On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 05:00:28 GMT, otnmbrd
wrote:

Only a fool goes offshore/deepsea for extended voyages, with one single
navigation method available ..... and six GPS receivers does not mean
you have six methods, only that you have 5 backups for one method, maybe.

Exactly why I carry two GPSes (one for boat, one for Zodiac), a
bulkhead compass, a pelorus (with angles discreetly placed in tape on
coamings), a stopwatch, a depthfinder, current paper charts with
Notices to Mariners, cruising guides as needed and am looking for an
old sextant to teach myself celestial.

And I cruise the Great Lakes G. LORAN is obviously less popular, but
the older guys still have working sets and even RDF isn't
extinct.,,although I have no idea if it works unless you are line of
sight to an airport, say.

Overkill? Maybe, but my pilotage is pretty sharp, and I can do running
fixes, DR and LOPs and ETAs without firing up the GPS, just a few
neurons. Neither night nor fog bother me if I can get a visual fix
occasionally, which will serve us well when we go offshore, as will
learning celestial.

I believe the more familiar and practised one is with a variety of
techniques, the calmer and more pleasurable the sail. Half of "feel"
is just internalized technique and "sea sense" is no exception.

R.