WINDFARM DOS AND DON’TS...

DO

■ Update your charts – paper and electronic – at least annually, particularly in the North Sea and off Liverpool - new windfarms are being added or extended every year.

■ Check regulations for each wind farm when sailing in foreign waters. Some allow passage through the windfarm, others don’t.

■ Keep an increased lookout for shipping, as sailing around windfarms may force small yachts into channels also used by larger shipping.

■ Watch out for turbulence and sudden gusts when passing downwind of turbines.

■ Take extra care when navigating near windfarms in restricted visibility. As new structures are being added and work boats may be moving unpredictably, it’s best to err on the side of caution and keep clear.

■ Monitor a windfarm’s working VHF channel if available.

■ Check your mast height. The lowest point of the rotor blades have a least air draught of 22m above MHWS – plenty for most yachts.

■ Make use of windfarms as navigation marks, often showing the location of shoal patches.

DON’T

■ Sail within 50m of a turbine, as each turbine has an individual exclusion zone.

■ Pass too close to work boats operating in windfarms. They don’t have exclusion zones, though some may claim they do, but may well be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and should be respected as such.

■ Forget about tide and wave energy. A number of sites on the English south coast, the Welsh and Irish coasts and off Northern Scotland have development sites that may need extra care.