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From: H. Russ Hughes (no email)
Date: Mon Dec 01 2003 - 15:00:40 EST
Reference: Sextants and other things
Can't you just see the flack the first users of the sextant got right after it
started replacing whatever navigation instrument was popular previously?
A friend of mine, Ed McClanahan and a friend of his, Dr. Chorley, sailed
across the Pacific from New Zeeland a few years ago in Chorley's 27 foot
North Sea sail boat. They sailed through five storms en-route losing all the
masthead instruments as well as deck mounted propane tanks and solar panels.
Ed said that there was no way that they could have taken anywhere near
accurate sextant readings during most all of the trip.
What Ed did have, was his trusty Trimble GPS with spare batteries. Ed said all
he had to do was to open the cabin hatch, hold the GPS outside until it came
up with the location. No standing on the rocking deck holding onto something
to keep from falling down while getting soaking wet. Ed, who is a competent
ocean sailor, told me that there was no way that navigation could have been
conducted using a sextant aboard that small boat under the weather conditions
existing during the trip. The sky was overcast most of the way making sun, let
alone star sights, possible.
Using a sextant here on the inland rivers would be impractical. Having one or
more GPS's onboard, tied to a charting system displaying the current chart on
a screen is the way to go. Ham radio is going through one of the same sort of
situations. There are those who believe that the antiquated method of
communicating by the international Morse code should still be one of the
subjects required on the FCC test to get an Amateur Radio License. This
requirement is being rapidly dropped by many governments world wide and will
soon be dropped here in the United States. The Navy and Coast Guard no longer
communicate via the Morse code.
Times change, technology advances, and the use of the sextant will fall by the
wayside the same way as the Morse code is presently doing. Is there anything
wrong with using a sextant to back up more modern methods of determining ones
position? No, certainly not, any more than some people enjoy the art of
communicating in the international Morse code, or practicing any other
outdated skill just for the fun of it. But seriously, naw, not for serious use
anymore.
Russ Hughes
Slo-N-Easy
Richland, Wa.
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