PASSAGE PLANNING: Paper or electronic?
It’s blowing a good 30 knots and we are in a maze of rocks and small islands in a 60ft yacht moving at speed. It’s a cold grey sky, the sea state is short and while the crew are calmly calling out the next rock or obstacle ahead, there is a palpable edge in the air. We are all aware that we need to get this right or we could soon be just another symbol on a chart.
We are sailing deep in the Bohuslan archipelago off Sweden’s west coast. Stunningly beautiful but like skiing at speed through trees, thousands of miniature islands form a maze of channels, some passable, some not. Small stone cairns and painted towers mark the way, but can be hard to see until the last minute. Add in multiple rocks above and below water and this is very challenging navigation.
We have arrived at a particularly tight spot just as the weather has worsened and our navigation has to be spot on. Things are getting gnarly and all we can see up ahead is white water and crashing seas as the waves are now burying the famously small Scandinavian navigational marks.
It’s time to bug out, rapidly, but with no obvious clear water, which way to turn? Good navigation is primarily about preparation and that
