--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <authfriend@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "PaliGap" <compost1uk@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" > > <authfriend@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "PaliGap" > > <compost1uk@> wrote: > (snip) > > >> A decade or so ago a friend of my Mum's went on such a trip > > >> and had a fabulous time. She is the town's ex-vicar's ex- > > >> wife. Following her divorce she discovered a love for the > > >> sea and for many years sailed a 26' yacht around the > > >> English South West coast (where the Spanish Armada began to > > >> get unstuck) and around the Med. > > > > > Now, that's what I'd *really* like to do. Sadly, a 26-foot > > > yacht ain't in the budget. Motor or sail? > > > > Sail. Her boat "Kate" was I think a Westerly Centaur 26. Such > > as this: > > http://goo.gl/F4BJJ > > *sigh* I've never been on a sailboat, except a Sailfish > on a lake once many, many years ago. > > > They were sturdy boats built in the seventies. Many are still > > seeing action and trading hands for not such big bucks. > > > > For an inanimate object, Joan had a pretty profound > > relationship with Kate. I believe failing health finally > > forced her to sell up in the end; but that was just a few > > years ago in her eighties. I'm sure she was gutted. > > > > Memories of Kate... > > > > On one occasion Joan took Kate out for a day trip from her > > home port of Salcombe with a few friends (including my mother). > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salcombe. Unfortunately a thick > > sea fog descended just as they were heading back. In those > > days no one had GPS - you had to plot your course on a chart > > and use "dead reckoning". Everyone had the utmost confidence > > in Joan, who was both highly experienced and proficient in > > navigation. But even so they all got a bit of shock when the > > fog lifted slightly and revealed that they had just inched > > through an extremely narrow gap between a large rock and the > > headland. You can just make it out here: > > http://goo.gl/tXU4q > > Aieeee! Did she do that deliberately, or by very lucky > accident? If deliberately, why??
Oh, no, not deliberately. Even with all her experience and skill, navigation by dead reckoning is very fallible.
