[Rhodes22-list] Slim's Compass

[Steve Alm]

Ed, Brad, Bill, Jim, Saroj, Richard, et al,

Thank you for all the great info.  We're planning a Lake Superior trip in
Aug.  We'll probably trailer up to Grand Portage, MN (Canadian border) and
join one or two other boats and friends who will be sailing all the way from
Duluth.  They do this every summer.  I won't be out there alone.  We'll sail
to Isle Royale and/or other islands in the vicinity of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
But it'll be my first time skippering the Rhodes on such big water.  I'm
very excited, scared, humbled, nervous, calm and confident -- all.  At this
point, I'm not sure if we will lose sight of land (although fog happens) but
I'm definitely going to have to improve my navigational skills and tools, so
this discussion has been invaluable to me.  Thank you all!

Ed, I'm trying to work out a trip to SC soon.  I'll keep you posted.

Slim

On 4/7/05 8:00 AM, "ed kroposki" <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:

> 
> 
> Slim:
> If you are going to keep the compass on the boat, then do a basic
> calibration.  If your drive is paved, then get a cheap scout compass and a
> piece of chalk.  Plot N-S, E-W on the driveway, or street in front of your
> house.  Adjust the compass to N-S, then E-W, then S-N, then W-E and again to
> fine tune.
> The headings may not be perfect, but they will give you the general
> direction, so that you do not do Brad's trick of going in circles.  If you
> decide to do serious navigating then do more serious calibrations of the
> compass.  Keep in mind it will never be perfect to a degree.
> As to which way do charts use, just look at a navigation chart in
> the light.  The answer is usually somewhere on the chart in degrees.
> Bill said that a GPS is referenced from where you are coming from.
> On my Magellan Meridian, it tries to show a heading of where it is pointed.
> If you use a Meridian GPS, you should be able to calibrate the compass to
> within a few degrees.
> Are you planning a cruise across Lake Superior this summer?
> Are you planning a visit to your mother's anytime soon?
> 
> Ed K
> Greenville, SC, USA
> Addendum:  Navigators answer:   A number of different approaches are being
> tried. (We are still guessing at this point.)
> 
> 
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