Pam and I are enroute from South Haven to White Lake
Michigan. This is a 59 nm leg. Our plan is to come in to White Lake and
anchor for the night. Along the western
shore of Michigan several lakes have had natural channels deepened or manmade
channels dug to provide access from the big Lake Michigan to smaller lakes
along the shore. This makes for great
places to duck in to if the weather turns bad, or provides scenic places for cruisers
to harbor in. We are making White Lake a
one night stop over and then heading to Frankfort, Michigan to spend a few
days.
Although Pam and I both enjoy night sails it can be
tiring. During night sails we take turns
on three hour shifts. When ‘on shift’
the person has responsibility for navigation and collision avoidance. The person not on watch has a responsibility
too – to rest. So if not on watch good
seamanship has you sleeping so you will be prepared when the watch turns over.
Pam mentioned in an earlier post that we had an Automatic
Identification System, AIS, installed just before leaving Chicago. These systems use digital radio signals to
exchange information between boats, some shore based stations, or aids to
navigation through a specific radio frequency.
There are three types of AIS: Receiver only, Class B, and Class A. The receiver only receives the messages sent
out from boats carrying Class A or B transceivers, land based stations or aids
to navigation. The Class B AIS is a
transceiver, meaning it both receives and transmits certain information about
the boat. These are not for commercial
ships so the information transmitted at slower intervals and is limited in
content. Finally there is the Class A
AIS used by commercial boats. Commercial vessels are required to have AIS
installed, although there is no regulation that requires it be in working
order. These transmit the more detailed
information at more frequent intervals than the class B. Class B transmits the information every 30
seconds, assuming the boat is moving a minimum of 2 knots. The Class A transmits every 10 seconds or
less depending how fast the boat is moving. The type of information transmitted by Class B boats include: Ship’s name, type of vessel, call sign, size, course and speed. Class A AIS includes additional information such as cargo information and destination.
As Pam mentioned boats to receive AIS signals may set a ‘ring
of protection’ so that an alarm sounds off when a boat transmitting an AIS
signal breaches a predetermined range.
We have our range set to sound off for any AIS boat that enters within a
one mile zone.
If you want to check out what AIS might look like and the
type of information we receive while sailing, check out MarineTraffic.com
at http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
Fair winds,
Jeff
Just wanted to let you guys know that I bookmarked both your sites, this and the one with your location. Looks like you made a nice sail to Frankfort. Stop and drop anchor for lunch in front of sleeping bear dunes, have a beer and take a picture for me. I ALWAYS wanted to get to that shoreline, but crossing on foot was too daunting. Then try to take in Leland. It's a really cute spot.
ReplyDeleteHave fun. I'll be keeping a weather eye out for you :)
Been tracking you on the map. Really cool! Have fun and smooth sailing.
ReplyDeleteThey've had this type of technology for a while now, but this device, the Inreach SE, is the latest and greatest in that you can actually send and receive messages via GPS. No cellular or WIFI needed. It can also be used anywhere, like for hiking, camping etc. Definitely feel a little safer with it as people know where we are.
ReplyDeleteYes it is - looks like you're tucked into S. Manitou Island for the evening.
ReplyDeleteThat's got to be somewhat isolated - enjoy!
Indeed, nice and peaceful. There's five other boats anchored here. However still getting a cellular signal, probably from Leland, so not that isolated!
ReplyDelete