I’m having breakfast at Namely Harbour tomorrow at 0920 DST, three hours after high tide tomorrow. I need to calculate the depth to anchor and I’m worried that we’ll run aground.

If you recognize the name – Namely Harbour – then I shall assume you are an RYA alumnus. This is a fictitious port created by the makers of the RYA charts that are used for the RYA Day Skipper theory course.

Reading tide and tide curve tables is something that coastal folks do since the day of birth. My aunt lives on the Isle of Wight. She uses the tide tables to plan her daily walks. But for me they are new.

Fortunately, I’ve found it easy to determine and predict water depth using tide tables. So, I’m annoyed that I’m stumped on one question, which is where to anchor at Namely Harbour for breakfast at 0920.

We are considering buying a catamaran. Perhaps it doesn’t matter so much if I get the depth of clearance wrong and we run aground. But, I suspect this is not the answer that my RYA course is looking for, and not a conversation that I want to be having with my family as we sit on a sandbar somewhere.

In talking to my husband this evening it sounds like boats anchor with as little as a a meter or less of clearance between the keel and the bottom of the sea. I will persist and get past this question. But, my children are a priority. Two birthday parties on the same day are competing for my attention at the moment.

Breakfast at Namely Harbour will have to wait.