- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
- Location
- Milan, NY 12571
You only ready for your first cruise when you have an understanding of charts, markers, navigational tools, and marine communications. Long is relative we not talking weeks or even days here. Navigating to anywhere you can see from the ramp is a start, and good first effort. First step is to get a good chart of area you plan on traveling, from point of start to the destination. Study the chats, and look for areas that can cause problems, like, doglegs or S- curves in a channel, unmarked oyster bars close to your route, or inlets that might be rough if wind and tide oppose each other. Near coastal areas, check the paper or tide charts for times of high and low tides, you need to know them if going to cross shallow areas. Use a soft pencil and make notes right on the chart, circle areas to be avoided, when done with trip you can erase the marks you made on chart. For fixed locations you may use a permanent marker, lat. and long. #'s for fishing reefs. Check your route along the way by using fixed points. If you really get serious about cruising you can preprogram waypoints into your GPS during the week before the cruise. Then, when you ready to leave the docks, you simply turn on the machine and go for it. remember alway have a back up plan.