A radar installation, designed to serve as a navigational aid, is in course of being set up at the mouth of the Gironde. It is one of a long series of port- or river-radars installed in similar conditions. So far, these have been entrusted to port officials. They are used, almost exclusively in reduced visibility, to give ships accurate information about their position, and in particular to keep them informed of the presence of ships in their vicinity. Their chief function, in association with radio-telephony, is to allow traffic to be controlled at times when visual signals cannot be distinguished.

The Gironde enterprise is more ambitious. The intention is to entrust the radar to pilots so that they may guide shipping, in both clear weather and fog, without having to go on board. This method is to be used between the sea and Le Verdon, and in particular at the bar, the trickiest section of this stretch. It should entail a considerable reduction in the cost of pilotage, the chief of several reasons for this being that there would no longer be any need for a pilot-vessel. It is worth examining whether this is a sensible plan and under what conditions it can be made effective, in the Gironde or elsewhere.

That a pilot should use radar to direct a ship from some distance away is a completely revolutionary idea.