Before the advancement of navigational technology, mariners would have used or created nautical charts to enable them to plot their course and know exactly where they were in relation to hazards and land, or to simply see how they were progressing along their voyage.
The Clipper Race fleet is no different in that they carry a multitude of nautical paper charts on their journey around the globe.
These charts are all updated with regular Notices to Mariners which are published and downloaded and provide the backup to the electronic navigation aids should there be a failure of such equipment on board.
In addition to paper charts, the ocean racing yachts are required to carry a vast array of nautical publications to support pilotage in and out of harbours and landfall, as well as enable celestial navigation calculations to be made (another dying art of seafarers' past).
Clipper Race Director Mark Light says: “When you think of approximately 130 paper charts per yacht for eleven yachts, and several different official publications, it is easy to see why we rely on Bookharbour so much in preparing the Clipper Race Fleet for their circumnavigation.”
“It's never good practice to only rely on chart plotters and navigation software, that's why on board Yacht Club Punta del Este we plot our position in paper charts every four hours when we are in the middle of the Ocean, every two hours when we are offshore of the coast and every hour when we are inshore” Race Skipper Nano Antia adds.
Teams that master the skills of using routing software, weather charts, and AIS, to navigate the complex and changing conditions of the oceans, often find the most success in competitive ocean racing.
Clipper Race Director Mark Light says: “When you think of approximately 130 paper charts per yacht for eleven yachts, and several different official publications, it is easy to see why we rely on Bookharbour so much in preparing the Clipper Race Fleet for their circumnavigation.”
“It's never good practice to only rely on chart plotters and navigation software, that's why on board Yacht Club Punta del Este we plot our position in paper charts every four hours when we are in the middle of the Ocean, every two hours when we are offshore of the coast and every hour when we are inshore” Race Skipper Nano Antia adds.
Teams that master the skills of using routing software, weather charts, and AIS, to navigate the complex and changing conditions of the oceans, often find the most success in competitive ocean racing.
If your company is interested in becoming a partner or a sponsor of the Clipper Race please email the Partnerships Team to find out more:
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