True, Don. and depending on how far away I am, I to doubt I'd find Bermuda, so on to my destination...unless I had a portable radio I could make use as a makeshift RDF, or was within 50 miles and could get Bermuda Radio to give me a bearing on my VHF signal.
Given all the crap I have to pack on these trips, not having to take a sextant along--and get it through security without some bozo TSA agent picking it up by the arm and then getting it in the overhead bin without it being banged around, etc.--saves a lot of trouble. I can use a hand-bearing compass to tell whether someone's gaining or losing On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 4:25 PM, Don Newman <[email protected]> wrote: > Run up the coast from Florida to NY and you will be 100 miles offshore. > I wouldn't want to try to find Bermuda with DR only. > > If your DR is current then you should be OK for most coastal runs. But it > is so easy to learn basic sun sights and the sextant is such a great tool > for racing on longer courses. 30 seconds tells if you are gaining or > loosing on a competitor and many other uses. > > > Don Newman > C&C 44 > > On Jan 15, 2014, at 16:21, Curtis <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hold on Don, I'm new to the world of sailing. I would like to learn all > that I can as soon as I can. I have spent a great many hours looking up > stuff on Google and U-tube. But very little time on sex-tents I want to and > will learn how they did it back in the OLD day. I don't think I will be > freaking out to make a coastal run from Charleston to say St Augustine > without knowing how to read the stars. I mean really? If you are doing > long passage's. sure. But the most of us are not going to Spain via the > Philippians. I have a new Garmin echo50s for Christmas and I now have a > back up Garmin 215 and A Garmin battery operated 76s. I feel safe with > this. I do keep soft plugs and a rubber hammer. > Just saying its good to feel this way. Nobody likes change. My dad was > like this about his type writer. Said the ned word processors would kill > the writer. and work will be lost. Bla, Bla,.Bla > My ¢ > > > Cheers > > On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 3:57 PM, Don Newman <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Absolutely right Martin. >> >> Too many years ago we were delivering a Landfall 48 from the Lyford Key >> to New York. A new boat that had been south one winter with all the latest >> toys. Loran, course computer, radar etc. The guys were giving me the >> gears about not needing my sextant. >> >> The first waves out of port washed the decks and ran through the deck >> Prism into the electronics bay, by the 4th wave everything was out. I >> pulled out the sextant and said "This still works". >> >> Even today, with everyone having two spare GPSs in their pockets and >> another on their watch, I wouldn't go offshore without it. A close >> lightning strike and all electronics on the boat could be taken out. I >> can't believe that some people don't even keep a DR log up to date updated >> with regular GPS fixes. How else could you tell if you are getting strange >> values from the magic box? >> >> >> On Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 2:02 PM, Martin DeYoung >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> >>… found none of the boats electronics working.<< >>> >>> >>> >>> I still carry a lead line, paper charts, battery operated GPS and VHF, >>> and a sextant if going offshore. I rarely carry my very old school Walker >>> Taffrail Log but I have been looking for a 70’s Heathkit RDF to add to my >>> old boat stuff museum. >>> >>> >>> >>> Back in ’93 I was skipper on a delivery (Hawaii to Seattle) on a custom >>> 46’ sloop. A day or so out of Honolulu the engine ceased to function. >>> When trouble shooting we found the owner had incorrectly wired a new >>> battery into the bank in such a way that only 1 small starting battery was >>> charged. >>> >>> >>> >>> The winds were un-characteristically light for early September making >>> the choice to carry on vs. a downwind trip back to Hawaii the lessor of two >>> weevils. To conserve the very limited 12 volt supply on board I shut >>> everything off. Lights, nav gear, water pumps etc. The crew grumbled but >>> all became much better “by feel” sailors, especially at night. I did have >>> a AA battery powered GPS that I turned on once a day for a fix. >>> >>> >>> >>> After a few days of very creative engine repairs including making our >>> own replacement valve springs. We used the sheet winches to turn the >>> engine over (think a lawnmower pull starter) to save 12 volt power for one >>> engine start attempt. We did get the engine to run on 3 cylinders to >>> charge 12 V batteries and chill the refrig and freezer. We could motor at >>> slow speed in flat water. >>> >>> >>> >>> Experiences like that one reinforce the habit of keeping old school >>> navigation equipment and charts/books on board whenever going any place >>> interesting or where the charts state “here there be monsters”. >>> >>> >>> >>> Martin >>> >>> Calypso >>> >>> 1971 C&C 43 >>> >>> Seattle >>> >>> >>> >>> *From:* CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of * >>> Curtis >>> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 14, 2014 10:10 AM >>> *To:* [email protected] >>> *Subject:* Re: Stus-List Redundent instrumentation / tools >>> >>> >>> >>> I love the fact that I will have some back up;s to back ups. Plus paper >>> charts and hand held Garmin 76 It gives me comfort to know that when done >>> with this process I will now all of my equipment. Before i sail. >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album >>> http://www.cncphotoalbum.com >>> [email protected] >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Don Newman >> C&C 44 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album >> http://www.cncphotoalbum.com >> [email protected] >> >> > > > -- > > *At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much. - Robin Lee > Graham* > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected] > > -- Andrew Burton 61 W Narragansett Ave Newport, RI USA 02840 http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ phone +401 965 5260
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