On Fri, 03 Mar 2006 23:11:04 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

The best backup for GPS is another GPS, and
some spare batteries.

Agreed. I have two, Old Handheld and Older Handheld, plus Really Old
AlphaNumeric Trimble Unit on the Nav Station that is the Most Accurate
of All.

But I also know coastal pliotage and carry a sextant, because things
get dropped, batteries fail and GW Bush can turn GPS off if the
terrorists are winning, or if he feels like it. (Doesn't matter once
Galileo's operational, I suppose, but that's another story).

So as long as I can see the shore, hear the surf, smell the land and
persist in carrying paper charts, odds are good that I'm covered.

I find that the GPS is handy in CONFIRMING my location (as far as that
goes), but navigating with it is strictly optional. It's an aid, one
of many, not a final arbitor or a second skipper.

R.