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HK Coxswain Grade 3 study materials
HK Coxswain Grade 3 study resources

HK Coxswain Grade 3: Local knowledge and chartwork: Hong Kong waters, aids to navigation, passage planning and position fixing

HK Coxswain Grade 3 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Local knowledge and chartwork: Hong Kong waters, aids to navigation, passage planning and position fixing

What the exam tests

Local knowledge and chartwork questions ask you to read a Hong Kong chart, recognise aids to navigation, plan a passage through local waters and prove where the craft is. You need to link chart symbols to real places: Victoria Harbour, Lei Yue Mun, Tathong Channel, Rambler Channel, Kap Shui Mun, Tolo Harbour and the eastern approaches around Waglan.

Core rules and concepts

  • Hong Kong charts are metric; soundings are below Chart Datum and drying heights are above it. Allow for tide, squat and bridge or cable clearance.
  • IALA Region A lateral marks: red can to port, green cone to starboard when returning from sea. Cardinal marks use black and yellow topmarks and light rhythms to show safe water: north continuous quick, east three quick, south six quick plus long, west nine quick plus long. Safe-water marks are red and white vertical; isolated-danger marks are black and red; special marks are yellow.
  • Passage planning uses appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring. Check Notices to Mariners, Marine Department notices, works, racing, ferry routes, fishing gear and weather; mark no-go areas and contingency anchorages.
  • Fix position by at least two independent methods: visual bearings or transits, depth contour, GPS and radar. A single bearing or a GPS alone is not a fix.
  • In local narrow channels keep to the starboard side and expect strong tidal streams, especially at Lei Yue Mun and Kap Shui Mun.

Worked example

You plan Hebe Haven to Tai Mei Tuk via Tolo Channel in a 6-knot launch. The chart shows about 9 nautical miles; at 6 knots that is 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 15 minutes for the no-wake approach and traffic. The flood stream sets west into Tolo Harbour, so you plan the outward leg with the stream and the return against it. You mark the lateral marks at the channel entrance, keep outside fish stakes, and use a transit of two charted objects to hold the centre of the buoyed channel. Near the pier you reduce wash and identify an escape route.

Traps

Treating GPS as the only fix; confusing Region A and Region B colours; forgetting chart datum when estimating under-keel clearance; cutting a buoyed channel; and planning without a contingency for ferry wash or a sudden squall.