The final (we hope) significant piece of expenditure in preparing our boat for the Fastnet was the installation of a Navtex receiver. It's something we've hummed and hah-ed about for years. But there didn't seem too much point while most of what we were doing was relatively short-distance cruising, never very far from the Shipping Forecast on long wave or the inshores on VHF.
When they played the sea songs before the early forecast on Radio 4, I never minded getting up for it. It hasn't been quite the same since they stopped the music. But it wasn't just the prospect of being freed from the tyranny of the radio schedulers that persuaded us to take the plunge.
It was the news that the MCA, HM Coastguard and the MetOffice had begun trials using the Niton 490 kHz national Navtex channel to provide additional weather information: notably “actuals” rather than just forecasts.
It used to be really useful when every shipping forecast was followed by the reports of “what the lightships are doing” as my first skipper used to say. Four times a day you could get a picture of what the wind and visibility was really like, and whether pressure was rising or falling. It put a lot of useful extra flesh on the bare bones of the forecast.
But now the shipping forecast only includes actual weather reports in the 0048 and 0520 broadcasts, which means for most of the time you are likely to be sailing that information is missing.
Currently Niton is broadcasting the reports up to six times a day on Navtex, which gives a really helpful indication of what is going on - and how the weather is likely to change in the hours ahead.
The trial began on May 1 and will continue at least until the autumn, so we will have the benefit of the information while we are out in the western approaches in August. As we are not equipped with a Satphone for Internet access, like many of the bigger boats racing round the Fastnet, this may be the most useful weather information we will have access to. It could have a significant influence on our tactics, and ultimately, our finishing position!
I sincerely hope that at the end of the trial the powers that be will not only decide to continue the service on an indefinite basis, but also to extend it to the other UK 490 kHz Navtex transmitters, at Cullercoats and Portpatrick. Why should the South Coast have all the fun?
Incidentally, any yacht equipped with a 490kHz Navtex receiver and sailing in South Coast waters is requested to provide constructive feedback, to help with the trial. You are requested to report:
- The position of the vessel when the data was received
- Whether day or night (0600-1800 or 1800-0600)
- Type of Navtex receiver fitted
- Usefulness of the data
- Whether you feel the data contributed to safety at sea
This information can be reported via e-mail to navtex490@rya.org.uk
In addition to the “actuals” and the inshore waters forecast, the national three day outlook is also broadcast on the 490 kHz channel.
Navtex information is broadcast on two frequencies, 518kHz, the international channel, and 490 kHz, the local channel. Most of the broadcasts are about the weather, but there is also vital navigation and safety information.
Not all Navtex sets receive both frequencies. Many just accept the 518kHz broadcasts, which include the shipping forecast. But in just a short time of using our set we've found the 490 kHz “local” information the most useful.
So we're glad we chose McMurdo's NAV6 plus, which simultaneously receives both frequencies. In addition, it connects to the GPS and other electronics via NMEA to provide an instrument repeater display and an electronic log book. It has a large, easily read LCD display (you no longer have to have chattering paper print out of Navtex info, it is stored in memory for as long as you decide you want it, and easily scrolled through) and, importantly, uses very little power.
We haven't fully explored all its possibilities yet, but we're hoping that by the time we get to the start of the Fastnet (we'll have sailed another 300 miles by then) we'll have found out how to make the most of it. Already it seems like our New Best Friend.
