Next message: robertgainer: "[world-cruising] Re: Walker Log - Me Too"
I wonder if something is missing in the planning of today's sailors.
I very often sail with no engine and I have always used just the
sextant and log. When I plan a route it allows for the need to not
sail into some place that you cannot sail out of if things get bad.
Also I don't let myself get to close to what can become a lee shore.
The pilot charts tell me what the chance of fog is, and if the water
is thin and the chance of fog great I will avoid that part of the
world. I have never sailed in the Pacific so I don't know if you can
do that there.
All the best;
Bob
--- In , Bryan Genez <capella at c dot dot dot >
wrote:
> Margo Dollan wrote:
>
> >> One area where I've modernized is in navigation. I learned how
to use a
> > sextant some 35 years ago, and still carry one today.<
> >
> > I fully intend on making the sextant part of the kids' schooling
when the time
> > comes. I think everyone who sails should at least know how to
read one, just
> > in case. Hopefully, by the time they're old enough, we'll be at
least close
> > to living aboard. I can only hope that I'm well rounded enough
to be a good
> > teacher!
>
> I believe competency in celestial navigation is a good skill to
have, but
> I'm no longer convinced it's necessary. Celestial has a huge
disadvantage -
> you can never count on it. On one passage in my early years, we
spent
> almost two weeks in the Pacific Ocean in overcast conditions.
During that
> time, we got exactly one sun line: the CO, XO, Navigator, and OOD
all shot
> the exact same line at the same moment. Then a cloud covered the
sun. We
> actually ended up pretty close to where we expected to be when we
finally
> made landfall. DR is a wonderful thing!
>
> But we were in areas that had reefs. Have you ever noticed that
reefs are
> named after the ships (or captains) who came to grief on them?
Sometimes,
> it's not so good to have your name associated with a geographic
point!
>
> Celestial is definitely a last-resort skill for me. GPS is good.
>
> --
> Best,
>
> Bryan Genez (KB3HMZ)
> "Capella" Valiant 40 #158
> Annapolis, MD
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