Have you ever travelled the ICW and wondered,
“What’s the name of that Dredge, and how do I contact them to find the best way to safely transit the area??”
“Look at that destroyed day beacon, I’d like to let the Coast Guard know, but I’m unsure how. “
“This doesn’t look like the same route as last time we were here”
Fortunately, Aqua Map has two valuable tools accessible from the app: The Light List and the Local Notice to Mariners. Both of these documents are published by the USCG and can be found at Navcen.USCG.gov in PDF format.
If you download them, you may find them to be a bit daunting to read and certainly don’t have their value “immediately available” to the ready for running a route on the ICW.
The information contained in these documents, however, can make your trip more comfortable and your communication with other vessels and the Coast Guard more valuable.
These are the documents that any commercial operator MUST carry on board to be compliant with the Code of Federal Regulations, so the Coast Guard takes the information they distribute very seriously.
The Light List is our annually released encyclopedia of all of the Aids to Navigation (ATONs) we find in the waterway, stating their Light List Number (LLNR), location, description and other important information. NOAA uses this information to show the aids on charts. The LLNR is available in Aqua Map when you click on any Aid.
If you ever find one that is destroyed or hard to read, just call the USCG Sector you are traveling in (these numbers are in the weekly LNM, see next item) like (910) 343-3880 for Sector NC or (843) 740-7050 for Sector Charleston.
Let them know what you saw for the LLNR you looked up in Aqua Map, they will let everyone else know in the next LNM!
The Local Notice to Mariners (LNMs) contain the changes to the Light List and other navigation updates (shoaling, dredging, proposed waterway changes, for example) produced weekly by the Coast Guard. NOAA also uses this information to update their electronic navigation charts regularly (the bottom of charts depict the LNM weekly update by number).
Working through this information weekly, even for professional/commercial mariners, takes considerable time but if it is part of your life/job, you make the investment in time. For the recreational Mariner who may not be on the water every day, but uses the waterways to transit from one idyllic location to another seasonally, we have a way to keep you as up to date and knowledgeable as the Pro…
Many have come to rely on the amazing features of Aqua Map to assist on their journeys.
There is a wonderful feature built in that may not have gotten a lot of discussion in the forums and that is the incorporation of the aforementioned Light List and weekly LNMs.
Example of Light list information found by this ATON icon with the yellow “x”. When you click on this, the LLNR and corresponding LNM notice is displayed showing the accurate information versus what might be found on your vessel’s GPS display.
Dredging events display the area being serviced, the name of the vessel, channels to reach it as well as a phone number to call them as shown in the following screen shot.
Shoaling information is reported by the Coast Guard from time to time when occurring near the navigational channel and appears in the LNM when you are transiting the area in Aqua Map.
The wonderful aspect of how the Aqua Map engineers have incorporated these features with a daily update process, is that the user doesn’t need to know the source of the information for practical use.
Just clicking on the chart gives access to this feature (you must have a Master version and turn on“USCG data” in Settings) and the various information for the area you are exploring.
Patrick Tormey
Patrick Tormey is a licensed Master captain who is on the water as a professional with Sea Tow, teaches new captains and also frequently transits the ICW on his own vessel. More about him at www.hailmarymarine.com.
