It apparently seems that way but from my experience and understanding it doesn’t work that way in reality.
Say the watch officer is watching forward and notices a tide rip coming off the point ahead. They wonder (based on the rips and other observations) if the ship is getting set so they get a round of ranges and bearings. That data is held in short term memory and forgotten as soon as it is plotted. Only the relevant information, the position of the ship in relationship to the track-line is retained.
That same information can be gotten at a glance at the ECDIS (or GPS XTE) without having to spend time not watching forward.
I know this and am grateful for it but in my boredom during Covid I watched a documentary about GPS. According to this documentary the GPS system is operated by a small group of USAF or now Space Force individuals. I sure hope they have redundancy! Degrading of gps would be the first item on an agenda to create world conflict. Chaos if Amazon can’t deliver or a ship with a billion dollars worth.of goods doesn’t know where it is.
Navstar GPS isn’t the only GNSS system in existence. There are at least two other global systems and many modern receivers can receive multiple systems simultaneously.
I think what is being said is to crosscheck as much as practicable. Like the aground at anchor: so simple as an obsevation your ship not tending as others at anchor. Simple. Low tech. Common sennse. Pity he didn’t use crosscheck going to anchor.
That’s a good way to put it. Don’t want to spend too much time running around at various tasks when the time can be more profitability spent watching forward.
In restricted and/or congested waterways I don’ t like leaving my spot next to the centerline compass any more than required. A quick trip over to the radar to verify distance off (or use Parallel indexing etc) or a look at the ECDIS or GPS XTE etc. A round of bearing and ranges may be better but takes more time and attention. It’s a trade-off. It’s also good to go out on the wing from time to time for a look around.
As was said it’s a matter of experience and judgement.
The cost is each time another method is used at the return watching forward is it requires reloading short-term memory.
This is the basis of BRM, other crew members can be used for other navigation tasks.
Flash back to tying to buoys in San Diego: ship was an LKA, basically a cargo ship on steroids for the ‘70 era, 18500 max gross 576’ long, single screw. Using pilot services we had this crusty, older gent I had seen before. That day I was watching what he did intently. At one point, he was on starb’d wing gazing ashore so I HAD to ask! He said he was watching the vertical lamp posts in the parking lot to starb’d, like ranges, to see if we were truly stopped! I then asked him what he did prior to SDO Pilot and he said retired Boatswain’s Mate Senior Chief! So there I was, hot shot Mustang line officer, learning seamanship and ship handling from a CPO and virtually nothing from commissioned officers! Hey, I was in Engineering for my enlisted days and this was the first time as a Navigator out of the “hole!” I later learned from a BM2 how to properly handle a single screw boat. That experience could have been useful before being turned loose in fresh air. Priorities all wrong in the Navy. Misdirected priorities begot the McCain collision. Begot the other one, also.
Common sense and basics, regardless of tech, STILL are the first priority.
Standard practice after finishing to swing to the tide at anchor was to find 2 ranges ashore. Could sit in my chair and know if we were moving. Finding a range ashore to be sure we had sternway on before dropping the anchor, was standard on the bow. Using ranges ashore to see true motion at very slow speeds used to be a pretty standard thing - hope it still is.
Yeah, standard practice for YOU MERCHANTS! We were treated like mushrooms! Looky all the time the aviators spend with one on one instructors and then classes/lectures/study. It’s 18 months before they go to the fleet and then that is another beginning. The get paired up with a mentor. But even the aviators get deprived. Budget cuts in the 70’s when I started to fly General Aviation continued through the 90’s and I wound up with over 5000 hours total time PIC to most military of 2500 hours for 20 years. Exceptions, of course. What I am saying is the surface pukes have too much OJT in ship handling and too much admin BS “hot priority” busy work.
Ranges ashore is just one of the neat things missing from US Naval mentality.
Hi Freighterman,
I wish there where more people like you who can still practice the traditional navigating skills. It is not for nothing that in maritime institutes in the USA these skills are again learned. Besides it is very satisfactorily if after several days of clouds with no possibility to make any sightingsto calculate your position on the earth.
We call ranges transits or when shown on charts as leads and they were a very important part in both our naval pilotage and in merchant navy practise. Generally in our navy back then the navigator had the con and gave a running commentary to the CO who sat in his chair. The OOW ran the routine with the chief yeoman ready to run the signalmen on the flag deck to run communications by light or flags. A rating sat at a desk to run the ships broadcast announcements. Lookouts reported over a seperate circuit as did the blind pilotage team in the CIC who were following the navigators plan.
As the Navigator I explain to the captain that we 2 cables to run before a wheel over when the end of a wharf was in transit with the chimney of a hotel. We came clear of the point and discovered that the hotel burnt down the night before. Fortunately the chimney was still standing.
The captain is responsible to run the ship safely, efficiently and economically. Looking at the statistics of actual incidents, the real risk to ships is such things as: groundings, collisions stability problems, fires and so forth.
Those are the risks that the choice of methods and means of navigation should be based on. Not sentimentality or nostalgia for the old days.
All available skills, info and technology should be used to ensure safe passage.
I’m all for maintaining old skills as that can get you out of difficult situations at times.
But over reliance on either technology or old skills are equally dangerous.
As old skills are dying out we are likely to see more accidents caused by over reliance on technology, until AI take over to turn the curve.
Basically the question is how do you train mates to navigate in restricted waters aka pilotage in particular the Inside Passage (IP)?
How do pilot groups train apprentice pilots? Not by having them plot on paper charts or staring at the ECDIS, they do it by having the apprentice watch a pilot at work and then they do it themselves.
The quickest way to train someone is have them do it. Instead of having the captain taking the ship thorough the tight spots have the mate do while the captain keeps an eye on things until the mate learns how to do it visually without any aids.
The paper vs electronic question is mostly irrelevant except paper requires a lot more time and effort to maintain the plot.
Respectfully disagree on the training aspect. Depending on the navigation experience of the trainee. Inexperienced mates, oods, apprentice pilots should become proficient in paper piloting, taking fixtures, using radar ranges, parallel indexing etc. as a solid base before conning the vessel from the window in restricted waters. The ability to see where the ship is and what it is doing, and what it may be about to do from the the conning position, at least IMO starts with a fundamental knowledge and understanding on piloting in general, and a detailed knowledge of the area - best represented and studied on a paper chart.
When I sat for federal pilotage, the largest requirement was the ability to draw the chart of the area from memory. If one is not committed to that level on understanding. One can conn from the window, with a chart handy for reference and an understanding of piloting to associate what he is is looking at out the window to the chart.
In all my examinations for a pilotage exemption certificate for a port I had to complete all the details, soundings ,lights etc of a blank chart before completing three entries and departures by day and by night monitored by the senior pilot of the port.
For pilotage the information contained on the chart is needed as is the requisite understanding of the related tools (triangles, dividers etc). If the same information is obtained from an electronic chart likewise it’s required to know how to use the keyboard, trackball, pull-down menus etc.
Either way, that knowledge is necessary but not sufficient. The most difficult obstacle for most people is the bird’s-eye view of the chart (and ARPA) vs the three dimensional view seen out the window.
The information in the pubs is required as well. Doesn’t matter if the paper edition or a PDF file is viewed on a screen.
Has no value.
There was already a discussion about it. Most ships do not have paper charts at all. On the other hand each deck officer must have completed at least two ECDIS courses (generic and ship/type specific). This training is not about manual plotting ships position at least that is not the focus.
And as for the pilot, he does not bring his own papers charts onto the ship, but his own PPU (Portable Pilot Unit).
