[davidpm]

Does anyone have any good tutorials on how to read a pilot chart.
I get the general gist of the concept with the wind arrows etc.
There are a lot of symbols on the chart though and I would like to see a simple description of what all of them mean.

This is pretty good but it doesn't explain all the other lines.
Wind Roses – SOUTHWINDS Magazine

Like what are the heavy black lines with arrows coming out of NYC.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

What I do is scroll to each corner of the pilot chart, zoom in, and screen capture the text. Blow it up, then its readable.
All the information is good... they dont waste a word.

BTW Heres a new version of the wind roses, but not the other stuff on the Pilot Charts
DeepZoom Global Ocean Winds

 

[tempest]

Like what are the heavy black lines with arrows coming out of NYC.

I belive that the black lines are great circle routes.

The inside cover page of the paper chart atlas has lots of good information.

 

[Minnewaska]

I think I'm not understanding the question. There is an explanation of the wind rose, right on the pilot chart itself. I think I need to see the black line in question, but suspect tempest is right, they are great circle routes. They usual give the destination and miles on the line, iirc.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

Like what are the heavy black lines with arrows coming out of NYC.

Shipping routes.

Quite exact too!! Thousands of miles off the coast and ships are within 5nms of these routes.

 

[davidpm]

Thank you, everyone. I only had a small piece of a chart and once I found and enlarged the proper location on the chart I find that you are all correct. The black lines are great circle routes which make sense that many of them terminate in NYC.

I had always thought the prevailing winds from cape may to Montauk were North East in May.

It looks however that they are more or less equal between NE and SW with the edge to SW.

 

[p1l0t]

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[capta]

I'd be pretty cautious using a pilot chart these days. Climate change seems to have changed things enough that they may not be relevant anymore.

 

[cascoamarillo]

In the Junior Navigation course from USPS there are some exercises on how to work and interpret pilot charts. In the JN manual, a few paragraphs in a chapter explain the different symbols, charts, inserts, lines, colors, etc. But if you have one pilot chart in paper, it is all mostly detailed in the fine print for each case.