Since getting my iPad a couple of years ago, I haven't pulled out a paper chart once. As you say, It's a great tool. I have to admit that my sextant hasn't accompanied me on a passage since about 2007 or 50,000 miles ago. I carry spare GPSs, but in the back of my mind always is the possibility that the whole system may go down and then what do I do? Well, I'm pretty confident of my ability to keep a good DR and EP, and in my ability to stay out of trouble when approaching a shoreline if I'm not confident of my position (which is pretty much always).
The bottom line is, I think that learning piloting--coastal navigation, etc--is a higher priority than learning to use a sextant. One little trick when approaching a shoreline without a position fix for some time is to steer to one side of where you want to go. That way when you see land, you know which way to turn to make your port. So if I want to get to Charleston, I may aim for Hilton Head and when I see land, or it starts getting shallow, I know to turn north in order to get to Charleston. If I aim straight for where I want to go, and miss, I'm not sure which direction to turn, the land being pretty featureless from offshore. This tip is courtesy of Chichester from when he was flying his Gypsy Moth biplane. Andy C&C 40 Peregrine On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 9:14 AM, Marek Dziedzic <dziedzi...@hotmail.com>wrote: > I would say Speed first. It gives you enough that you can navigate > (assuming that you have a compass (and a watch)). > > I would drop Stereo from this list (we never have it on; I like the sound > of sailing – I hope this does not open a can of worms) > > I would put a GPS ahead of the autopilot, probably, mainly, because of the > costs associated. > > Marek > > > In order? > > 1 Depth > > 2 VHF > > 3 Stereo > >4 Autopilot > > 4 GPS > > 5 Plotter > > 6 Speed > > 7 wind > > 8 radar or AIS, depending on area of use; offshore, I'm not sure that AIS > > isn't the more valuable tool > > 9 SSB > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > -- Andrew Burton 61 W Narragansett Ave Newport, RI USA 02840 http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ phone +401 965 5260
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