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    Re: News Item on Over-reliance on GPS
    From: Lu Abel
    Date: 2008 Nov 09, 11:01 -0800
    Yes.   Peace.   Lu

    Fred Hebard wrote:
    Lu,
    
    Yes, with the caveat to use the sextant regularly.
    
    Fred
    
    On Nov 9, 2008, at 1:28 PM, Lu Abel wrote:
    
      
    Fred Hebard wrote:
        
    So where's the sextant then? Well, gee, that's your PRIMARY
    navigation system.
    This seems contradictory Frank. Either the 'complicated GPS
    "system" aboard' is the primary system or the sextant is. In a
    long, bluewater passage in a small boat, it would seem a sextant
    might be the best primary system. Fred
          
    Fred, I guess I have to wonder on what basis you make this
    assertion.   On the one hand, when you're on a bluewater passage,
    you don't really worry much about bumping into things, bad weather
    and other such things are a more continuous and urgent concern.
    On the other hand, when you near land, your position suddenly
    becomes of great concern.   As a responsible navigator, would you
    prefer a system that gave you five-mile accuracy when it was
    working or a system that gave you 50 ft accuracy most of the time?
    
    Frank gave some excellent examples of how rugged and waterproof
    current handheld GPS sets are.   Yeah, large-screen systems like
    chartplotters might be less waterproof, but let's not fail to
    distinguish.
    
    As has been mentioned on the list previously, the best backup
    systems are ones that rely on a different technology for their
    success -- celestial vs GPS, sails vs engines, buckets vs electric
    bilge pumps.    So why can't we just agree that a good offshore
    navigator should carry both a sextant AND a GPS??
    
        
    
    
    
    
      

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