See unitsNautical publications and chart corrections: almanacs, pilot books, lists of lights and Notices to Mariners
Lists of lights, lists of radio signals and tide tables
1The lesson in plain words
Lists of lights give details of listed lights. Radio lists give stations and services. Tide tables give predictions. Check their coverage for your passage.
Lists of lights
A list of lights details lights and fog signals within its stated coverage. Minor lights and lighted buoys may be omitted; use the corrected chart for buoyage too. Entries give position, characteristic (colour, rhythm and period), elevation, range, sectors and structure. Official series: ADMIRALTY List of Lights and Fog Signals, in 15 regional volumes, A–Q; US NGA List of Lights (Pubs 110–116); IHM Libro de Faros y Señales de Niebla, in two parts. Choose the volume for your passage.
Lists of radio signals
The ADMIRALTY List of Radio Signals has six volumes. NP281: maritime radio stations. NP282: radio navigation aids, differential GPS (satellite-position corrections), time signals and legal time. NP283: maritime safety information (MSI), weather and NAVTEX (text broadcasts of safety information). NP284: meteorological observation stations. NP285: the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). NP286: pilot services, vessel traffic services (VTS) and port operations. The US equivalent is the NGA Radio Navigational Aids, Pub 117.
What a yacht uses
You rarely buy all of these. A yachtsman's almanac extracts what small craft need: the lights you will see, VHF channels for ports and traffic services, and weather broadcast times. For a passage abroad, the radio lists confirm port and VTS channels and reporting rules.
Tide tables
Tide tables give full predictions of high and low water times and heights for standard ports. For secondary ports, you use published differences from a reference standard port. Official series include ADMIRALTY Tide Tables (regional volumes; check the current catalogue), digital TotalTide, and the IHM Anuario de Mareas, published each year. Predictions exclude weather: strong winds and pressure change real levels. The Tides units cover the calculations.
2Key data
- ADMIRALTY lights
- 15 regional volumes, A–Q; select the volume for your passage
- ADMIRALTY radio
- List of Radio Signals NP281–NP286 (six volumes)
- US equivalents
- NGA List of Lights Pubs 110–116; Radio Aids Pub 117
- Tide tables
- Regional ADMIRALTY Tide Tables; IHM Anuario de Mareas
- Spanish terms
- Libro de Faros y Señales de Niebla; Anuario de Mareas
3Key points
- 1
A list of lights gives details of listed lights; coverage of minor lights and buoyage varies.
- 2
ADMIRALTY List of Radio Signals NP281–NP286 covers stations, MSI, GMDSS and port operations.
- 3
A yachtsman's almanac extracts the lights and radio data small craft need.
- 4
Tide tables predict levels; weather can change the real tide.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: The chart shows everything about a light.
Right: The list of lights adds detail such as exact sectors, fog signals and the structure.
Wrong: Tide table predictions are exact.
Right: They exclude weather. Strong winds and high or low pressure change the real level.
5Practice case & exam keys
You are planning to enter a large foreign port with a vessel traffic service. Your almanac gives the VHF channel but says nothing about reporting points. Where do you look?
Show the answer
Look in the ADMIRALTY List of Radio Signals NP286, pilot services, vessel traffic services and port operations, for that region, or the port's own website. It gives VTS sectors, reporting points, channels and any rules for small craft. Check the sailing directions too, and note the details in your passage plan before you arrive.
Exam keys
- Listed lights: position, characteristic, elevation, range, sectors; ADMIRALTY 15 volumes A–Q; NGA 110–116; IHM Libro de Faros.
- List of Radio Signals NP281–NP286; NP286 is port operations and VTS.
- Tide tables: standard and secondary ports; weather not included.
Finish this unit
When you've read it, match the terms, then answer three questions. Get them all right to finish the unit; opening the page alone doesn't count.
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