"Oz1" Cappy_killfiled_me_in_asa_What_a_wimp wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:05:09 -0400, "Jeff Morris"
jeffmo@NoSpam-sv-lokiDOTcom wrote:

Passagemakers? You mean people who are using autopilots to hold a course?

Nope, I mean people hand steering and using vanes...you know the ones
who actually know what they're doing.


Forgive me for being skeptical - hand steering on a long passage and not using a compass?
Are you saying the CA sat on the tiller for 31 days? Not that its that important - the
standards for crosstrack are a bit different offshore.


Assuming its
compass based, the traditional compass is the backup.
In that case yes.
It's uncovered, checked and covered again...Right?

Also, there isn't much piloting to practice while on passage.

Really, no DR, no plotting?

DR isn't piloting. Sorry, I was using the term precisely. Piloting is specifically in
sight of land. The compass has a purpose offshore, but it doesn't need constant or
immediate attention. In piloting, however, there are many uses of a compass, and the need
may be immediate.



--
-jeff
"Constant Vigilance!" - Frances W. Wright