Jag Jwala -Coastal Navigation Part 2-
Ref CELESTIAL NAVIGATION & TRADITIONAL POSITION FIXING ---
from the Sextant to GPS.
Coastal navigation &chartwork had its own
charm and fascination for me.
Sighting a light house- then fixing
posn by raising or dipping dist. linked to the Echo-sounder depth to reasonably
plot the land fall position after D.R. positions was an experience always tinged
with excitement and the adrenalin flowing.Some areas and experiences
are etched in our memory. I can also recall making land fall on the southern
part of India-Muttom Point Lt Ho. - after departure Colombo.
The other being
voyages to Gujarat ports and especially Ports like Okha were quite a challenge
for even Senior Ship Masters. The shoal patches
near Okha port with discolouration of sea water was quite visible from the
bridge wing and not to mention tidal range and overall weather conditions. Not
easy.
The photograph below of Dwaraka Light House on the voyages of
m.t.JAG JWALA with Petroleum ex. Butcher Island, Bombay to Kandla & Okha in
1968 and 1969 brings back so many vicvid memories. These were monotonous
voyages as theGujarat Ports in 60s' were not really developed as it is
today -no facilities at all and often very monotonous. Going ashore was just for a walk to refresh ourselves. A change of food or even perhaps sampling Gujarati snacks was
seldom seen due to distances from jetty to city --but , we somehow managed .
I must
add two obervations :
1) The tidal rise and fall at Kandla
Port and the 7 x 24 manual labour resting at / on the ships mooring lines Fore
and Aft for slackening or hauling in mooring ropes as the vessel ranged up /down
with the tide was another experience.
It was an era of
hard manual work... "all hands on deck" for all-
(Today autoamation has taken over)
2) Then the wooden floats on sea surface of harbour and
pipelines connected -resting on them at Madras main harbour --Ships did with a
Mediterranean Moor at North Quay and by floating pipeline discharged product to
storage tanks.
It would shock the pollution control officer of
today to see these primitive flexibles and the connection on wooden floats,
going all the way to the jetty as compared to the elaborate checklist (and check
on check) -(sometimes also called a tick list) used at modern terminals with
highly well planned safe pipelines to Storage tanks--in most places.
On Navigation
I don't have the Navig.Chart , as i write
this post, but I did manage to access Gujarat Ports area map, where the
navigation was most challenging at a time when electronics was only seen as an
Aid.
Recall the book "Munro's
Electronic Aids" which today is a misnomer with GPS - ECDIS - GMDSS and
whatever. I am sure the generation Y today find the electronic support with
Radars and ARPA a great blessing; but I am not too sure if " the hands on feel"
of navigating is obtained, nor the confidence when the instrumentation tells us
all --esp Automatic systems. Perhaps it is a matter of one's
own perception and choice.
This has been explained in USCG Pilot Info Charts of Pacific as it was done in WW2; and to my surprise found it unbelievably accurate if a clear horizon was obtained.Quite interesting and most helpful to spend tme on lonely Pacific crossings then. Also explained and taught this to my cadets and offices--
SUMMARISING
Time flies and I really miss those days- some say it is silly to dwell on past -but this is a personal choice. Sextant & Chronometer and all now is--- RIP. Some may even call these recalls -as Ramblings (maybe)....OK ...
The old Poriwala
Rambles..reader can decide-.
Whatever may be the case, I find that looking back on it,
on every little incident and experience gained had added to our confidence
quotient (CQ) which otherwise is not easy to build up.With this also a large measure of happiness - call it
quantum of solace if you like -
Cheers.
Regds
TR
No comments:
Post a Comment