Teamsurv has already boosted the accuracy of charts in the Solent and other sailing hotspots. Now, it’s focusing on Weymouth, west Scotland and Milford Haven
TeamSurv, the do-it-yourself hydrographic survey project for
leisure sailors, is appealing to boat owners based in Weymouth, Milford Haven
and on the west coast of Scotland, to help create more accurate charts of their
home waters.
The TeamSurv project supplies yachts and other vessels with
‘data loggers’, which capture depth readings and GPS positions from their
echosounders and chartplotters, and uploads them to a database. TeamSurv then
collates the information from hundreds of vessels sailing in the same area,
combines it with official survey data and publishes charts online, free of
charge, with new depth soundings in shallow coastal waters that are often ignored
by commercial surveys.
Most of Scotland’s waters need re-surveying, according to
the UK Hydrographic Office. Whilst some parts have been surveyed to modern
standards, Teamsurv aims to tackle the great swathes of inshore waters that
have not been surveyed since the advent of GPS. In some areas, skippers
currently have to rely on leadline surveys carried out in the 19th
century.
In Weymouth, the harbour authority carries out annual
professional surveys in the river but the approaches to the port are seldom
surveyed, even though they are extensively used by many craft. Continuous
surveying of the river via TeamSurv will allow early detection of changes in
depth, whether silting around the moorings, or scouring from the Condor Ferry’s
propellers. As well as helping to ensure safe navigation, the data is expected
to flag up underwater erosion of the port’s sea walls.
In Milford Haven, Teamsurv aims to augment the port
authority’s regular, professional surveys of the waterway’s buoyed deep-water
channels by focusing on the shallower areas used by small craft, which include
1,200 local leisure boats and 600 fishing vessels.
Tim Thornton, founder of TeamSurv, said: ‘Weymouth is
typical of the many smaller harbours around the country, with most users being
yachtsmen and fishermen, and some commercial traffic. This makes it ideal in
demonstrating the usefulness of TeamSurv.’
He added: ‘The size and variety of Milford Haven, from oil
and gas tankers near the entrance through to the extensive nature reserves and
waters for the leisure user, gives us a great opportunity to show the value of
the TeamSurv concept for ports and harbours.’
For further information, visit www.teamsurv.com. To volunteer your boat,
email tim.thornton@teamsurv.com
or call 07985 927376.