Mizen Head, this island's most south-westerly point, has claimed many a ship. No more dramatic location, then, for the State's first marine bridge and navigation simulator, which has just been installed by a Cork company using Russian software.
"The best Gameboy in town," is how Gary Delaney, director of CharterNav GPS Ltd of Crosshaven, Cork, describes the simulator in Mizen Head Signal Station Visitor Centre. Approv ed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for training purposes, the simulator is fitted with three plasma screens which provide a 120 degree view of the selected port, along with the standard controls and equipment found in any modern wheelhouse.
Transas of St Petersburg, Russia, has reproduced "visuals" of seven locations - Dublin, Liverpool, Dover, Calais, Folkestone, Boulogne and Glasgow and approaches. Ms Sue Hill of the Mizen Head Visitor Centre, who commissioned the project, is hoping to include Mizen Head also, on a route from Fast net rock into Bantry Bay, when funding permits. The simulator is fitted with an instructor station and exercise editor, capable of replicating any condition at sea - weather, tides, currents and other traffic. The plucky helmsperson can opt to steer any one of three vessels: a passenger ferry, stern trawler or rigid inflatable boat (RIB).
The bridge comprises a central console with real engine, thruster and helm controls to adjust the speed and direction. Navigational aids including Loran-C and the Global Positioning System (GPS). It has an electronic chart display information system, showing ship's position, course and planned track, while also marking navigation features such as lighthouses and tides. And there is a simulated radar, which highlights land and shipping contacts within range.
A standard VHF radio chatters away in the corner, while an anemometer measures wind speed and a Navtech weather system feeds into the chart display. The passenger ferry has two engines and bow thrusters, and the "master" or watch keeper can call up a tug or two to assist with berthing. The audio-visuals include the fairly convincing sound of a collision, and a grounding on "hitting bottom".
The initiative happened almost by accident. Ms Hill and Mr Stephen O'Sullivan, who manages the signal station museum at the automated lighthouse owned by the Com missioners of Irish Lights, wanted to display modern navigational aids as part of a "safety at sea" theme. They were referred to CharterNav GPS, the award-winning company set up by former Naval Service officer, Gary Delaney, specialising in land and marine positioning and navigation equipment.
The simulator is geared for specialised radar work, training with the electronic chart systems, and basic small boat navigation. It can also be used to train coxswains and surveyors, harbour pilots, and vessel traffic controllers, but also gives landlubbers an understanding of what happens on the bridge as a ship comes into port. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) approval rating is particularly significant. Eireann's coastal reports.
CharterNav GPS is at www.charternavgps.ie
The marine industry will have an opportunity to preview the simulator tomorrow.
