POINTS OF INTEREST
e locations of most known wrecks are also shown with the letters Wk (left), though using a chart to accurately locate a wreck to fish is rarely easy. Certainly, the chart will take you to within a very short distance of the wreck’s known position, but depending on the depth of water and the size of the wreck, locating it on your sounder can be a challenge
Once you have located a wreck, you can accurately record its position as a known waypoint within your GPS. From my experience the best times to locate a new wreck are either just before or just after low water on a calm day, when the water depth is at its lowest and there is enough run of tide to give some indication of presence of a wreck on the surface in the form of a boil. A more reliable way to locate new wrecks is to obtain precise latitude and longitude numbers from the Admiralty’s Hydrographical Department in Taunton or, of course, another angler or skipper.
A chart also gives the location of all navigation buoys (left), which as we have seen in a previous article, can be very useful when attempting to locate new marks. Charts also indicate the location of tide rips or overfalls, usually off prominent headlands or in the vicinity of offshore reefs and sandbanks subjected to strong tides, which are indicated by groups of wavy lines (below). Apart from being a potential hazard, tide rips are classic fish-holding locations for bass, for example.
A chart also shows many other areas of navigational interest, including military firing ranges, dumping or spoil grounds and dredging areas, all of which will be of interest to boat anglers. Charts also illustrate the main direction of flow and strength in knots of the tide at both ebb and flood, along with hourly variations between high and low water. ese can be calculated by first locating what is known as a ‘tidal diamond’ nearest to the area of interest, then perform a few calculations using a tide book and what is known as a tidal curve for a ‘standard port,’ such as Avonmouth or Milford Haven. e RYA Level II is the perfect course to develop such skills.
Finally, of course, the chart is an instrument of navigation and gives latitude and longitude along with a compass rose (left), which help you navigate to and get home from marks.