Gary wrote in
news:uTiQf.133119$B94.26881@pd7tw3no:

Comments interspersed:

Although a yachtie or freighter may not have cared where they were all
the time, that was not everyone's attitude.

Wrong. A "yachtie or freighter" ALWAYS care where they are at all times.
The difference/arguable point is that precise knowledge to a small
amount of feet or meters is not always important.

Take a military example
where you have to rendezvous with another ship or submarine in mid
ocean. A few miles could mean disaster.

This was done on a regular basis for years prior to GPS....GPS just
makes it easier and to a degree, more positive.

Take the search and rescue
problem. Same thing.

See above, but frequently the GPS saves precious time.

What about the research done on specific things
on the bottom?

I am still amazed by the general accuracy of that research, done prior
to GPS.

GPS has facilitated accurate navigation to a degree
that was only dreamed of in the past. It should be your first line
piece of kit when offshore, not at the exculsion of anything else but
certainly head and shoulders above all the rest.
In my opinion the only better way to navigate is by visual fix or
radar fix. Even then I check the fixes against GPS.

Gaz


No one argues the value of GPS. I frequently mention shipboard
procedures, fully realizing that some things acceptable on a ship are
not acceptable on a smaller cruising vessel, since the space available
for backup and more importantly electrical power sources is considerably
different.
Personally, I'm still using GPS as my backup to check my visual/radar
fixes (which I consider to be more "real world" true) until all Charts
have been corrected using GPS/DGPS readings.
The Major point...... NO one systems is perfect. To rely solely on one
system is to invite disaster.


otn