Chartplotter

Hi kids!

Wondering how we find our way around? Well, your friend, the federal
government, publishes 'charts' which are maps of the ocean. These are
essential to getting around. The federal government also makes GPS
satellites which means people with GPS radio receivers can locate
themselves on the map. It's services like this that make people love
the federal government so much. I know I do!

I have a thing on my boat which is like a computer with the maps in it
and a gps in it which combines these two functions and shows you a
picture of the part of the map you are in and puts a mark on it where
your boat is. My iPhone has a program in it to do the same thing. This
is a picture of the iPhone screen using that program. My boat is in
New Haven Connecticut just at the point of the red arrow in the picture.

Each of the marks on the picture means something. The black things
that look like balls in the water with loops on top are moorings. It's
safe to tie up to a mooring so that's where we tied our boat. The red
and green marks tell where the red and green navigational buoys are.
The black numbers are the water depth in feet or meters. Each mark on
the chart is worth something!

The wind will blow really hard tomorrow. We might just stay here for
tomorrow and let the gale blow by before we start the next trip.

Well, kids, remember: the teacher is always right.