Coast Pilot

Written by Trisha Garber | 21 January 2011

So what is the Coast Pilot?   Where do I find it and how do I use it? 

The United States Coast Pilot® consists of a series of nautical books that cover a variety of information important to navigators of coastal and intracoastal waters and the Great Lakes. Issued in nine volumes, they contain supplemental information that is difficult to portray on a nautical chart.
Topics in the Coast Pilot include channel descriptions, anchorages, bridge and cable clearances, currents, tide and water levels, prominent features, pilotage, towage, weather, ice conditions, wharf descriptions, dangers, routes, traffic separation schemes, small-craft facilities, and Federal regulations applicable to navigation.

The United States Coast Pilot is published by the National Ocean Service (NOS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  The Coast Pilot supplements the navigational information shown on the nautical charts.

Coast Pilot 5 covers our boating area which includes the Gulf of Mexico from Key West, FL to the Rio Grande. Coast Pilot 5 also covers Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  The 38th edition, published in 2010 is the current version of the Coast Pilot 5.   Amendments are issued to this publication through U.S. Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners. Mariners may download and print amendments from the Internet at http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpdownload.htm.

Mariners, and others, are urged to report errors, omissions, or differing conditions to those found in the Coast Pilot or shown on the charts, in order that they may be fully investigated and corrections made. A Coast Pilot Report form is included in the back of each volume and a Marine Information Report form is published in the Notice to Mariners for your convenience.

To access the latest version of the Coast Pilot, just click on the following link or see the Boating Links section on the LCSPS Website.  

http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpdownload.htm

So now you know ….

Trish