Radar

We are well in the Western Approaches now, leaving the English Channel behind us. When navigating through congested waters like the English Channel, we constantly use the following three aids to navigation; Human Eyes, Common Sense and Radar. The last one is a very advanced piece of equipment. It was invented shortly before the second world war and you won't see much vessels without it these days. The basic of radar is echo; you shout and record the number of seconds elapsed before you hear the echo in your ears again. If you know the speed of sound, you are able to calculate the distance covered to the object reflecting your shout. Radar does the same, although it doesn't shout. It sends electro magnetic pulses and receives them back again after reflection. The time elapsed is converted into a distance on your screen. And then you have something as on this picture. All the yellow dots are echoes of vessels in our neighborhood, the lines attached representing their course and speed. I switched on all vectors for the picture, to make it look a little bit more interesting. Normally I like to see the screen as basic as possible. If you have questions about this, feel free to ask.