I'll have to confess that you've got me thinking about something that
hadn't occurred to me. In the 15 years since I did any cruising,
cheap gadgets probably have changed the behavior of all the other
boats. The idea that these yuppies and dot-com'ers are out there
blindly following little cursors around like a video game is so
consistent with human nature as to be inevitable. I may not like this
world I'm going to find when I get back out there again in a couple
weeks.

Every vessel is required to keep a visual watch and be able to stop
and maneuver within the limits of the visibility, regardless of the
equipment on board but that's certainly right up there with observing
road speed limits. I never had a problem with a lobsterboat back in
my cruising days. They came out of the fog, waved, and disappeared.
Few had radar or autopilots at that time. I'm sure the probability
of collision is much higher now that they do.

Maybe I should have just stuck with flying.

--

Roger Long