"Bill Kearney" wrote in message
t...

When GPS charting and AIS technology becomes mature the
mariner won't even have to update his charts. It will happen
automatically
whenever he pilots his craft within range of a wireless coastguard
internet
hot spot where his GPS navigation device automatically collects the
updates.

And let's hope they actually start discusssing the security risks
associated
with this idea.

What security risks would that be?



When the GPS chart becomes the universal
standard then all the buoys can be removed from the water and the charts
they are simply no longer required.

I sure hope not. Electronic devices fail and radio frequencies can be
jammed or interferred with.

Paper maps can be misprinted. They can get destroyed accidentally, and buoys
can be moved by storms and collisions. A compass can be damaged and also
interfered with by magnetic sources on the ship or in the waters. They too
are not 100% reliable. Your fears come from your lack of understanding of
the basic principles of navigation.

I'll take a good ol' paper chart and an actual
physical marker, thank you.

Its clear that you are one of the old geezers who thinks its a sin to use
anything but compass and paper map. You think this way because thats all you
know.

While I agree that electronic charting is
*definitely* worth using it's not without issues.

Again, what issues would that be? Its interesting how vague your language
gets when telling the world how much you hate electronic navigation. You
don't want to admit that the only problem is that you fear it because you
don't understand it.



(A brave new world eh?). Think of how much money could be saved?
Electronic charts will save as much money.

I doubt it.

I doubt that you know what you are talking about.

And when it comes to safety I'm not sure I'd even bother
arguing for 'saving'. Penny-wise, pound-foolish, more or less.

You seem to be a rather slow individual. The idea that GPS navigation does
not require buoys in any way in the water or on a chart has completely
soared over your head. Your mind clearly has not come to grips with that
basic fact. Instead you spend this post arguing that buoys should stay for
redundancy. This is a perfectly good reason to keep buoys in the water but
has absolutely nothing to do with the point I was making. Considering your
inability to think and process written material in this thread, I'm glad I
won't be riding on any of your boats. It doesn't sound safe.