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otnmbrd otnmbrd is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 238
Default Skip, Lydia and Captain Joshua Slocum

wrote in news:nhc7c3tqjep52soglt8e7r373n6hnbf1aq@
4ax.com:



Unfortunately that just isn't so.

Chuck your H.O. Tables over the side and smash your time source with a
hammer and then come back and tell me just how infallible your sextant
is. Oh yes, chuck the hand calculator too so you can do the math with
a pencil.


G So you can't figure Long. Lat's better than nuff'n and can keep you
clear of a lot of trouble.


Then they are all those overcast days when you can't see the sun or
stars and the windy days when you can't stay steady enough to get a
good sight.

I used to use a sextant and if nobody has dropped it so the mirrors
are out of alignment and if you have up to date references and if your
time signal is accurate and if your pencil is still sharp you can get
a cocked hat, maybe a mile on a side so hopefully you are somewhere in
that triangle.


LOL Member of the "accuracy to within inches" brigade I see. A one mile
tiangle under conditions which you would normally be using a sextant is a
pretty good fix and well within the parameters you need.
GPS is the way to go, but for long distance cruising in open ocean
conditions with Mr. Murphy sitting beside you, the more you have the
safer you may be.