....
Whats wrong with a lead line and ...sextant.?
....

I was half way to Honolulu from Christmas on a delivery in the 80's
and when we decided to try out the GPS we had borrowed for the
delivery. I haven't used my sextant since. On a good day when
everything goes just right a sextant, chronometer and tables can be
used to tell you about where you were an hour ago... From time to
time there are big gaps between the good days and the navigator
typically will rely on a compass, chrono and log to get DRs and EPs at
those times... A lead line is nice, but it requires a full time
operator and a slow boat... But, you don't really NEED even those.
There are several voyaging societies around the Pacific that send
their canoes off on long passages without any instruments and there
are intermediate steps you could take like kamals and cross staffs.
So, cast off you goretex, wrap yourself in tree bark and set out in an
open boat for a distant shore and I will read you memoirs in awe.
Meanwhile I will quest for just the right mid layer to keep me
pleasantly warm and dry while I monitor my progress on my gps and I
will be content if my logs make for placid reading...

-- Tom.