NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Role of CN at sea, was Re: Averaging sights ...
From: Bill B
Date: 2004 Oct 17, 18:52 -0500
From: Bill B
Date: 2004 Oct 17, 18:52 -0500
> on 10/13/04 2:16 AM, Alexandre Eremenko at eremenko@MATH.PURDUE.EDU wrote: > >> I agree that the "justification" of Cel Nav as >> a "backup for GPS" cannot be defended. >> GPS is indeed more precise, more reliable and easier >> to use. >> > My only rejoinder to this is that when one goes to sea, he should have a > manual way of doing anything that is important. CN and a compass is the > only manual way to navigate at sea (apart from watching the contrails). > > Ken Gebhart When the boaters among you head out do you have a compass even though you have GPS or other electronic navigation equipment? Perhaps a hand-bearing compass as well? A manual bilge pump to back up the electric one. A flashlight. Spare batteries? Perhaps one that has an LED and can generate it's own electricity? If you have wheel steering, an emergency tiller? Paper charts and plotting tools? A log? Except for the manual bilge pump, they are all both practical and FUN to use. Which is why recreation boaters boat. As a side note, what gives you a better "feel" on a sailboat--a wheel of tiller? Bill
