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Electronic Navigation: with The Royal Insitute of Navigation
BY JOHN POTTLE, DIRECTOR, ROYAL INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION
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The Royal Institute of Navigation invites you to download a free booklet containing guidance on electronic navigation systems.
The objective of the booklet, released at the end of 2020, is to provide guidance on the safe use of electronic navigation and associated systems on leisure vessels. Navigating a leisure vessel has always required the skipper/navigator to use all available information and that has never been more important than now, with the availability of ever increasing sources of information.
In the past couple of decades marine navigation systems have changed beyond recognition. There is no doubt that the benefits of electronic systems have revolutionised leisure craft safety at sea. Satellite positioning, radar and AIS are especially helpful when the visibility is poor, but even in perfect conditions the combined systems can give us a much better assessment of what is happening beyond our line of sight, allowing us to respond to emerging situations in a much more informed way. However, the systems in place on larger vessels are a step ahead of those used on smaller craft. For leisure sailors the technology is currently still in a transition phase and this creates some vulnerability.
As an example, for a long time the debate on navigation has been one of electronic charts versus paper. But in defaulting to that position we have perhaps been distracted away from solving some key electronic navigation issues.
The booklet seeks to improve knowledge and awareness amongst the leisure craft community of the current electronic navigation systems vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them, enabling each of us to make better and safer judgements, both when passage planning and when at sea. The booklet discusses many of the operational issues involved and highlights, where appropriate, the advantages and drawbacks of their use. Throughout there are images and illustrations that help to depict these issues, together with highlighted “Keys to Safety”.
This free-to-download booklet has been a joint effort by four charities, a government agency and the national governing body of boating in the UK, as well as many individual contributors. The Institute would like to thank all of them.
