The Modern Navigator
Since the beginning of seafaring, travelers have used some method of helping them navigate to their destination and back home again. Vikings managed to cross the stormy North Atlantic. Polynesians successfully explored the Pacific and generations of fishermen have found their way with few, if any, aids to navigation. The techniques used by these seafarers differed, but they all had a keen sense of space and time, as well as their place in it. Their senses were tuned in to
location of sun and stars
color of the water
cries of seabirds
direction of the wind
the speed they were making
feeling the waves reflecting off the land or the sound of crashing surf.
Yes, it all sounds very romantic . . . . OKAY!! – A lot of the time they just shoved horseshoes up their a__, kept sailing until they bumped into something and claimed the new lands found as their own. Maybe lucky! However, they did manage to navigate their way back, eventually.
The modern sailor is hunched over an electronic charting system which is mounted eye level at the binnacle, maneuvering the vessel as if they are playing a video game, rarely taking eyes off the chart plotter. I too, have found myself falling into this trance a few times, becoming unaware of my real surroundings. We watch as the little black icon passes land marks and buoys, sometimes oblivious to their actual location. We can tend to become complacent with all our modern electronics, leading to overconfidence in our navigation, cut corners and take chances.
There are dozens of examples of electronic navigation leading to disasters, including destruction of vessels and loss of life. Most recently, in the Volvo Ocean Race, Vestas Wind ran up on a reef that was known to them. One of the best examples was in 2009 when then 100’ racing machine Price-Waterhouse-Coopers sailed up on to the rocky coast of Flinders Islet at full speed. The vessel had a full time professional crew on board, two being killed in the grounding as the boat disintegrated in the pounding surf. The rest of the injured crew were able to walk on to the shore from the deck.
The ensuing inquiry discovers the only method of navigation at the time was a Chartplotter. They were also able to calculate that the probable error in GPS position, caused by antennae angle, satellite position and chart error was a few hundred meters. That’s a far cry from the couple of meters accuracy we are lulled into believing that our GPS is always giving.
How many of us actually read the disclaimer that comes up when we first turn on our GPS or Chartplotter, before pressing the ACCEPT button?
I am not suggesting that we chuck our radar, GPS, and chart plotter. Many old navigators lost their boats and died when their sense of place failed them. They would have avoided peril, if only they had a $150 hand held GPS. Modern navigation equipment is a real asset, and I’d much rather have it onboard than not.
However, there must be a reasonable amalgamation of old and new tools. Use of traditional navigation techniques coupled with modern electronics, not only increases safety, but has the added benefit of keeping us more aware of what is around us. Isn’t this why we go cruising in the first place?
No matter what method is being used the navigator needs a complete understanding of the principles behind navigating. They should also use more than one navigational tool to ensure that data derived from each tool confirms what the other tool is telling them. Putting too much reliance on one tool, and not understanding its limitations will most certainly lead to disaster.
Join Ken Gillstrom for his day-long seminar on Electronic Navigation on March 7, 2015, at the Vancouver Island chapter of the Bluewater Cruising Association. He will review the gambit of electronic tools available, from a simple depth sounder to Forward Looking Sonar, RADAR, AIS, Autopilot, Electronic Charts and Plotters. He will cover the information that each tool can provide, how to use it, and the limitations of that information.
