What The Chart Maker Does For Us
Book Extract
The chart-maker’s job is to look after you and, as far as he can, to stop you from hitting the bottom. The sight of submarine K4 high and dry in Morecambe Bay, taken in about 1913, may not have caused the cartographers of the day to resign en masse, but it would undoubtedly have given them reason to dig out the chart in question and quietly examine the published material. Just to be sure.
Submarine aground in Morcambe Bay circa 1913
When you walk around the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) in Taunton, you realise that every day they are making critical decisions about what to include in a chart and what to leave out. This is a highly skilled job. You come away with the unmistakeable feeling that the men and women who draw our charts really do care about getting it right, and that they have a deep-rooted sense of responsibility for our safety out on the water.
Over the years, they have quietly developed a number of very sensible features which they build into charts so that the information that you get always errs on the side of safety and clarity – unnecessary detail is quite simply removed – and the result is a very functional and intelligently designed sheet of paper.
The point is that everything is done to reduce the level of risk associated with the use of the chart, and whenever the hydrographer considers that a residual risk does exist, he is duty-bound to tell you either in the margins of the chart itself or, more likely, in the Sailing Directions.
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Understanding A Nautical Chart is written by Paul Boissier. Paul is a professional navigator and has spent much of his professional career working on the sea, or in support of the people who go to sea. He has commanded and navigated ships and submarines in many parts of the world, as well as spending a lot of time afloat in yachts. Paul also spent 10 years as Chief Executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He loves the sea and has had a lifelong fascination with charts and navigation.