Module 16 of 17
Harbour entry, IALA buoyage (Region A), transits, leading lines, and clearing bearings.
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Pilotage is the art of navigating in confined waters — harbours, estuaries, rivers, and channels — where precise positioning is critical and there is little room for error. Unlike open-wa...
A pilotage plan is prepared before entering or leaving harbour. It should include: the approach course, waypoints, buoys to identify, transits and leading lines, clearing bearings, depth...
A transit occurs when two fixed objects are in line as seen from the vessel. When two charted objects are in transit, you know you are on that line of position. Leading lines are transits...
A clearing bearing is a compass bearing of a charted object that defines a safe boundary. For example: 'Maintain the lighthouse bearing no less than 045°T' keeps you clear of a specific d...
The IALA (International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities) system provides a standardised set of buoys and marks used worldwide. The UK and most of Europ...
Lateral marks define the edges of a navigable channel. When entering harbour (coming from seaward), the convention for Region A is: red marks (can shape, red light) are on your PORT side,...
Cardinal marks indicate where safe water lies relative to the mark, using the compass directions North, South, East, and West. The safe water is on the NAMED side: a North cardinal mark m...
Isolated Danger marks sit directly over a small hazard with navigable water around them. They are black with red horizontal band(s), top mark of two black spheres, and show a group of 2 w...
Entering harbour after dark presents unique challenges. Familiar visual references such as headlands, buildings, and unlit marks become invisible, while shore lights and background lighti...
A detailed pilotage plan should be prepared well in advance — ideally during passage planning, not during the final approach when the crew is tired and conditions may be deteriorating. Th...
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