Cruising Helmsman – June 2017

PAPER OVER THE CRACKS

Hi Phil,
During a recent delivery sail from
Southport to Sydney the inevitable
happened and a rogue wave found
its way through an open hatch and
drenched the paper chart we were
plotting our voyage on. We also had the
latest Raymarine Chartplotter complete
with radar and AIS as a back up and
several of the crew had the Navionics Ap.
I thought we were pretty well covered.
The chart needed to be replaced as I
borrowed it from a friend and wanted to
give him back his chart in the condition
I borrowed it.
I went along to a well known boating
book store and was told the chart I
needed to replace was out of date and
had been replaced by two charts for the
same area. This was not a problem and I
purchased the two replacement charts.
In passing the salesman said that
lucky I didn’t have an incident on the

voyage because I would not have been

covered by insurance as my paper

charts were out of date. I explained what

electronic back up charts I had on board

and he replied it didn’t matter. You have

to have current paper charts also.

Could you please clarify if the

salesman is correct or are electronic

charts sufficient for coastal cruising

in regard to insurance compliance.

Thanking you

GLENN HAMMOND

MANLY

Ed replies: you need to read CH more

regularly Glenn! We have had a long-

running letters discussion between

Pantaenius and readers in this regard,

including other letters on this page!

Needless to say it would indeed be most

prudent to have the relevant and up-

to-date paper charts for wherever you

intend to sail. Check with your insurance

broker or company.

11

http://www.mysailing.com.au

PAPER, SCISSORS BUT NO MORE ROCKS

Dear Phil,

I thought I had made my final comments on the

‘Paper, ruler, dividers’ issue (Letters, February), but

with the latest reaction from the “horse’s mouth” so

to speak (CH, Feb 2017), I cannot help adding some

additional final words.

John Curnow from Pantaenius Insurance this

time doesn’t mince words about it. First, if you

update your paper charts by using the Notices

to Mariners you have a navigation means that is

superior to the use of electronic charts; second,

plot your GPS-generated latitude and longitude

routinely on a paper chart and third, thereby

correctly countering Tony Colpus’ opinion in

CH, Sep 2016 where he wrote: ‘an updated paper

chart is a godsend when the power goes off ’;

paper should not just be around in the event of

loss of power!

In fact, I feel rather vindicated in presenting

my original response, in that John Curnow

obviously makes the GPS-based plot on a paper

chart a fundamental requirement. Do I even

notice an indirect reference to my original little

sketch which compared a GPS-based plot with

a DR plot, when he writes: ‘a series of plots will

also let you see about tide and improve your DR

exponentially’.

I think that in my original response I had

a more sanguine opinion on the relative

accuracy of electronic versus paper charts.

Even though we don’t move around in a

battleship either, the grounding of USS

Guardian is a case in point to prove that the

GPS-fix is accurate enough but the electronic

chart not necessarily so.

HERMAN ZEVERING