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Commander John Irving

Coastal Navigation and Pilotage (paperback)

Irving Books edition
📖 75 pages·📅 This edition 2026

Commander John Irving’s handbook explains coastal navigation and pilotage, including chart work, compass correction, tides, position fixing and harbour approaches. This paperback edition presents the historical text with its charts and diagrams.

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Learn Navigation From a Master Mariner

Some books on navigation overwhelm with theory. Others skip the essentials. Lt.-Commander John Irving, R.N., strikes the perfect balance — giving you everything you need to navigate coastlines with confidence, nothing you don't.

PILOTAGE • VECTOR PLOT

Course, current, and course made good

CURRENT TRIANGLELIGHTHOUSEBUOYAB • SHIPBC • CURRENTAC • COURSE MADE GOODPOSITION FIX
The current triangle used in small-yacht navigation: AB is the vessel’s motion through the water, BC the current, and AC the resulting course made good. Bearings provide a position check.

What You'll Master:

  • Selecting and plotting courses on Mercator charts
  • Compass work: deviation, variation, and correction
  • Understanding tides, currents, and their effects
  • Position fixing by bearings, soundings, and transits
  • Pilotage techniques for entering unfamiliar harbours
  • Practical exercises to build real skill

Why This Book Endures

First published decades ago, this handbook remains in print because it works. Irving wrote for working sailors, not theorists. Every technique has been tested in real conditions, explained in plain language, and illustrated clearly.

For: Yachtsmen, sailing students, RYA candidates, and anyone who wants to truly understand coastal navigation — not just pass an exam.

Format: Paperback with charts and diagrams

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