style="font-size: larger;" | U.S. Coast Pilots

The front cover of Coast Pilots Volume Five.
Purpose:	Provide detailed information about U.S. near-coastal waters.
Publication Frequency:	Yearly
Published by:	National Ocean Service National Ocean Service The National Ocean Service , an office within the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is responsible for preserving and enhancing the nation’s coastal resources and ecosystems along of shoreline bordering of coastal, Great Lakes, and ocean waters...
Available Online:

United States Coast Pilots is a nine-volume American navigation

Navigation

Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...

 publication distributed yearly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

's Office of Coast Survey. The purpose of the publication is to supplement nautical charts of United States of America (U.S.) waters. Information comes from field inspections, survey vessels, and various harbor authorities. Maritime officials and pilotage associations provide additional information.

Coast Pilots provide more detailed information than Sailing Directions

Sailing Directions

Sailing Directions is a 42-volume American navigation publication published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . Sailing Directions consists of 37 Enroute volumes, 4 Planning Guide volumes, and 1 volume combining both types...

 because Sailing Directions are intended exclusively for the oceangoing mariner. Each volume of Coast Pilots must be regularly corrected using Notice to Mariners

Notice to Mariners

A notice to mariners advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information, changes in channels and aids to navigation, and other important data.Over 60 countries which produce nautical charts also...

.

Each volume contains comprehensive sections on local operational considerations and navigation regulations. Following chapters contain detailed discussions of coastal navigation.

An appendix provides information on obtaining additional weather information, communications services, and other data. An index and additional tables complete the volume.

Source

The text of this article originated from section 405 of The American Practical Navigator, a document produced by the government of the United States of America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

See also

• American Practical Navigator
• Buoy
  Buoy
  A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
  
  
• Light List
  Light List
  The United States Coast Guard Light List is an American navigation publication in 7 volumes made available yearly by the U.S. Coast Guard which gives information on lighted navigation aids, unlighted buoys, radiobeacons, radio direction finder calibration stations, daybeacons, racons, and LORAN...
  
  
• List of Lights
• Local Notice to Mariners
  Local Notice to Mariners
  A Local Notice to Mariners is an authoritative instruction issued by a designated official, typically the harbormaster.-United States:In the United States, notices are issued by each U.S. Coast Guard District to disseminate important information affecting navigational safety within that District...
  
  
• Notice to Mariners
  Notice to Mariners
  A notice to mariners advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information, changes in channels and aids to navigation, and other important data.Over 60 countries which produce nautical charts also...
  
  
• Sailing Directions
  Sailing Directions
  Sailing Directions is a 42-volume American navigation publication published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency . Sailing Directions consists of 37 Enroute volumes, 4 Planning Guide volumes, and 1 volume combining both types...
  
  

External links

• Chapter 4: Nautical Publications - from the online edition of Nathaniel Bowditch
  Nathaniel Bowditch
  Nathaniel Bowditch was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S...
  
  's American Practical Navigator
• Coast Pilots Download page for the nine volumes