With any simple handheld chartplotter, often as simple as your smartphone with your favorite navigation app installed, you can use this technique to improve your safety margin in sparsely charted areas.
I love tips like this that use gear I’ve already paid for in an unorthodox way, especially when it allows me to enhance safety while I’m out sailing!
One point I forgot to mention in the video is that I use the dinghy scout track to help students improve their ability to estimate distances. After we anchor I record the students estimates to the boats and hazards nearby. After I take the students on the dinghy ride I give them a chance to revise their estimates. Finally we compare students estimates to the measurements from the dinghy scout track.
See you out there!
Great idea