"roger" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Sep 16, 1:23 pm, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
wrote in message

...



I was just told by a friend that I should learn celestial
navigation before sailing around the world because
GPS devices don't work that well in the middle of the
ocean and can malfunction if they get wet, etc.

Does my friend have a point even if I intend to bring
3 independent GPS systems with me ?

How about if I just get a cheap sextant and the book
"Celestial Navigation When Your GPS Fails" and
bring them with me ?

TIA

Don't worry about it. Just get a plastic sextant, an instruction book
and some HO 249 tables. Any moron can learn celestial on the fly. I
learned it on the fly in two days, enough to make a cocked hat about
a
mile on a side. Still, for a man who loves precision, I prefer GPS.
Consider getting at least one GPS portable that uses the Russian
constellation in case the US constellation gets shot down by the
Chinese
one of these days. Portables are pretty immune from going to hell
provided they are kept in a water proof case like a Pelican case and
then stored inside a metal case. Even a lighting strike to the mother
ship rarely harms them. If you're paranoid, store three or four
portables in different places around the ship. Get plenty of
batteries
or have a means to charge rechargeable batteries independent of the
motor. (solar)

Wilbur Hubbar
Electronics fail. It's one of the constants on a boat in a salt water
environment. Celestial navigation is not for morons, GPS receivers
are. Intelligent blue water sailors learn celestial navigation. It
is the back up. It can save your life. Don't think of it as a chore,
it is part of the fun of blue water sailing if you let it be.


If you carry multiple GPS backups the chance of all of them going bad on
a circumnavigation is less than the chances of your dropping your
sextant overboard.

I didn't say celestial navigation was for morons. I said even a moron
could learn it. It isn't that hard. Even that 14-year-old girl Tanya
Aebi of "Maiden Voyage" fame who circumnavigated learned it as she went.
And that was before they even had GPS. BTW, I heard she's in the
process of going round again. This time with her 14-year-old son and a
bigger boat. Time flies. . .

Wilbur Hubbard