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Re: I wish I had thought to bring 'that' along with me...
From: Brad Morris
Date: 2017 Jan 21, 23:34 -0500

I notice one item which you haven't mentioned. Time. You must have at least one source of time, but I would suggest multiple sources, so as to insure against a single point of failure.

Further, I see no mention of small, portable GPS devices. You can retrieve time from them and they will give your position to measure yourself against. The bridge may not be able to supply you with the position at the moment you want it. Bring your own.

What if your laptop fails? The laptop represents a catastrophic single point of failure, given the massive store of information it will hold. Carry the nominal hardcopy forms and tables for the expected latitudes. The Nautical Almanac, hardcopy.

Bowditch. In hardcopy. Timesight, meaning old. An excellent opportunity to study the old methods and esoteric sights. Plenty of practice time.

A plastic sextant, or another sextant, in addition to the one you have. Not only good for backup, but you may find a (very) bored crew who wants instruction. What better way than to hand them a sextant, just not the critical one. Hand off has a notoriously dangerous dropping danger.

Consider how things can fail, like your laptop or wrist watch, and how you will recover from that failure mode.

Brad

On Jan 21, 2017 10:34 PM, "David Smith" <NoReply_DavidSmith@fer3.com> wrote:

In a couple of month’s time I am leaving my home in New Zealand and, after visiting the Middle East, South Africa and Britain, I am sailing home on a container ship.
I know that several of you here have made a voyage on a cargo ship, so as to immerse yourself in the practice of celestial navigation.
Once on board, there will be little chance of obtaining extra equipment, books or information. What I take up the gangway at the start of the voyage will have to suffice for the following 34 days. Books, tables, almanacs, spreadsheets and other information have been downloaded to my laptop and all the functionality of all equipment, apart from my sextant, has been duplicated.
One other thing that I would like to take with me, but probably is impossible, is an offline copy of the NavList archive – which is a wonderful source of answers to nearly every problem I’ve ever encountered relating to celestial navigation.
I have two questions to all those who have undertaken a similar adventure. (a) Was there something that you neglected to take with you, which would have been useful? (b) Was there something unusual that you took on the voyage which turned out to be of great use?
Cheers,
David Smith.

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