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Preface

“As an officer and a Navigator I have ever lookcd wilh horror on nogi ccc and indolcncc, and have never yel crossed the Seas without that foresight which is neccssary co thc woli doing of thc voyage...”

“Błigh ”, Gcivin Kennedy, Duckworth 1978, pl31.

Caplain Bligh, quoted above, has caught the essential naturo of good seamanship in Lhose few words. A difficult man, but whaccvcr his faulls. he is acknowledged to have been a supcrb navigalor who conlributed to the pioneering work of thc expcdilions led by thc incomparable Captain Cook.

The modern AdmiraUy chart is a direcl link lo these astonishingly competent men and innumcrable others who have patiently measured the Earth for us over thc last iwo hundred years. Proper care of charts is part of “that foresight which is necessary to the well doing of the voyage„ ” and is, in some smali way, an act of homage to those pioneers.

Today, the ship’s navigator is thc finał, and possibly, Che wcakcsl link in the chain of the production of che chart. The care and attention which is lavished on each chart continucs umil it leaves the Admiralty Chart Agent, after which all depends upon the compelence of tlie end-uscr. Piopcrly uscd and understood, the Chart CorrecLion System should ensure that each expensive chart on board is as good as those ashorc ready for purchasc. Expcricncc has Laughl me this cannot be taken for granted and some years ago 1 was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of “H.S6” -Notes on Chart Correction for Admiralty Chart Agents - the ancestor of this publicaLion. This proved to be an excellent lool for thc cducalion of my navigalors, the only fault being that it was not in generał circulation.

NP 294 “How to Correct Your Charts the Admiralty Way” has now been revised by Mr B D Green at tlić United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to take account of the new style of Notices to Marinęrs. The same exacting standards of updating your charts should slill apply. The new style Notice to Marincrs is designed to make life easier for the Mariner.

Yours sinccrcly

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