[Rhodes22-list] GPS reply

[Robert Skinner]

Ed, my misguided comrade,

We have a lot of fog up here, and it can roll in any - 
repeat, any - time.  I've gone ashore for groceries from 
a small (1/4 acre) island in the middle of Green Lake, 
ME, only to find that visibility is down to a couple of 
hundred feet when it was time to return.

I've been out on that lake for some 50 years, and I know 
it well.  Before that days of the GPS, I've used ded (*) 
reckoning to find that island in adverse conditions, but 
even with a good set of bearings, it would have been 
very hard to hit that island steering with a compass in 
such thick fog.  I have attempted it with mixed results.
The GPSMap 76 brought me right to the dock.  

In Casco Bay, there are hundreds of small islands -- but 
if you miss one of the outer ones, you are on your way 
to Europe.  We loose a few sailors each year to simple
failure to carry nav gear.  Some attempt to use a boy
scout compass and a reduced, old, and inaccurate chart
given out by the local tourism office.

IMHO, it would be foolish to venture out on the brine in 
Maine without a pair of GPSes, main and backup, and a good
chart.  If you have passengers, it would be criminal, as 
you are putting them at unnecessary risk.  With the 
current low price of a GPS, there is no excuse not to 
have one, or better yet, two.

Are you seriously advocating such disregard for simple 
safety precautions?  Are you suggesting that sailors put 
family and friends at such unnecessary risk? 

Think on this -- the new sailors who come on this or any 
other sailing list are seeking good and useful advice.  
Often, they are here because they have a hard time weeding 
out biased presentations from individuals or organizations 
with an agenda, or companies hawking their own products.

We have a responsibility to them.  Let's eliminate the 
fortunately occasional practice of dumping on them and/or 
screwing with their heads.  They deserve a consistantly
warm welcome and straight talk.  Most members of this
list understand that and act accordingly.

Others don't.

-- 
Robert Skinner
"Squirrel Haven", 9 Gateway Commons, Gorham, Maine 04038-1331

(*) Yes, I did say "ded reckoning".  For a discussion of 
"ded" vs. "dead", see the following link.  I prefer "ded" 
and won't debate it.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdeadreckoning.html