Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

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Part 3: Getting from Point A to Point B: Marine Navigation
Range markers are two markers set one behind the other so that when they are viewed
from the safe channel, they appear in perfect alignment, one directly above the other. The
rear marker is taller than the front one. If one marker is off to one side, you’re not in the
center of the channel the towers are indicating (see the following figure). They’re sometimes
lighted, and for night operation you try to put one light atop the other with your
course.
Range markers line up perfectly
when your boat is in
the safe channel but appear
to be out of alignment when
you are off course.
Range markers as seen
when boat is in channel
Range markers as seen when
boat is off-course to starboard
Radio towers and smokestacks also work well as long-distance markers. A tall stack can be
seen from 20 miles away by day, and the red- or white-strobe aircraft warning lights on
tall structures are visible at long distances after sundown.
By knowing where these fixed structures are in relation to your intended course, you can
roughly fix your position even if you have no compass or electronics. The positions of
many towers are shown on navigational charts. (A group of tall buildings can also work
this way—many a Bahamas crossing has come to a happy end when anglers sight the towers
of Miami Beach or Palm Beach beckoning them home!)
Pleased to Meet You: Meeting Situations
When two boats under power meet head to head, the preferred method to avoid collision
is to pass port to port (left side to left side) by both boats altering course to starboard, or
to the right of the driver.
There are obvious situations in which you can’t do this; if there’s a marker or rock pile in
the way of a starboard turn, for example. In that case, usually the best thing to do is to