SK Newsletter
Stuck in the Meddle
by Christopher Cunningham
Planning a Trip to Alaska This Summer?
by Paul Riek
Reading Nautical Charts
A key component to trip planning and trip safety is knowledgeable use of nautical charts. The information that you’d normally find on a map legend is contained in a publication called Chart No. 1 Nautical Chart Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms. Published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coast Survey, Chart No.1 had never really been a chart. For decades it was a book that served as a guide to reading charts. No longer available in print, it is now available as a free on-line publication. It contains a description of the symbols, abbreviations and terms that appear on nautical charts produced by NOAA, NGIA, and IHO. Each chapter and/or section within a chapter is offered for viewing and downloading in PDF Adobe format. The files can be a bit slow to download, but none of the individual files is over 10 MB.
The five chapters of Chart No. 1 include: information about position, distances, directions, and compass; topographical terms and topography of nautical and cultural features, landmarks and ports; tides, currents, depths, and hydrographic terms; lights, buoys, beacons, fog signals, radar, radio, and electronic position-fixing systems.
Chart No. 1 has lots of useful information for kayakers and should be required reading for anyone with an interest in navigation.
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