Radar Training for Blind Pilotage

Abstract

For some years the principal maritime nations have provided sea-going and future Masters and mates with some form of radar simulator training. These training courses, although differing in duration, subject material, training method and technique, had one common aim: to familiarize responsible sea-going personnel with radar as an instrument. They taught understanding of the various instrument controls, picture or display interpretation, plotting and anti-collision tactics based on the existing international Rules of the Road and Admiralty Court jurisprudence: and all this for open-sea conditions where the Master is sole master of the situation and with no outside adviser at his disposal. Many Masters and mates have followed these very necessary and useful training courses and many more will undoubtedly follow, for nobody should today go to sea in a responsible position as Master or officer of the watch without such training. Recently, pilot authorities have started to send their pilots to the same courses and again this is a step in the right direction.A recent survey by Burger and Corbet (Welsh Institute of Technology) has furthermore shown that those trained do not seem to obtain full advantage of the acquired knowledge, once they are back in actual practice. This fact plus the fast technical advances in electronics and consequently new radar techniques should eventually lead to the institution of refresher courses.