"Current" Events

Have you ever looked out over the ocean or an inland sea and thought how tranquil it appears? 

But looks can be deceiving!  While the surface of the water may often appear calm, strong currents can affect a sailor and his boat – either in a good way, or even a dangerous way, depending on the sailor’s knowledge of the current.  This picture taken just off Spiden Island in the San Juan Islands shows how a strong running current can cause water to chop with whitecaps while just a hundred feet away, the water is much calmer with little or no waves.

So what do currents have to do with nautical chart murals? 

Well, some of my client’s live in areas with extremely interesting water motion near them.  For example, The Bay of Fundy, and not far from it, “Old Sow,“ the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere, between Moose Island near Eastport Maine and Moose Island near New Brunswick, Canada.  I cannot help but think a current chart of these areas would look spectacular as a mural on the family room wall! 

However – so far – not one single client has ever thought of a current chart for their wall. Maybe this article will give someone the idea.

Here an example of a current chart for a particular time in a cycle of flood and ebb tides. In this version, the pattern of arrows gives you an idea of how strong the current is; the more dense the grouping of arrows, the faster the current. 

Current Charts are found in a book of the cruising area, such as this chart book published in Canada

You have to admit, the movement of billions of gallons of water in such a dramatic, illustrated choreography as depicted in a current atlas would make a spectacular mural! 

Pick up a copy of an atlas wherever such “current events” are sold.

 www.nauticalchartwallpaper.com