NavList:

As a grizzly, grey haired old medic, I've seen a few things in humans over the years that could not easily be explained by known science. (they used to call it miracles, but that is no longer politically correct).

Down here in SW Cornwall, there are multiple confirmed stories of some of the old fishing boat skippers, back in 50s-early 60s, before Decca, loran, GPS, who regularly went  out after a storm to find lost net gear, steamed 50 miles out with no charts or keeping dead reckoning, just a compass and primitive echo sounder for depth, and often found said lost gear, i.e navigated "blind" to within an few hundred yards after a storm. They just knew where they were. I've spoken to some of these old boys and I generally believe them. 

How on earth did they do that? I'm sure you will find similar examples amongst old sea dogs over the pond and elsewhere. the Polynesians seemed to know a thing or two aswell. The famous or infamous Slocum only did one lunar for longitude, but was within 5 miles of his DR after 40 days at sea! Some DR that.

Maybe us humans still have some vestigual evolutionary ability to navigate by some hidden and largely lost mechanism, preserved and honed by just a few? If Monach Butterflies can do it, maybe we can too? 

If I was 25 again (I wish!), this would be my PhD thesis I think! Any young brains take up the challenge?

Francis