GPS and Boat Instruments

Instrumentation is provided as an aid to navigation. Most boating accidents are caused by skippers relying on instrumentation instead of keeping a good lookout and using the charts.

Standard instrumentation on all Whitsunday Escape boats:

• Depth Sounder
  Only reads the depth below the boat, not in front of the boat. In the Whitsundays due to the way coral grows towards the light, underwater coral cliffs go from very deep water to being awash or just below the surface.
• GPS Colour Plotter
  A great aid to navigation, but knowledge of navigation is still needed and they are not to be relied upon. Skippers often get confused with colours marking shallow water and the GPS systems are notoriously inaccurate in close quarter situations.

All sailing catamarans and sailing yachts will have speed and wind instrumentation.