7 COASTLINE TYPES

GLACIAL LANDSCAPES

FINDING SHELTER IN SHALLOW WATER IS THE HARDEST PART

Hewn from the bedrock by frozen rivers, glacial coastlines are comprised of steep-sided, clean-edged fjords and deep water. They can make for easy cruising grounds – aside from isolated hazards, what you see is what you get. In most instances the centre line of a fjord will be clean and clear of dangers: ‘Just middle it’ is a common phrase we use on board. In glacial landscapes the navigation tool of choice is usually the Mk 1 Eyeball. In part this makes sailing easier, but the echosounder will often bottom out over 150m and give erratic, often terrifying results when it picks up a scrambled message from the deep.

Easy navigation doesn’t mean easy cruising though. Finding shelter and shallow water for anchoring is often the hardest part of the passage – we have 80m of anchor chain on board and it’s regularly all out – but understanding the coastline helps.