Glad you guys are sharing this. This is my First time learning how to use the gps. I sail in sight of land most of the time. I do want to learn and go of shore this spring. If fact, That's why I got a new GPS. keep in mind I have been studying paper charts and dead reckoning I do understand that the fundamentals should not be bypassed in lew of technology. I will be using the GPS/ Sonar and I find that is a great tool. You got to admit it. It gives me Local weather, temp, sonar Depth, Local marinas with phone numbers, it gives me tides and velocity, It has a WiFi hot spot.It has anchor drag alarms. It has a snooze alarm. The modern Garmin is not junk. How ever that being said, It is a tool and only a tool. I've seen paper charts that if followed you would be high and dry on a sand bar as well. They are all tools and should be used only with a human looking and seeing and using piloting skills learned form experience. I think as far as tool go for helping a sailor find his way its a great invention. We should not be afraid of technology but we should never forgo basic fundamentals on navigation. there in a nut shell is my 2 cents. Cheers, Curtis
On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 9:19 PM, Rick Brass <rickbr...@earthlink.net> wrote: > About 15-20 years ago, when GPS started to become ubiquitous, it was not > uncommon to hear about GPS assisted groundings where a skipper set a > waypoint here, and a waypoint over there a few miles, and forgot to look at > the shoal or headland between the two waypoints. So much so that the Power > Squadron Piloting course segment on GPS navigation was changed to teach > folks to avoid the situation. > > > > Then when GPS accuracy increase significantly, there was rash of GPS > assisted collisions with objects. I had a friend, a two time > circumnavigator with decades of wxperience, who used a channel market for a > waypoint and left a big blue paints stripe on the marker as his boat > scraped along side. And a far less experienced local was bringing his > new-to-him Bermuda 40 home under full sail, using all those expensive > instruments to steer the boat, when he ran head on into a channel turning > marker mounted on a dolphin made of 3 12” telephone poles. Actually I was > really impressed by the Bermuda 40, which had bent the polished stainless > CQR and the bow pulpit when it hit the dolphin, but which did not even > crack the fiberglass of the boat. Again the course was changed to teach > offset waypoints. > > > > Now you hear about the occasional collision between boats using almost the > same waypoints to steer a route. And on my recent delivery up the ICW from > Port Royal to Pamlico Sound, I saw an uncomfortable number of boats who > seemed to be following the ”Magenta Line” with no one at the helm. I can > recall several stretches of the ICW where I was firmly in the middle of the > cut, but the boat icon was in the weeds on the chart and the Magenta Line > was a fair bit away from it. At times like that is is good to recall that > the positions shown on the chart were determined 25, 45, 65, or more years > ago by using methods far less accurate than GPS. > > > > Makes sense that the warning on electronic navigation devices say they > should not be your only means of navigation. The rule should be that you be > at the helm and keep your eyes out of the boat. > > > > Maybe the GPS should have a button that needs to be pressed at random > intervals of 2 minutes or less, and if not pressed the boat stops. Think of > it as a sort of “deadman switch” for the terminally stupid boater. > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *Dennis > C. > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 15, 2014 4:44 PM > *To:* Cn Clist > *Subject:* Stus-List Setting GPS Waypoints (long) > > > > I made a transit with a learning sailor who had just bought a new handheld > GPS. It was a lower priced model with a map but not a true chartplotter. > He wanted to see The Rigolets, the outlet of Lake Pontchartrain, so he > wouldn't be intimidated should he ever do it himself. > > > > As we made turn after turn along the route, I noticed he wasn't setting > any waypoints in his GPS. I mentioned it and he said he didn't need to > because all the marks were in the pre-loaded database in the GPS. I > suggested to him that it might be a good idea to have waypoints set in the > middle of the channels where he wanted to turn rather than using the fixed > marks that lined the channel. He thought about it and then the light came > on. > > > > On another occasion, I helped a friend bring his new boat home from across > the lake. It had a nice Raymarine charplotter. Imagine his amazement > when, as we motored down the middle of Mandeville Harbor, the symbol for > the boat on his chartplotter went through the middle of the seawall on our > port side. What if the visibility had been zero and we were totally > relying on the chartplotter? I have a waypoint set a hundred yards or so > off the entrance. I can arrive at the mark then feel my way into the > harbor entrance in low visibility once I have visual contact with the > lights or seawalls. > > > > I have two fixed mount GPS's and 1 handheld (kept in a waterproof pouch > with the batteries removed). The fixed mounted GPS's are at the > helmstation and navstation and are routed through a switch so that one or > the other is interfaced with the instruments and autosteerer. > > > > Anyway, relative to the subject line, ALL the waypoints in my GPS's are > *OBSERVED*, That is, I took the boat to the spot where I wanted the > waypoint and hit the "Mark" button on the GPS unit. If I'm not comfortable > with it, I've been known to swing the boat around and go back and re-mark > it. I always delete the other one. > > > > If I'm going somewhere new, I may enter a waypoint from a chart but once I > reach that point, I may adjust it according to where I really want it when > I observe the conditions at the waypoint. > > > > I'm always amazed at how many boaters use government marks, bridges, etc. > for waypoints. For instance, I set a waypoint on either side of a bridge > opening. I don't want to use the center of the opening. Never know when > you're going to arrive in a thick fog or other adverse conditions. > Government marks, buoys, bridges, etc. are things to be avoided, not to be > used for waypoints. > > > > My mid-channel waypoints are set such that I am well away from points, > shoals, etc. If I need more than one waypoint to navigate safely around a > bend, I set them. I can always cut the corner in good visibility. > > > > So, the next time you enter a waypoint in your GPS, ask yourself "Is this > REALLY where I want my boat to be in zero visibility?" > > > > Still, having waypoints you are comfortable with doesn't relieve you from > maintaining a diligent watch or totally, completely trusting them. > Remember, aids to navigation and navigational aids are used to help you, > the boatowner, skipper, to properly navigate. > > > > I still have paper charts on board and, although I don't have a sextant, I > do know how to determine my position by triangulation using a hand held > compass and charted objects on the shore and waterways. The paper charts > are always out for reference every time I make a long passage. > > > > Dennis C. > > Touche' 35-1 #83 > > Mandeville, LA > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > -- *At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.- Robin Lee Graham*
_______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
