Tides are important in any race, but the Round the Island race has its own particular challenges when it comes to tidal flow.
There are many sources of tide data available for planning the race, but this blog will focus on the ways that your B&G electronics can assist you on the day.
Tide Heights
Need to know if you can cut the corner on Ryde Sands? Your Chartplotter will show you the current tidal height in an instant. Simply press the Tides link from the home screen and you’ll see a graph showing current tidal height which you can then compare with the charted depths to see if you’ll make it across a shallow patch.
There are also Dynamic icons on the chart showing the height of tide in standard ports around the coast.
The latest B&G Chartplotters also show a constant tide gauge in the data bar so you can always see the tide height at any time (Zeus® S and Zeus® 3S).
Tidal flow on the chart
At any time the icons on your Chartplotter show the predicted tidal set and rate for a given location. You can inspect the icon and see when the tide is due to turn – particularly useful round the back of the island as boats approach St Catherine’s point.
Calculated tide data
Finally, B&G instruments display constantly calculated Tidal data, displayed on the Chartplotter overlaid on the vessel, or on the SailSteer display.
Triton² and H5000 instruments also display this data, which allows you to see what the tide is doing at your real-time location and helping you make decisions based on the tidal flow – for instance on the first leg to the needles, it’s helpful to stay in the maximum tidal flow, and having easy access to tide data can be a real advantage.
Don’t forget that for this data to be accurate you should make sure that your instruments are well calibrated: Calibrating your Instruments for the Round the Island Race
Get Race Day Ready with B&G
Whether you are a seasoned racer or if this is your first experience of the Round The Island Race, B&G is here to help you get the most out of your electronics with our helpful hints blog series. Check back here to read our latest blogs being posted in the run up to race day!
