Nami Fieldworks · Coastal pilot · 2026

What the field taught us

Six observations from 36 weeks of running sensors on Merrow Sound, and what they change in phase two.

Stations
15
Sites
6
Operators interviewed
11
Field period
Jan–Sep 2026

Plate 0 · Index chartMerrow Sound · depths in metres

Observation 1 of 6 · Outer Bank

Sensors drift after storms, not during.

Through seven winter storms, readings held at peak wind and drifted 12 to 36 hours later, as silt settled on the cells. Recalibrate on the first ebb after a storm.

Plate 1 · Outer BankOB-1, OB-2 · storm 4 of 7 · 3–4 Feb

Observation 2 of 6 · Tern Flats

Operators read the tide before the dashboard.

At 34 of 40 shift starts we watched, the first check was the tide board on the harbour wall. The dashboard came second, read against the tide.

“Low water, the flats station reads dry. I know that before the screen calls it a fault.”

Duty operator, Tern Flats

Plate 2 · Tern FlatsTF-1, TF-2 · tide for 12 May

Observation 3 of 6 · Kell Channel

Trust arrives before precision.

“Show me what the sensor is unsure about. Then I know when to look twice.”

Pilot boat skipper, Kell Channel

Operators accepted a rough estimate when uncertainty was visible. Hidden confidence cost more trust than a wider range.

Plate 3 · Kell ChannelKC-1, KC-2 · survey 14 May

Observation 4 of 6 · Hollin Point

The quiet station was the broken one.

HP-2 sent nothing for 11 days. No readings meant no threshold was crossed, so the dashboard showed a calm week and nobody went out.

“No alarms all week. I took that as a good week.”

Duty operator, Hollin Point

Plate 4 · Hollin PointHP-1 to HP-3 · 8–21 Jun

Observation 5 of 6 · Rook Reef

Salt beats the spec sheet.

Housings rated for 24 months failed after 4 to 7 on the exposed side of the reef. The two units in its lee are still sealed after 8.

Plate 5 · Rook ReefRR-1 to RR-5 · housing life

Observation 6 of 6 · Merrow Harbour

Handoffs happen at the harbour, not in the app.

Of 38 shift changes we watched, 34 were handed over in person at the slip. Four had a note in the app.

“I tell whoever’s on next at the slip. The app gets it later, if it gets it.”

Boat operator, Merrow Harbour

Plate 6 · Merrow HarbourMH-1 · shift changes, Jul–Aug

Phase two · from March 2027

What we change in phase two

  1. Outer Bank Recalibrate on the first ebb after a storm, not on a fixed schedule.
  2. Tern Flats Open every station view with the tide state and the next high and low water.
  3. Kell Channel Show each reading with its range, and widen the range between stations.
  4. Hollin Point Treat silence as a fault: alert after six hours without a report.
  5. Rook Reef Swap exposed housings at four months and trial sealed marine-grade units.
  6. Merrow Harbour Put the handoff note on the harbour board, and copy it to the app from there.
Open field-note context

Nami Fieldworks, Merrow Sound, its sites, stations, figures and operator quotes are fictional demonstration content. In the story, the observations come from 36 weeks of station logs (January to September 2026), 40 observed shift starts, 38 observed shift changes and interviews with 11 operators. The survey plates are generated drawings, not real soundings, and are not for navigation.

Plate 7 · Phase twochanges keyed to sites 1–6