NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Electronic vs non-electronic
From: Richard B. Emerson
Date: 1999 Oct 04, 08:30 EDT
From: Richard B. Emerson
Date: 1999 Oct 04, 08:30 EDT
Craig writes: > Then I gather the problem is TOO much reliance on GPS because of it's > perceived "high tech" status. Celestial would presumably not help an > incorrect chart and therefore GPS is being slammed in favor of celestial > because GPS is "new-fangled". Am I correct in this assumption? I realize > GPS can fail, as can celestial (clouds, delirium, alcohol...). Perhaps GPS > is more reliable for most navigators. It's certainly easier to get a fix with GPS and the practical accuracy is much higher than celestial means. As the case of the liner grounding off Cape Cod shows, however, mistakenly assuming "a computer says it so it must be so" can have serious consequences. While GPS generally is very reliable, several factors can cause an otherwise functional GPS receiver give questionable results. As I said earlier, the prudent mariner doesn't rely on one source of positional information. Rick S/V One With The Wind, Baba 35
