A few guidelines for making a safe landfall

I helped with the delivery of a motor boat a while back from London to Salcombe. We were very lucky with the weather, having a high pressure system over Ireland for the whole trip and had four days of sunshine and light winds. The owner had kept his boat on the Thames for some time and had not fitted a fixed VHF set, so we were dependent on a hand held device. This radio served us well for talking to harbour masters and marinas when within 2 or 3 miles of a destination port and berths were arranged at all overnight stops.

We failed to receive, however, the weather forecast from Dover Coast Guard whilst on passage from Ramsgate to Eastbourne: HMCG received us and we them on channel 16 but for some reason we failed to transmit sufficiently on channel 67 for Dover to hear us. Whether the antenna was high enough, or not, I do not know but owners making such passages should seriously consider an emergency antenna fitted to the highest part of the boat or fitting a permanent VHF radio with a good long whip antenna to give the extra range.

On this particular trip we had friends who had come along to reinforce their navigation skills and it was brought home to me how many people are so reliant on GPS, almost to the exclusion of everything else. GPS is an excellent electronic aid, it saved my bacon in May when on passage from Le Havre to Cherbourg in 50m or so of visibility; but it should be used in conjunction with the well tried practices we have been taught with paper charts. Here are a few guidelines for making a safe landfall:

• Do not necessarily use the waypoints at the harbour entrances, but anticipate the direction from which you will be approaching and chose a waypoint which will help you to “eyeball” your way in. See my previous tip on approaching harbour.
• Maintain a plot of your position at regular intervals; the intervals will depend on your speed. As you get closer to land it is worthwhile plotting these positions more regularly. If you can, compare these positions with an EP plot, a sounding and, better still, a three bearing fix. A dead reckoning track alongside your GPS track will give you an idea of the strength and the direction of the current.
• Try to visualize what the land is going to look like at your arrival point and check to see if your imagination and reality are the same. Not all that easy.
• If you have the slightest doubt about your position or the course into your destination, slow down, stop engines or heave to. It may even be necessary to anchor if you are really unsure of your position. Re-check your navigation plan and cross check with everything available – radar, compass fixing and soundings.