On Jul 27, 11:42 am, Chuck Gould wrote:
I'm writing a short item this morning about hand held bearing
compasses.

I carry one on my boat, and could find it in an instant. I suspect,
however, that in this age of electro-nav gimmicks I'm now in the
minority.

Three questions:

1. Do you carry a bearing compass?

Yes, I have one on my little boat, admittedly, I would probably not if
it were not given to me.

2. Whether you carry one or not, do you know why anybody would want
to?

In my case, it comes from my old hiking/camping days. I feel like if I
know which direction is north, I can find my way out of almost
anywhere. On land with a compass and a topo map, I could find my way
in too!


3. Do you have any charts aboard, or are you running depending
strictly on an uninterrupted supply of DC power and counting on 100%
reliability from your electronics for navigation information?

Mechanical compass. Has a light, and I have it on a dedicated circuit,
but can be used without power.