Captain…Ahoy!
By Paul Bolden,
Captain of the 9th
Coast Guard District, Central Region
Sea State
As of this writing the current Lake Erie sea temp off Put-in-Bay is 33.8°F and 34°F off of Port Clinton. Water temperature at Put-in-Bay is expected to drop to 33.1°F in the next 10 days. Waves over the next several days should be 2-5 feet with waves occasionally around 6 feet. Winds 15 to 20 knots.
Put-in-Bay Maritime Academy
For final part of our Put-in-Bay Maritime Academy class for this off-season we are going to discuss the importance of charts while navigating the waters around PIB. The importance of having and knowing how to read area nautical charts can’t be understated. As every island resident knows, the waters around our area of the western basin are shallow. With that comes additional boating risks that you are less likely to encounter when boating near Cleveland or even Toledo (for example). If you are not totally familiar with the area that you are boating in, the only way to know of various hazards is by consulting nautical charts and/or talking with a well-seasoned mariner that knows our waters. Both methods are important.
As of last year (2022) there were a lot of new boaters in our waters. LEARN YOUR CHARTS!
The following are my personal navigation procedures as it relates to charts. I divide my trips into three categories:
1) Very Familiar
2) Moderately Familiar
3) Not Familiar
In the Very Familiar category I rarely consult my paper charts. These are courses that I have navigated for years. These are also heavily travel waters by other mariners and I stay alert for navigation bulletins if a hazard alert is issued for these waters. In this case I rely on my GPS and visual points of reference to stay on course and to stay safe.
In Moderately Familiar waters I will consult my charts the day before the trip. For example, I travel to Leamington twice a year and have done so for several years. These waters are moderately familiar to me but twice a year is not frequent enough to skip charting my trip in my opinion. While I am confident of my route to Leamington, I still need to review the waters adjacent to the route for depth and hazards. I will also have the course programmed into my GPS. In the case of Leamington, I bring a copy of the Leamington Marina so when I’m given a docking assignment I know exactly where to go. In actuality, I have already familiarized myself with the Leamington Marina dockage diagram the day before the trip along with reviewing the nautical charts. You don’t want to be floating outside the marina’s breakwall trying to figure this thing out.
Trips that you have not made before on your vessel should be considered to be in Not Familiar waters regardless of the distance. The day before such a trip (if not earlier) I will methodically chart the course using my nautical charts and program the course into my GPS. I will also locate what I call emergency ports of call if an unexpected event should occur before we reach our destination such as bad weather or engine problems. Using your charts for each of these is essential to safe boating. To embark on such a long trip in unfamiliar waters on a whim without first charting are both rookie and hazardous.
What I have tried to do in this article is offer one strategy relating to the appropriate time to use nautical charts. There may be other appropriate strategies. It could be argued that anytime you are navigating the lake you should consult your charts but in reality, for routine trips who’s going to do that?
An additional consideration is to always carry paper charts with you while underway. Remember, GPSs can and do fail and if you travel in Canadian waters you are required to have charts on board in accordance with the Canadian Shipping Act-2001 as I understand it.
What we were not looking to do in this article was to explain the different features contained on nautical charts which requires study in depth. Nevertheless, I strongly encourage you to seek nautical chart training. There are many online courses that provide this. In fact, right now would be a great time to take such a course online in advance of the PIB boating season. Please think about and consider doing this.
Speaking of boating classes, please plan on participating in one of the USCG-AUX safe boating programs to be offered throughout the 2023 boating season. If you are new to boating, what you learn could save your life or that of someone else.
Island Residents
For information about serving in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, taking a Safe Boating Class or receiving a Vessel Safety Check. Scan the appropriate QR Code above.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
