If an echo appears to be land but you are not on chart, what should you do?

If an echo appears to be land but you are not on chart, what should you do?

• A. Verify with chart data and other sensors; do not treat land as a navigable target.
• B. Treat the echo as land and change course immediately.
• C. Ignore the echo and continue as planned.
• D. Switch to a higher radar power setting.

Answer: (B)

When a radar echo looks like land but you don’t have charted information for your present position, the risk of an uncharted hazard is too high to ignore. The safest approach is to treat that echo as a potential land obstacle and maneuver away from it right away. This minimizes the chance of grounding or collision if the target is indeed shore, shallow water, or another uncharted feature, and it buys you time to verify using any available means (other sensors, GPS, AIS, or later chart data) before proceeding. Other options don’t adequately manage the risk. Verifying with chart data isn’t possible when you’re off-chart, ignoring the echo leaves you exposed to a possible hazard, and changing radar power doesn’t address the underlying safety issue. The emphasis here is on proactive risk avoidance when you lack chart confirmation.

When a radar echo looks like land but you don’t have charted information for your present position, the risk of an uncharted hazard is too high to ignore. The safest approach is to treat that echo as a potential land obstacle and maneuver away from it right away. This minimizes the chance of grounding or collision if the target is indeed shore, shallow water, or another uncharted feature, and it buys you time to verify using any available means (other sensors, GPS, AIS, or later chart data) before proceeding.

Other options don’t adequately manage the risk. Verifying with chart data isn’t possible when you’re off-chart, ignoring the echo leaves you exposed to a possible hazard, and changing radar power doesn’t address the underlying safety issue. The emphasis here is on proactive risk avoidance when you lack chart confirmation.