Ask Lir
Ask the operational question in plain language. Get the short answer first, then the basis, source, and what Lir could not verify.
Navigation intelligence for captains on U.S. coastal, Intracoastal and inland waters
A clear read on the water ahead, with the source and the limits left in view.
Advisory only — verify against current charts and notices.
Ask Lir / a real answer
A real Ask Lir answer, captured 25 September 2026. Figures are Lir's; verify against current charts and notices.
What Local Notices to Mariners are active on the Chesapeake Bay this week?
Three overlapping 50 nm searches of USCG District 5 notices near the upper, middle, and lower Bay. NAVCEN data last confirmed 25 September 2026 around 20:42 UTC; the searches returned 77, 62, and 43 active notices, including some outside the Bay. These are not a Bay-wide total or the full notice list. Your 5 ft draft came from the saved vessel profile.
Two of the Bay notices matter most for your 5 ft draft. There's a sunken sailboat on the western side of the main Bay at about 38°29.2′N, 076°27.9′W. And several side channels have reported shoaling shallower than your keel.
Every figure names the source it came from.
At the wheelhouse
Ask the operational question in plain language. Get the short answer first, then the basis, source, and what Lir could not verify.
Turn a route and a vessel profile into a briefing you can read before departure: legs, constraints, notices, and open checks.
Put the current water in context with nearby notices, conditions, and things that deserve a closer look.
Navigation intelligence should make a captain more informed, not more comfortable than the facts allow. Lir names its sources, qualifies examples, and says when a figure needs confirmation from the chart or notice in front of you.
Use it as an instrument alongside your normal bridge procedures. You remain the final authority aboard your vessel.