katy wrote:
....
And then the satellite gets shot out of the sky when you're in the
middle of the Gulf Stream....

All 30 of them?
CWM

Just the one you're using...or 2 or 3 or whatever...the point, so
obviously missed by your limited mind, is that GPS systems rely on
other devices that could prove unreliable...or unavailable...

You could just as easily break your compass, lose your paper charts
overboard or a variety of other mishaps that are at LEAST as likely to
happen as your fantasy about the satellites.

Then again, your rudder could break, your mast could come down...

GPS satellites being shot down seems very unlikely compared to the
frequency of mishaps that actually DO happen.

What if Magnetic North suddenly moves?

CWM

Satellites shut down all the time...you must be a very clumsy person if
you lose all your stuff overboard like that...how many screwdrivers live
under the hull of your boat?

I don't know why the issue of satellites failing always comes up.
The birds go offline all the time and no one notices.

Far more likely to cause a problem is the on board GPS. The ship's
power can go out, the cable can fall off, the batteries can die, the
antennae can get kicked by a clumsy crew. Any of these things can
happens, and if Murphy has his way, it will happen just when the fog
comes in while you're crossing Vineyard Sound with a 3 knot cross
current and numerous ferry boats.