect
 The moon exerts twice the gravitational attraction force as the Sun because the Moon is closer

Equilibrium Theory of Tides (Newton)

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 Sun produces own tide wave

 When Moon between Sun and earth ( new/full moon) the two gravitational forces work together
to make high high tides and low low tides -> SPRING TIDE
 Moon in 1st/last quarter, the Sun’s gravitational pull is in perpendicular direction to that of the
Moon resulting in lower high tides a nd higher lox tides -> NEAP TIDE

 Moon and/or Sun not in equatorial plane

 The moon does not rotate around the earth’s equator, but follows
an orbit that is inclined in relation to the earth’s axis -> 3 types of
tides
o Semi-diurnal tide: two highs/lows each day, with minimal
variation in the height of successive high or low waters -> more likely to occur when moon
is over equator
o Diurnal tide: single high/low during each tidal day -> occur in certain areas when the
moon is at its furthest from the equator
o Mixed tide: wide variations in heights of successive high and low waters, and by longer
tidal cycles than semi-diurnal -> occur as the moon furthest north/south of the equator
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5.2 Chart Datums

 A plane of reference for depths and heights in the chart
 Depths are usually described to low water reference planes
Chance that the observed depth is smaller than the charted
depth is rather small
 Heights are shown to high water reference planes
Chance that vertical clearance beneath a bridge is smaller
than the height is rather small
 MOST important level of reference is the sounding datum
shown on charts
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 Mean low water (MLW) = average height of all low waters at a given place
 Mean low water springs (MLWS)= average level of the low waters that occur at the times of
spring tides
 Mean lower low water (MLLW)= average height of the lower low water of each tidal day
 Mean lower low water springs (MLLWS)= average level of the lower of the two low waters on the
days of spring tides
 Mean sea level (MSL)= used as chart datum in some areas where there is little or no tide
 Mean high water (MHW)= average height of all high waters over a 19-year period
 Mean high water springs (MHWS)= average level of the high waters that occur at the time of
spring tides
 Mean higher high water (MHHW)= average height of the higher high waters of each tidal day

5.3 Tides and Tidal Prediction

5.3.1 Information from the chart

 Tide tables called chart diamond.

 Use this table to find height tide at a particular place/time
 To interpolate between h/l water heights -> Rule of Twelve

 To interpolate between spring/neap tides -> Rule of Seven

 Daily change in range = (Spring range – neap range)/7
 EX in Sylabus

5.3.2 Information from Admiralty Tide Tables (ATT)

 A Tide Table provides us each day with the times of h/l water for a part. Place
 Part 1 of these tables gives us daily predictions of the times and heights of high and low water at
selected numbers of standard ports
 Part 2 gives data for prediction (secondary ports)
 Heights in METER/ Time in STANDARD TIME kept at the place
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5.3.3 Information from Tidal Curves

 Tides can be characterized by a tidal curve

 Substitutes the rule of 12
 Left side -> water heights/ chart datum
 Bottom -> low water height
 Top -> high water height
 area under the curve will be marked with the
time information
 find the water height at a specific time we need to know first how many hours before or after the
HW this is.

5.4 Tidal Stream versus Current

5.4.1 Tidal Streams

 Are related to the tide

 Tide -> vertical movement
Tidal stream -> horizontal motion
 Set or direction is given true
 Rate (force) always given in knots
 Flood stream is the flow of water toward the land (high tide)
 Ebb stream is the flow of water away from the land (low tide)
 Tidal stream is changing direction -> slack water = a period of negligible horizontal movement

Tidal Atlases

 Show the tidal currents for each hour of the tidal cycle
 13 tidal charts, 6 hours before/after HW
 Direction is shown by arrows , heavier = stronger arrow
 Example : a mean neap rate of 2.1 kn and a mean spring rate of 4.6 kn

 On certain charts ARROWS are used to give tidal informations

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5.4.2 Currents

 Horizontal movement is primarily caused by friction between the wind and surface of the water
-> drift current
 Other factors:
o Coriolis force
o Difference in water temperatures
o Difference in salinity caused by rain
o Difference in specific gravity
 Pressure gradients in the water -> generate gradient current
 When drift current meets obstruction -> stream current formed
 Sailing Directions or Pilot books -> reference predicting dir/speed
currents
 Syntax -> horizontal movement of water defined by:
o Tidal stream (gravitational)
o Stream current (wind, rivers)

5.5 Co-tidal/Co-range Charts

 Movement of tides across ocean basins is deflected by Coriolis
 A rotary wave is part of an amphidromic system in which the wave progresses about a node (no
amplitude) with the antinode (max amplitude) rotating about the basin’s edges
 Co-tidal chart is a chart combining co-ranges lines with co-tidal lines:
o Co-tidal lines connect points on the rotary wave
o Co-range circles are lines connecting points which experience the same tidal range
o Amphidromic systems rotate CW in S and CCW in N
o Irregular coastlines distort the rotary motion

 Co-tidal lines radiate from an amphidromic point and co-range lines encircle it