Navigation Charts

New "C-Map 4D" to change the way boaters see the world.

Saturday, October 24, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Boaters lucky enough to be at the 2009 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show will be the first in North America to experience Jeppesen Marine’s new C-MAP 4D cartography — the latest advance in electronic charting technology that will change the way boaters see the world.

This innovative approach to electronic charting gives boaters control over their navigation solutions in ways never before possible. Using one cartridge, customers can select the coverage area and the content segment that best meet their boating needs. Customers can select the Max segment which includes all the popular features of the existing C-MAP MAX product, or they can choose the 4D segment of C-MAP 4D which includes a variety of breakthrough features, including:

“4D” Charting — Take the most advanced 3D land and ocean mapping database in the world and add the 4th dimension of time. Based on a continuous update process, C-MAP 4D gives boaters access to a personalized navigation experience with up-to-date data for safe navigation.

True View & Photos — C-MAP 4D includes a realistic navigational perspective with satellite photos and hi-resolution coastal imagery that can be overlaid on accurate and up-to-date 3-D vector data, plus thousands of extraordinary photos of popular marinas and areas of interest.

Nautical Paper Charts — For boaters who enjoy the traditional look of paper charts, C-MAP 4D delivers the exclusive ability to overlay electronic versions of raster charts onto multi-dimensional shaded relief cartography for a new boating experience.

This revolutionary charting technology will be available for use as soon as chart plotter manufacturers are able to implement it onto their units.

It's Showtime!

Friday, October 23, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Check Out New C-MAP 4D and Other Charting Products at 2009/2010 Boat Shows.

Boat shows are a great way to catch up on all the latest gear, whether you’re looking for a new vessel, the latest electronics or the best boating and fishing accessories.

As usual, Jeppesen Marine will be out in force at some of North America’s biggest boat shows. Starting this fall and running through spring 2010, we’ll be busy showing our wares and meeting with boaters like you to help with your electronic navigation needs.

We have some big news to share with navigators across North America and around the world. The 2009 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show will be the North American public premiere of Jeppesen Marine’s revolutionary C-MAP 4D cartography.

This advanced C-MAP cartography will change the way boaters see the world.
C-MAP 4D will be available as soon as chart plotter manufacturers are able to implement it onto their units. Visitors to the show can experience the 4th Dimension at kiosks in the Jeppesen Marine booth, which is located in the marine electronics tent, booth M21.

If you can’t catch us in Fort Lauderdale, we’ll be showing C-MAP 4D at other key boat shows, along with the entire line of Jeppesen Marine electronic charting products and accessories. Stop by and visit us. We’ll be happy to teach you about this exciting new charting technology, discuss the easiest way to update your charts (Club Jeppesen Marine) and help you with any electronic navigation questions you may have. Find us at the following shows:

Better Freshwater Fishing with Electronic Charts

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Most serious ocean fishermen wouldn’t dream of heading offshore without their high-tech marine electronics, especially their electronic chart plotter and digital cartography. Why?   Because they count on their marine chartplotter and electronic charts for a wealth of information that helps them find and catch more fish.

In growing numbers, freshwater anglers are also “tuning in and turning on,” spurred by increasing availability of smaller sized, affordable electronic chart plotters and fishing charts for popular freshwater lakes and rivers. For about the cost of a high-performance stainless prop, freshwater anglers can install a GPS/chart plotter and add satellite boating navigation and detailed waterway maps to their arsenal of weapons.

Today’s best marine GPS receivers can pinpoint your position to within three meters anywhere in the world, allowing you to navigate with accuracy and – most importantly – return to “fishy” areas.   And with the proliferation of inexpensive, hand-held GPS units that can fit in a tackle box, many fishermen are “steering by the numbers” to do just this.

Using an electronic chart plotter, however, adds a whole new dimension.    Electronic chart plotters add marine map technology capable of showing your boat’s position and movement over a digitized map of the lake or river’s bottom. Depending on the level of detail, this digital cartography can include submerged creek channels, drop-offs, points, brush piles, sunken islands and other structure items that are critical to fishermen.

With a little imagination, it’s easy to see how a real-time representation like this can help the freshwater anglers.   By really knowing the layout of the lake and where your boat is positioned in relation to key structure, you can spend more time fishing where the fish are. And by correlating what you see on the electronic chart plotter with information from your depth-sounder, you won’t have to wonder what’s under your boat. In fishing, knowledge is confidence. And confident anglers catch more fish.

Of course, an electronic chart plotter can only provide as much detail as is contained on the digital cartography it is running.   Companies like C-MAP have come a long way in the development of extremely detailed electronic charts for the nation’s most popular freshwater fishing areas.   The company’s MAX Lakes catalog of specialized freshwater fishing charts was developed with one purpose in mind — to help freshwater anglers catch more fish. Today, C-Map MAX Lakes fishing charts are available covering thousands of popular lakes and waterways in every U.S. state.

There are many ways savvy fishermen use this electronic chart data to their advantage. For example, walleye anglers can use their electronic chart plotters to focus and fine-tune their trolling presentations. Successful walleye trolling is based on precise boat positioning, boat speed and bait presentation, and a plotter gives you an extra high-tech tool.   If the fish are hanging along an edge or suspended over an underwater riverbed, you can position your boat precisely, track your progress on the map and make adjustments for wind and current.

Say you’re a bass fishermen, and you’re working a steep drop off a submerged point with a pig-and-jig or live bait. Same idea – you can monitor your boat’s progress in relation to the shoreline and the bottom, and make small adjustments as necessary.   And with the accuracy of today’s marine electronic GPS, you can keep working productive water by marking where you hookup and returning to this area through subsequent drifts.

These are just a few of the ways an electronic chart plotter and specialized fishing charts can make a wizard out of any freshwater fisherman.   Whether the name of your game is largemouth, walleye, trout, crappie or stripers, C-Map charts will help you catch more fish.    Visit your boat dealer or electronics store and get turned on to the world of electronic charts.

Electronic Charting to become mandatory for most Ocean-Going Ships

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

The Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has voted to establish new international regulations that will eventually require most cargo and passenger ships to be equipped with an approved Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).

The new regulations are embodied in amendments to the international Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Treaty and will enter into force January 1, 2011. ECDIS will be mandatory on any new ship whose keel is laid after that date, and the carriage requirement will be extended to cover existing ships on a phased schedule over the next seven years, starting with passenger ships, tankers and very large cargo ships. By 2018, all passenger ships over 500 gross tons (gt), all tankers over 3,000 gt and all other cargo ships over 10,000 gt will be fitted with ECDIS.

ECDIS products have been on the market for quite some time and are currently in use on hundreds of ships, often interfaced with radars and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) for a composite picture that shows radar targets and ID information superimposed on the electronic chart display. Some advanced fleets have gone so far as to eliminate the use of paper charts altogether, shifting to ECDIS for route planning, navigation and piloting (this is permitted under current IMO regulations only if the ship is equipped with two independent approved ECDIS systems for built-in redundancy).

The performance standards and technical specifications for ECDIS are lengthy and detailed. All ECDIS products will have to be type-approved by an organization recognized by the IMO as a certification body (e.g., the U.S. Coast Guard).

Now that the IMO carriage requirements, standards and deadlines have been established, marine electronic manufacturers are making plans to bring new products to market in time to meet the mandatory dates. At the same time, international hydrographic offices are rushing to complete their database of Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) coverage over the world’s major shipping routes and ports. Meanwhile, the shipping industry is coming to grips with the need to establish formal training requirements, standards and courses for seafarers to operate these increasingly complex pieces of computerized equipment.

If you’d like to know more, you can download a brief guide to the IMO ECDIS regulations here: (IMO ECDIS regulations).

Never tell a lie

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

In the Navy, we had an expression “gundeck,” which referred to falsifying logbooks and records after the fact. We used it as a verb – as in “to gundeck.”

As Quartermaster of the Watch, I had to maintain a number of different logbooks and records, in addition to maintaining the navigation plot on the chart. The Quartermaster’s Log contained a minute-by-minute record of everything that happened on the ship, including every change in course or speed. I also had to keep a magnetic log comparing the gyro-compass and magnetic compass at least every 30 minutes and after every course change, and detailed weather observations every hour. Sometimes, especially during high-tempo operations (for instance, when at General Quarters), I might fail to record log entries immediately as required. At the end of my watch, before being relieved, I might “gundeck the log” by adding entries after the fact. This was of course against regulations, but probably relatively benign in most cases. There’s a big difference, however, between gundecking and deliberately falsifying the ship’s records after an incident to escape culpability.

Here’s a case in point, as reported in Safety at Sea International (www.safetyatsea.net).

The MS Atlantic Eagle, a 74,086 dead-weight ton bulk carrier loaded with wheat, struck Maude Reef off Western Australia in July 2008, seriously damaging its hull, rudder and steering gear. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators determined that for more than 40 minutes prior to the grounding the ship’s position was not charted by the bridge team. The investigators said the second mate “… had little appreciation of where the ship was or would be with respect to navigational dangers ahead.”

Now the mischief begins. The ATSB found that entries in the ship’s bridge log book had been made in pencil and included erasures, while the official deck log was completed in pen by the master at a later time. Positions on the chart were falsified. “Log books and records were then completed in a manner aimed at ensuring consistency with the chart rather than being accurate, factual and indisputable as required,” said the report.

In the future, it will be a lot harder for a watch officer to gundeck or falsify logs, as manual record-keeping is replaced by electronic logbooks. Most merchant ships today are required to carry a Voyage Data Recorder (VDR), which is similar to an aircraft’s “black box.” The VDR interfaces with the ship’s navigation and control sensors, as well as microphones on the bridge and VHF radio, and stores this data in a hardened waterproof and fireproof capsule for later retrieval to be analyzed after an incident at sea. You can download a helpful guidebook explaining VDR technology at Sperry Marine’s website (VDR technology guidebook).

Electronic charts keep you on the right side of the line – and the law.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Electronic charts keep you on the right side of the line – and the law.

Anybody who fishes ocean waters off California is aware of the state’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) and what this law means to recreational anglers. In a very complex process, various groups have been working on ways to achieve the conservation goals of the act, which was passed to protect the state’s marine resources. What this will mean to the layman is a growing network of no-fishing and/or restricted fishing zones up and down California’s 840-mile coast.

Southern Californians are familiar with this already; Marine Protected Areas have been in place around the Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands for several years. Closures are on the way for the rest of the state, as well as an even greater network of no-fishing zones for Southern California islands and coastline areas. Battle lines are being drawn right now, with a variety of competing marine maps vying for the approval of the state Fish and Game Commission.

However these marine maps end up coming out, it will be the fisherman’s responsibility to know and obey the law. There aren’t any floating warning signs telling you where you can or can’t fish, and printed charts with GPS boundaries of closed areas aren’t much use either.

Without a doubt, an electronic chart plotter with updated digital cartography is the best way for anglers to remain inside the law — and outside closed areas. A marine chartplotter will allow boaters to graphically see their GPS position relative to specific closed areas (most electronic GPS units allow users to customize the electronic chart display to mark general boundaries on the marine map.

Since the first closures were put in place around the Channel Islands several years ago, C-Map charts by Jeppesen Marine have had existing no-fishing zones clearly marked in red. This means that boaters can fish with confidence that they won’t accidentally cross into areas that could cost them a hefty fine. By using the electronic chart plotter’s proximity alarm feature, they can be alerted if they get too close, even if they are off the bridge and busy fishing in the cockpit.

Another advantage C-Map charts offer is the confidence to fish in close proximity to these closed areas, while remaining legally outside. These areas were selected because they are productive fish habitat — and anglers without this electronic edge are often too concerned to take their boats anywhere near them. I’ve experienced this first hand, catching quality bottom fish in an area adjacent to (but safely outside) the Carrington Reef closure area at Santa Rosa Island while other boats chose to steer clear of the whole area.

Closures like these will begin expanding up and down the state in 2010. Additional Marine Protected Areas totaling as much as 400 square miles are in the works for the Southern California region alone, depending on which marine map gets approved. Other coastal states, as well as the federal government, are also looking at similar networks of protected areas and fishing closures to manage marine resources. Don’t think this trend only applies to the Golden State.

Like it or not, more closed and restricted areas are in our future. Having a marine electronic GPS and quality electronic cartography will become increasingly important as the wide-open ocean becomes less open to anglers. This is why I’m glad that Jeppesen Marine updates its navigational charts and fishing charts at least twice each year. As a law-abiding boater and fisherman, I want to be sure I’m navigating with the most accurate electronic chart data available.

Melting ice caps open up shipping routes

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Richard Allen

By Kim Murphy
Los Angeles Times

Traffic is up, isolation down in Nome, Alaska

Most days in Nome, you are not likely to run into anybody you did not see at the Breakers Bar on Friday night. More than 500 roadless miles from Anchorage, rugged tundra and frigid Bering Sea waters have a way of discouraging visitors.

So it was a big deal when the World - a 644'long residential cruise ship with condos costing several million dollars apiece - dropped anchor during the summer for a two-day look-see.

“We never had a ship anywhere near this size before,’’ Chamber of Commerce director Mitch Erickson said. “My guess is they’ve probably been everywhere else in the world, and now they’re going to the places most people haven’t seen yet.’’

That’s about to change.

The record shrinking of the polar ice cap is turning the forbidding waters at the top of the world into important new shipping routes.

Four other cruise ships also docked in Nome recently. The Coast Guard deployed its first small Arctic patrol vessels last year. Fleets of scientific research vessels steamed north all summer, while ships surveying the vast oil and gas deposits under the Arctic seabed have talked of using Nome as a base.

In fact, this town of 9,300 on the edge of the Bering Strait sees itself as the gateway to a newly accessible maritime frontier. Nome’s ship traffic is eight times what it was in 1990, and the town recently spent close to $90 million renovating its port to accommodate bigger ships.

To the north, Kotzebue would like to build its own deep-water port a few miles outside town. And Barrow, a remote Eskimo whaling village that sits at the very top of the continent, has had cruise ships full of German tourists and Coast Guard patrol boats docking near its rudimentary landing facility the past few summers.

“We can no longer assume,’’ Governor Sean Parnell said at a congressional hearing, “that the Arctic is an impenetrable barrier.’’

The coming shipping boom has intensified concerns about how to regulate maritime operations and protect one of the most fragile and least-understood environments on earth.

Binding international rules on what kind of vessels can operate in the Arctic do not exist. Nor do uniform regulations for routine waste discharges from ships, or reliable protocols for cleaning spills in extreme ice conditions.

Detailed terrain maps that meet international standards exist for only about 9 percent of the Arctic floor, and there are no reliable high-frequency communications systems.

The Coast Guard has just two operable ice breakers in its fleet, and its closest refueling station is 1,000 miles to the southeast in Kodiak, eight hours away by rescue helicopter should a cruise ship founder on an iceberg.

More than 6,000 ships now ply the Arctic waters, according to one of the first comprehensive studies of shipping in the region, completed by the international Arctic Council in April.

The fabled Northwest Passage - linking the Atlantic and Pacific across northern Canada - saw a period of ice-free navigation in 2007 and 2008. Climate forecasts predict there could be 120 or more largely ice-free transit days each year by the end of the century. And last year’s record-breaking ice melt for the first time opened the Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage, above Russia, for several weeks.

The Arctic Council found that growing worldwide demand for minerals hidden in the Arctic is playing an even bigger role than climate change in the opening of new shipping routes in the far north.

Red Dog - the largest zinc mine in the world, about 90 miles northwest of Kotzebue - operates the only major US marine cargo port in the Arctic. Some of the largest ships in the world pull up off the mine’s barren stretch of frigid coastline, bound for markets all over the world.

Operators said they have no plans to expand operations or reroute their Europe-bound vessels through the Northwest Passage as part of their current operations. They currently travel south through the Panama Canal.

Jeppesen Marine striper showdown nets some big Cape Cod stripers.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Successful Tournament “Brings ‘Em Back Alive” for Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT

Mashpee, MASS., September 25, 2009 — The Jeppesen Marine Striper Showdown September 19th saw some impressive catches weighed in at the host Osterville Anglers Club, including the winning 37.30-pound striper weighed in by Captain Bryan Pieros from Team Michael’s Bait & Tackle.

The top fish, reeled in off Block Island aboard Pieros’ 27 Contender, was big enough to win both the tournament and the 1st Place Calcutta in this American Striper Association (ASA) sanctioned event. Captain Greg Nunn of Team Hapi Daze rolled in with his 32-foot Fountain and weighed in a very respectable 29.30-pound striped bass that was good enough for 2nd Place in the tournament. Captain Bob Fitzgerald of Team Comstock Regulator placed 3rd with a 26.95-pound striper, fishing aboard his 26-foot Regulator. Captain Ken Zwirko of Team Bunker Down used his 21-foot Contender to catch and weigh in a 24.75-pound striped bass, which was good enough to land 4th Place in the tournament.

What made this event special — a side from the nice weather, good overall fishing and jumbo stripers weighed in — is that the four largest fish were brought back alive and donated to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut. The collection of these large adult stripers played an important role in the facility’s ongoing program of live exhibits and other interactive efforts to educate people about the marine life and unique environment of Long Island Sound (striped bass are a prevalent species there, as well). The fish were kept alive at sea and cared for by Jack Schneider, Curator of Animals/Director of Education for the Maritime Aquarium.

Schneider was on site with a specially equipped truck to transport the four stripers from the Osterville Anglers Club on Cape Cod to the their new home in Connecticut. Schneider reported later that the fish had survived the journey, were actively feeding and were adjusting well to their new surroundings in the Maritime Aquarium exhibit.

“We were honored to sponsor this event and to host all the activities at the beautiful waterfront facilities of the Osterville Anglers Club,” said Jeppesen Marine Business Development Manager Ken Cirillo — an avid local striper angler himself. “Fall is a great time to fish the waters off Cape Cod, as evidenced by the large winning fish brought to the scales. The fact that we were able to help the Maritime Aquarium with its striped bass collection efforts made this tournament all the more rewarding. I hope to get down there to visit them sometime soon,” added Cirillo.

For more information about Jeppesen Marine’s electronic charts for cruising, sailing and fishing, visit www.jeppesen/lightmarine. To learn more about the Maritime Aquarium, visit www.maritimeaquarium.org.

About Jeppesen Marine

Jeppesen Marine is a market-leading provider of vessel operations services and digital navigation solutions, based on worldwide vector chart data type approved to ISO19879, meteorological information and transmission technologies. Jeppesen Marine offers a wide range of navigation and operations products and services to both light and commercial marine markets. Safety-conscious boaters and operators, that range from inland and coastal towboats to SOLAS class vessels, rely on Jeppesen Marine, which is chartered with the same underlying values that launched Jeppesen in 1934 – improving safety and efficiency through innovative navigation solutions.

For 75 years, Jeppesen has made it possible for pilots and their passengers to safely and efficiently reach their destinations. Today this pioneering spirit continues as Jeppesen delivers essential information and optimization solutions to improve the efficiency of air, sea and rail operations around the globe. Jeppesen is a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, a unit of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Jeppesen corporate information is available online at jeppesen.com.

USA. Jeppesen Marine provides electronic navigation cartography for Around Americas expedition

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

The sailing vessel Ocean Watch, which just left New York City and is making its way to Charleston, S.C. as part of its mission to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, is relying on C-MAP MAX Pro cartography from Jeppesen Marine for safe navigation.

The Around the Americas expedition has just completed the first leg of its historic voyage – a west-to-east transit of the Northwest Passage above Alaska and Canada – and is currently sailing down the U.S. East Coast. Their route will take them down the Atlantic Coast of North and South America, around Cape Horn, then back up the Pacific Coast of both continents to its starting point in Seattle, Wash.

“The performance of the C-MAP by Jeppesen cartography on Nobeltec’s Admiral software has been impressive,” said Mark Schrader, captain of Ocean Watch and Around the Americas expedition leader. “The Northwest Passage transit was a difficult and often nerve-wracking navigation challenge. We were constantly having to recalculate routes and passage plans to deal with dynamic sea ice conditions. The highly accurate electronic charts were critical tools in our successful transit.”

“We chose Jeppesen Marine as one of our key partners because of their worldwide coverage, highly accurate and trustworthy electronic charts and feature-rich functionality of their cartography package,” added Schrader.

“We are pleased to acknowledge Ocean Watch on the successful completion of this important milestone,” said Michelle Buckalew, senior marketing manager, Jeppesen Marine. “Their safe transit of these difficult and remote waterways is a strong testimony to the skills and perseverance of the captain and crew.” VIEW ENTIRE ARTICLE

The View From The Bridge

Friday, October 9, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

I have been to sea on ships and boats of all sizes. My first tour was on a large naval tanker nearly a football field in length. Our bridge wings were about 50 feet above the waterline (when we were carrying a full load of oil). I have also been craftmaster of a 100-ft. patrol craft and a 65-ft. fast combat patrol boat. And I have sailed as navigator on an ocean-going sailboat.

I am telling you this because I think this breadth of seagoing experience gives me a certain perspective on what happens when big ships and small boats end up sharing the same waterways.

Everyone knows (at least I hope so) that the rules of the nautical road govern the required actions of vessels relative to each other in different scenarios. But you won’t find in any of the published rulebooks the one that I call the “Law of Gross Tonnage.” In a nutshell, it says that if you are operating a smaller and more maneuverable boat in the presence of large heavy ships, it makes sense to stay out of their way.

I have seen countless incidents in which small powerboats and sailboats cruise blithely across the bow of an approaching merchantman, no doubt confident in their “right of way” as the stand-on vessel under the rules of the road. I have sometimes wished I could energize a transporter device that would beam these poor ignorant souls up to the bridge of the approaching ship, so they could see the situation through the eyes of the ship’s watchkeeper.

I can tell you that the view from the bridge, which is usually placed at the aft end of most modern ships, is severely limited when it comes to small targets on the surface of the water forward of the ship’s heading. And small fiberglass boats make poor radar targets, even when they’re equipped (as every small boat should be) with a radar reflector in the rigging. There’s a visual and radar blind zone under the bow.

What this means is that if you’re driving a small boat, you cannot safely assume that the watch officer on the bridge of that containership can see you at all, much less intuit your intentions. In a crowded waterway, it’s impractical for the ship to exchange VHF calls with every boat surrounding it.

You should also remember that a fully loaded cargo ship traveling even at a moderate speed of 10 knots or less cannot stop on a dime. Even with its engines fully reversed it may take hundreds of yards to come to a full stop. And don’t forget that the shiphandler may be maneuvering to avoid other shipping traffic or to stay in deep water.

If this subject interests you, I suggest you visit the Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) website at www.chirp.co.uk. The aim of CHIRP is to contribute to the enhancement of maritime safety in the UK, by providing a totally independent confidential (not anonymous) reporting system for all individuals employed in or associated with all types of marine craft. CHIRP’s quarterly newsletters are filled with frank reports and commentary on collisions, near-collisions, accidents and other incidents at sea. Many of them involve the interaction of small pleasure craft with large cargo ships.

Boating Navigation and Safety

Friday, October 9, 2009 by Richard Allen

Skillfully navigating the waterways is not only rewarding, but essential to boating safety. Learn how to navigate the waterways using a marine GPS, compass, RADAR, and nautical charts, and boost your boating confidence by knowing the Coast Guard Navigation Rules.

• Navigation Center - US Coast Guard
• Boating Safety Resource Center - US Coast Guard

San Francisco Harbor Pilot Gets Prison time for Navigation Errors.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

John Cota, the San Francisco harbor pilot, who was navigating the cargo ship Cosco Busan when it struck the Bay Bridge in a thick morning fog on November 7, 2007, has been sentenced to a 10-month prison term. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston imposed the maximum term proposed in the plea agreement reached with Cota in March. He agreed to plead guilty to two offenses: negligently causing discharge of a harmful quantity of oil in violation of the Clean Water Act passed by Congress in the wake of the Exxon Valdez grounding in 1989, and also of causing the death of a protected species of migratory birds.

You may remember the Cosco Busan incident, which got a great deal of play in the press. The 901-foot ship, registered in Hong Kong, struck one of the bridge towers, spilling some 53,000 gallons of diesel fuel, which spread along 26 miles of shoreline and killed approximately 2,400 sea birds. The ship was making its way out of San Francisco harbor in a pea-soup fog, which was so thick they couldn’t even see the bow of the ship from the bridge. In fact, six other ships had decided to stay in port that morning, waiting for the fog to lift. After the collision, the pilot insisted that it was caused by malfunctioning radars, which forced him to rely solely on the GPS positions as shown on the electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS). He claimed that he confused the electronic chart symbols, causing him to mistake the bridge tower for the center of the channel under the bridge. A replay of the ship’s recorded radar pictures after the event showed that both radars were functioning normally. Coast Guard watchstanders at a nearby vessel tracking station apparently observed the ship as being off course but failed to radio a warning that it was in immediate danger.

The National Transportation Safety Board report, issued in February, revealed a number of contributory factors, but concluded that the primary blame rested on the shoulders of the 61-year old Cota, an experienced pilot who had been navigating ships through San Francisco Bay since 1981. Prosecutors at the sentencing hearing pointed to the fact that Cota had failed to disclose medical conditions and prescription drugs on his required annual forms submitted to the Coast Guard for his license renewal.

It’s a shame. By all accounts, Captain Cota was a veteran pilot with more than 25 years experience and seemed to be good at his job. The Cosco Busan incident destroyed his career and sent him to prison. I have talked to other harbor pilots, who are friends of mine, and they believe he was unfairly victimized. They point, for instance, to the inherent difficulty of communication between an English-speaking pilot and Chinese-speaking master. The master and crew were new on the ship, and were not thoroughly familiar with the bridge equipment. The Chinese master, they say, had the ultimate authority and responsibility for the safe navigation of his ship. He was the one who decided to get underway in spite of the heavy fog, probably (my pilot friends tell me) under pressure from the ship management company to keep to schedule.

There’s no doubt he made a series of errors, and I am sure he deserved his sentence – if for no other reason than that he lied on his license renewal forms. Still, I can easily envision myself on the bridge of a large merchant ship, unable to see my familiar visual piloting aids in the dense fog, surrounded by officers who don’t understand my language, struggling with radar and ECDIS screens that don’t seem to make sense to me and feeling awfully, awfully lonely and exposed. The sea, alas, is an unforgiving master. So are federal courts, especially when it comes to spoiled.

Mako My Day — Experiencing Southern California's Trophy Shark Fishery.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

For several years now, Capt. Steve Quinlan has been successfully targeting trophy mako sharks in Southern California waters aboard his 29-foot Pro Line Super Sport Strike Zone. A shark tournament veteran, Quinlan has caught seven makos over 700 pounds and three over 800 pounds, including an 1,175-pounder that stands as the largest fish ever caught on rod and reel in California waters. Quinlan recently retired from the tournament scene to focus on running catch-and-release trophy shark charters (www.trophyfishcharters.com).

I’ve written about Quinlan’s unique sight-fishing shark techniques previously in the pages of Pacific Coast Sportfishing and Salt Water Sportsman magazines, but until recently never had the chance to experience the excitement first hand. I took that chance on August 28, when I set out with the goal of getting some good action photos while getting my 15-year-old son Greg his first trophy mako shark.

My earlier articles detailed just how important navigation electronics are to Quinlan (he’s sponsored by Jeppesen Marine and Simrad). On our trip, we ran about 20 miles out of Marina Del Rey Harbor to an offshore high spot known as the 270. Using his Simrad CX44 chart plotter and bathymetric C-MAP Fishing Contour Charts, we ran to an area several miles upwind of the 270. We “power chummed” (idling forward while dragging a chum bucket) back towards the 270 for a couple of miles, then set up to precisely drift back over the high spot. When we added a stream of fresh chum using Quinlan’s homemade “chum churn,” we soon had a nice slick behind the boat that eventually reached 8 miles in length.

Over the next several hours, nothing but two large blue sharks came into the slick. This is why Quinlan never puts a line in the water until he sees the fish he wants. You don’t want to be goofing around with a blue shark when a fired up mako charges the boat. Finally, around 3:30 in the afternoon, a fat male mako came to the back of the boat, aggressively attacking a nearby blue shark. My son baited up the mako with a light stand-up outfit, and the game was on.

Quinlan had often told me that sharks have individual personalities, and that sometimes a particular mako will seem to be demon possessed. Long story short, this was one of those sharks. It put us through the ringer for more than two hours, refusing to come to the surface where we could handle it. Still, by using the stout rod and stand-up harness, my son did a great job wearing the fish down. The fish gave his all during the fight and because of its exhausted condition, we decided to take it (mako is an excellent eating fish on par with swordfish). While not a giant by Southern California standards, my son’s first mako was a very respectable fish of 200+ pounds.

I was able to get some great photography “in the can” for a future magazine article and my son put an exclamation point on a great summer. I know there are much bigger makos prowling the coastline of Southern California. I’m looking forward to hitting the water again soon with Captain Quinlan in search of a monster, and reporting back to you with the results.

Time To Go Fishing

Friday, September 4, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Over the last two decades, one company has been at the forefront of enhancing safety at sea around the world. Over one million navigators have used C-MAP electronic charts by Jeppesen. Jeppesen's electronic charts have helped make the sea safer and fishing more enjoyable.

How do they do it? Their C-MAP charts offer the best navigational details while ensuring compatibility with most brands of electronic chart plotters and PC-based navigation systems.

Now MAX brings navigational charts to life. Surpassing the success of previous

C-MAP NT+ electronic charts (voted Best Electronic Charts 6 consecutive years), C-MAP MAX’s Flashing Nav Aid feature lets you see navigation aids on your screen exactly as you see them through your pilothouse window.

So what are you waiting for? Get equipped with Jeppesen's Electronic charts and go fishing.

Fishing For $5000

Friday, September 4, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Here’s an event for avid striper fishermen. Top anglers from across the country will be heading to Mashpee, MA September 19, 2009 to compete in this high-profile fishing competition - the Jeppesen Marine Cape Cod Striper Showdown. This American Striper Association (ASA) sanctioned event awards $5000 to the first place winner ($2500 if not a member of ASA) and the top 5 winners are assured of a cash prize.

This competition is sponsored by Jeppesen Marine, a market-leading provider of navigation solutions, including C-MAP electronic navigational charts, C-Marina charts, bathymetric Fishing Contour Charts and marine GPS navigational software. For more details about the Marine Cape Cod Striper Showdown, visit ASA's website at www.fishasa.co

Updated Charts Help You Steer Clear of Trouble in Many Forms

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Most navigators are aware of many of the reasons why it’s good to keep your electronic charts up-to-date. Having the most current information on Nav Aid placement, shoals and underwater obstacles are obvious examples of how up-to-date charts can help keep you and your boat out of trouble and off the rocks.

There are other ways boaters can get in trouble, however, and they can be even more costly than running aground. For a variety of reasons ranging from national security and public safety to endangered marine wildlife, our waters are governed by a growing network of exclusion or security zones. These are areas where recreational and commercial vessels may be under speed or operational restrictions, may not be able to travel at all, or may be restricted from anchoring or even fishing.

There are a couple of important points for boaters to remember: These zones are being changed, moved, and added all the time around our country. And unlike on land, there are rarely posted speed limit or “No Trespassing” signs on the open water to alert boaters to these restrictions. The fines and penalties for breaking these rules can be costly — from hundreds or even thousands of dollars per incident — and can even include prison time.

For example, a recent bulletin issued by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami outlines Cruise Ship Security Zones in effect whenever two or more cruise ships are docked at the Port of Miami. No vessel, recreational boat or personal watercraft is permitted to transit through or anchor in this zone without express permission from the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP). This document also outlines a nearby Manatee Zone designated to protect these slow-moving marine mammals, limiting transiting vessels to Idle Speed/No Wake travel in this area of the Intracoastal Waterway. The maximum civil penalty for violation of a security zone is up to $32,500 per violation. The maximum criminal penalty for knowing and willful violations of a security zone like this is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Coast Guard takes this quite seriously, as evidenced by the fact that it recently raised first-time recreational operator fines for security zone violators in Prince William Sound (Alaska) from $250 to $1,000 ($2,000 for commercial operators). Repeat violators receive immediate fines of $5,000 to $10,000.

The California coast currently has a network of Marine Protected Areas that restrict or prohibit fishing — and more are on the way in accordance with the state’s Marine Life Protection Act. Cast your line where you’re not supposed to and you might catch more than you bargained for — like potentially hefty fines from the Department of Fish and Game.

These are just a few examples of how a small boating mistake could cost you big. Of course, one of the best things sailors, power boaters and anglers can do to avoid trouble like this is to update their electronic charts at least once per season. Jeppesen Marine is constantly monitoring not only Notice-to-Mariner notifications, but also new exclusion zones, security zones and fishing regulations. It’s an ongoing effort to integrate these important changes into our electronic chart database. Seeing these boundary lines and the precise GPS position of your vessel gives you the information you need to steer clear of potential trouble. Jeppesen Marine is the only electronic chart provider that issues updated versions twice per year — in the Spring and Fall — to help navigators stay on the right side of the channel AND the right side of the law.

With Club Jeppesen Marine, boaters automatically receive the updated chart of their choosing, when and where they want it. It’s easy, affordable (less than the cost of purchasing an update), and automatic — plus Club members receive a boatload of additional benefits and discounts. To learn more about the Club and electronic chart updating, visit www.jeppesen.com/lightmarine.

Miami Area Security Measures

http://www.uscg.mil/d7/sectMiami/pdf/MIAMISecurityZoneFlyer.pdf

Valdez, Alaska
Coast Guard Imposed $1,000 fines for Boaters in Port Valdez

For more information on safety zones and regulations check out the United States Coast Guard

Raymarine Partners with Ranger Boats

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Richard Allen

Electronics Leader Offers Systems for Premium Saltwater Boats

MERRIMACK, N.H., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Raymarine, Inc., a world leader in marine electronics, today announced a new opportunity with Ranger Boats, the nation's largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats. Raymarine electronics are now available as a factory-installed option on Ranger's Bay Ranger line of saltwater boats.

Raymarine is offering two different Flats Class electronics packages on select Bay Ranger boats, targeted at either inshore or offshore fishing enthusiasts. The optional Flats Class packages consist of either Raymarine's new C90 Widescreen Multifunction Display or the new A50D GPS-Chartplotter/Fishfinder combination unit. Both packages offer Raymarine's award-winning HD Digital fishfinding technology as well as the SIRIUS Marine Weather Service. The Flats Class electronic packages are named for the popular saltwater fishing television show of the same name hosted by Ray Van Horn and Captain C.A. Richardson, who fish exclusively on Ranger Boats with Raymarine electronics.

"We're pleased that Raymarine has chosen our legendary Bay Ranger models to platform and share this optional electronics package," said Ranger Boats President, Randy Hopper. "The spacious Bay Ranger console design works well with these units to give our family of owners even more opportunity to custom build the saltwater rig of their dreams."

Raymarine Flats Class packages are available on Bay Ranger 2000, 2200, 2310, 2400 and 2410 models.

About Ranger Boats

Ranger Boats, headquartered in Flippin, Ark., is the nation's largest manufacturer of premium fiberglass fishing boats, including a series of bass, multi-species, fish 'n play and saltwater boats. Founded in 1968 by Forrest L. Wood, Ranger Boats continues its commitment to building the highest quality, strongest performing boats on the water.

About Raymarine

Raymarine, a world leader in marine electronics, develops and manufactures the most comprehensive range of electronic equipment for the recreational boating and light commercial marine markets. Designed for high performance and ease of use, the award-winning products are available through a global network of dealers and distributors. The Raymarine product lines include radar, navigation aids, instruments, fishfinders, communications, software and systems. Raymarine plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information about Raymarine in the USA call 1-603-881-5200 or visit www.raymarine.com.

San Francisco Harbor Pilot Get Prison Time for Navigation Errors

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

You can read the press release on Cota’s sentencing at HYPERLINK "http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/July/09-enrd-689" www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/July/09-enrd-689.

Navigation Award Goes to U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman

Thursday, August 13, 2009 by Jim Rhodes

Congratulations to U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman First Class Kyle Szatkowski, who was recently honored as the Elmer A. Sperry Junior Navigator of the Year. The award was established by Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation, to honor the midshipman who demonstrated outstanding navigation skills and knowledge during the four years of professional development at the Academy. The award honors the company’s founder, Elmer A. Sperry, who invented the first marine gyrocompass in 1913.

Midshipman Szlatkowski was a top student in the seamanship and navigation curricula over the past four years, demonstrating superior performance in the classroom and laboratory, as well as underway in the Academy’s yard patrol craft. He received a Weems and Plath brass gimbal clock in a wooden case with his name inscribed on a brass plate. Those of you who may have read my recent blog on nautical timekeeping (insert link) will recognize the symbolic importance of this award.

Sperry Marine has a longstanding relationship with the navigation training programs at Annapolis. Since 2001, the company has made in-kind donations more than $9 million of navigation software, services and training to the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation. With these donations, Academy students have access to the latest state-of-the-art navigation technology in preparation for their naval careers when joining the fleet.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that Sperry Marine is one of my PR clients, and I helped to write the press release on this occasion.

http://www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com/CustomPages/News/news-and-press-releases_details.aspx?id=252

http://www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com/CustomPages/News/news-and-press-releases_details.aspx?id=252

Nonetheless, it is very gratifying for an old salt like me to play a part in honoring one of the new generation of up-and-coming navigators, and I wish him “fair winds and following seas” as he goes from the classroom to the fleet.

Rules of the Road Summarized

Friday, July 17, 2009 by Richard Allen

By Chief Warrant Officer Jim Krzenski 
Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce

Collisions between boats are one of the most dangerous and frequently occurring mishaps on our nations waters. In 1996, 5174 boat collisions occurred nationwide. These collisions not only resulted in vessel damage but often resulted in serious personal injury or death. Often the collision will result in people on board being thrown overboard by the force of the impact.

Avoiding collisions on the water differs in many ways from avoiding collisions while driving in your car. The one contributing factor which is similar between boats as compared to automobiles is SPEED. It has been statistically proven that the number of collisions between vehicles, be they of the marine or roadway type, are reduced as speed is reduced.

Although the newer high powered boats can reach speeds comparable to those of an automobile, there are no seat belts or brakes on most boats. Boats can either alter course or reverse their engines. Similar to the rules of the road used to prevent collisions on our nations highways, there are navigation rules which are used to prevent collisions on our nation’s and the world’s waterways.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Navigation Rules (International-Inland) publication can be ordered by calling the U.S. Government Printing office at (202) 783-3238. (You can also view them here) The 36 rules and five annexes contained within this publication are specifically designed to help you prevent vessel collisions. All mariners are required to know and responsibly apply these navigation rules when operating their vessels. Some of the most important rules contained within this publication are summarized below.

Rule - 2, Responsibility, requires that due regard shall he given to all dangers of navigation and collision. This rule allows the mariner to depart from the rules as necessary to avoid the immediate danger of collision. This rule is often applied when the risk of collision between three or more vessels may occur. It is the mariner’s responsibility to take the necessary actions to avoid a collision.

Rule - 4 requires that every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout using sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the possible risk of collision.
View all details