9:42 PM Sun 25 Jan 2009 GMT
Poking around in new coves, exploring off-the-beaten-track bays and roaming through coral atolls are some of the joys of cruising. But colliding with coral is not particularly good for the paintwork, and sinking the boat or wrecking it on a reef is apt to spoil any good holiday cruise:
Here are eight handy tips to keep in mind when cruising in rocky or coral waters:
1.Be careful on the approach:
In many areas of the world, particularly remote areas, electronic charts, created long ago, have possible GPS discrepancies. Never rely on an electronic chart unless your system allows you to overlay the radar on the chart to offset any discrepancy. Once you are in close quarters, eye-balling is the only safe method.
2.Pick a Sunny Day:
Never try to negotiate coral or rocky terrain except on sunny days and when the sun is high. This can mean some tricky timing, but it's worth the effort. It usually means that you will try to plan your close quartered manoeuvring between the hours of 10.00am and 2.00pm.
3.Sun behind you:
Try to make sure that the sun is behind you. Sunlight on the water might be an attractive notion, but it's hell if you're trying to negotiate narrow channels.
4.A crew member up the mast:
Always have someone up the mast, preferably with good polaroid sunglasses, eyeballing the way and calling the direction. If you have ratlines or mast steps this is made easier. At least have someone on the bow, but in this case you are better to move more slowly.
5.Have pre-arranged hand signals:
This is pretty obvious, and not difficult, but you'd be amazed how many sailors start shouting at each other in frustration because the poorly negotiated hand signals are not sufficient to communicate. You'll need no fewer than these: Right, left, fast forward, slow forward, neutral, reverse, and stop(meaning do whatever you must to hold the GPS position constant). Two way radios are excellent for cockpit to bow/mast communications, but you should still have hand signals pre-arranged, for the day when the battery goes flat at the wrong moment.
 | What does he mean? clear hand signals are a must - .. . |
6.Picking the colours:
The crewmember calling the direction must be the one who knows what the water colours mean. Don't take anything for granted. Deep deep blue (or green) means you're in good depth. As the water gets shallower, the colour becomes correspondingly lighter. It is now that you start to be able to detect the different formations in the water. Coral is a dark yellow to brown colour, rocks are usually a much darker brown to black, and weed has the most even dark colour, with smooth edges. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between weed and rock until you are very close and the water is very shallow. Best to avoid all dark shapes if you don't know. A white sandy bottom is the one that gives that wonderful turquoise shade that is associated with tropical cruising.
7.Chart your way in electronically:
If you are fortunate enough to have an electronic charting system which will record your GPS position as you move (most will), turn the function on while you are entering the desired anchorage. This will mean that when you want to leave you merely have to follow the dots and you can leave in any conditions. This is particularly useful for overnight stays, so that you can leave early the next morning (maybe to get to the next anchorage when the sun is high) or, if the weather turns inclement, you can leave during the night.
8.Place the anchor so it can be retrieved:
Never never knowingly put your anchor into coral. Apart from the damage that you do to the living underwater world, an anchor in coral may suddenly come free if it isn't solidly caught(particularly if there is a change of wind direction), or your anchor may become entangled and refuse to budge. You then might need to scuba dive to extricate the anchor, or, worse, it may be necessary to cut the chain and abandon your expensive chain and anchor.
Following these few rules can offer you long summer days and night of wonderful and safe cruising.
by Nancy Knudsen
Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:
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Mount Wellington, TAS
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