Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2023)

ECDIS vs. Terrestrial Navigation © AdobeStock/Ignacio

ECDIS is Not a Replacement for Terrestrial

Navigation

By Captain John Ryan guess it was only a matter of time. After years of debat- every opportunity, not simply written off as some outdated ing whether or not Celestial Navigation should be taught form of navigation. it is now time to debate the relevance of Terrestrial Navi- At USMMA we incorporate the use of paper chart plotting gation. The argument is same: why do I need to know into multiple courses. In addition to our Terrestrial Navigation

I this if there is technology available to do it for me. The answer and license seminar courses we incorporate plotting exercises is also the same. If you want to be a professional mariner than in our ECDIS, RADAR, Bridge Watchstanding and Bridge your knowledge base and skill sets should far exceed that of a Recourse Management courses. Our student will also com- weekend boater that follows the direction of their chart plotter plete chart plots as part of their sea projects. This constant re- around the bay. inforcement goes a long way in building that solid foundation.

In most nautical schoolhouses Terrestrial Navigation is There is no way that a single course will provide a student almost always the ? rst navigation course students receive. with the skills or experience needed to pass a license exam

The reason for this is simple. Terrestrial Navigation is the or even more importantly function as an of? cer in charge of a foundation on which we build all other navigation courses. navigation watch.

Terrestrial Navigation orients new mariners to the globe. When I ? rst started sailing with an ECDIS all I needed to

It teaches us about angles, distance, time and the relation- learn was how to operate the machine. I had years of experi- ship between them. We learn how to compute and apply set ence as a Navigator. The required tasks of ? xing my posi- and drift, compass error, gyro error, turn bearings and dead tion, laying out track lines and creating voyage plans were reckoning. It’s where we learn about chart scales and the tasks I was already quite capable of performing. Transferring different types of chart projections. These are some of the those skills from one format to another was not very dif? cult. most basic and essential building blocks required to produce Today’s mariners don’t get the opportunity to gain that ex- a skilled Navigator. As such they should be reinforced at perience. They are taught Terrestrial Navigation but much of 24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • June 2023

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