I think that personal navigation methods depend on how a persons mind
works. Some people are comfortable with gadgets so they rely on them
and are often safer than those who are not comfortable with them.
I happen to be obsessed with geometry and trigonometry so doing
navigation with my hand compass is like a religious revelation when it
works well, as it normally does. My hand compass is my primary
navigation tool and I cannot imagine leaving the dock without having it
next to me. I obsessively take bearings. It is an old Silva
backpacking compass with a foldout mirror, a veteran of many cave
mapping trips, crazy mountaneering trips and sailing for 29 years.
Even when using GPS, I can put it down on my known position and use it
to see a desired course.
My compass is like a talisman, an adult sailors version of a teddy
bear, I tend to think that without it there would be disaster. The
one time I went sailing without it I was so nervous I didnt enjoy it.
Of course, this is all silly and illogical as GPS, radar and such makes
its use superfluous most of the time but it feeds my desire for a sort
of mystical connection with the gods of geometry.
I tried to teach my wife and kids the wonders of the compass but my
wife promptly forgot it all and my kids looked at me like "dad, we know
you're weird but, pleeeeeeeeze".
I imagine that when I get very old, I will tell my son that I am going
to give him my most valued posession and I will hand him my compass
despite the dissapointed look on his face. Maybe he will get something
out of it.