Why visual pilotage still matters

Electronic navigation has transformed coastal cruising. Chart plotters, tablets and phone apps give us a position in seconds, often with more accuracy than we need. But those systems depend on signals, batteries and software. GPS can be jammed or unreliable, a plotter can lose its chart card, and a tablet can overheat in the cockpit. When that happens, the skipper who can fall back on visual transits, compass bearings and depth soundings is not just safer; they are calmer.

Visual pilotage is not about distrusting electronics. It is about keeping a second, independent picture of where you are. The tools are simple: your eyes, a hand bearing compass, the echo sounder and a paper chart. They work in fog, in a blackout, and when the screen says something that does not match the world outside. This is how to combine them into a practical fix.

Transits: the sharpest fix of all

A transit is two charted objects in line. When they appear exactly aligned, you are somewhere on that line of position. If you can find a second transit, or combine one with a bearing or sounding, you have a fix. Transits are powerful because a small change in your position makes a large change in the alignment. A church tower just touching the edge of a cliff, a harbour wall in line with a beacon, or a leading mark behind a buoy — these are all natural transits.

Use them before you need them. On the chart, mark any transit that runs along a safe track or clears a danger. Leading marks at harbour entrances are designed for exactly this. If the transit opens, you are being set to one side; if it closes, the other. Correct early, with a small helm change, rather than waiting until you are off track.

• Look for transits on the chart before you leave: note the objects and the charted bearing.
• Use a transit to steer through a narrow entrance, not just to fix your position.
• Take a bearing of the transit with a hand bearing compass and compare it with the charted bearing.
• Record the time. A transit without a time is just a nice view.

Compass bearings and the three-point fix

A hand bearing compass is one of the most useful tools on a small yacht. Take three bearings on three identifiable objects, spread between 60 and 120 degrees apart. Distant objects are better than near ones, because a small error in your bearing is less significant over a longer distance. Apply variation and deviation before plotting. In the UK, variation is usually small, but deviation on a steel or ferro-cement boat can be several degrees. Keep a deviation card and use it.

Plot the bearings on a paper chart. If the three lines cross in a small triangle — a cocked hat — your position is inside it. If the triangle is large, suspect one bearing. Re-take it, or choose a different object. A three-point fix takes perhaps two minutes, and it gives you a position you can trust. If you have only one object, use a running fix: take a bearing, note the log or time, wait until the bearing has changed by at least 30 degrees, then take a second bearing and plot both. A depth sounding can confirm which side of the line you are on.

Soundings: your depth as a position clue

An echo sounder gives depth under the keel, so add your draught to get the depth of water. Compare that with the charted depth plus the height of tide. For example, if the chart says 4.5 metres and the tide is 2.1 metres, you expect about 6.6 metres. If you read 7.5 metres, you are in deeper water than expected; if you read 5.5 metres, you are shallower. A single sounding does not fix you, but a depth contour does. Follow a charted contour and you have a line of position. Combine it with a bearing, and you have a fix.

In fog or poor visibility, soundings can be a lifeline. They tell you when you have crossed a ridge, when you are inside a bay, or when you are being set towards a shoal. Know your keel offset and check it regularly. Write down the tidal height before you need it, not after. Use the echo sounder alarm as a back-up, but keep watching the numbers.

• Know your draught and your keel offset precisely.
• Calculate the height of tide for the time you expect to be in pilotage waters.
• Use a charted depth contour as a position line, not just a warning.
• If the sounding disagrees with your expected position, believe the sounding until you can prove otherwise.

Pulling it together: a simple cockpit routine

Before a coastal passage, build a short pilotage plan. On the chart, mark transits, clearing bearings and key soundings. Write a simple table: leg, transit or bearing, expected depth, and any danger. Brief the crew so they can call out when a spire comes in line with a pier, or when the depth drops below a set figure. A good crew member can be your extra set of eyes.

At sea, keep a routine. Every few minutes in pilotage waters, look out, take a bearing, check the depth, and plot. Every 15 to 20 minutes on a longer coastal leg, take a proper three-point fix. Keep the paper chart on the table and a notebook beside it. When the electronics agree with your visual fix, carry on with confidence. When they disagree, you have a way to decide which to trust.

The reward is not nostalgia. It is confidence. You will know where you are, not just where a screen says you are. That is the quiet satisfaction of coastal pilotage: a few simple skills, used regularly, that keep you and your crew safe on the water.