Post deleted by danfoley

[Mirelle]

Vertical angle

Vertical angle is the easiest, and one of the most accurate, ways of getting a position line. There is a table in the Almanac (or should be, if not, you need a book of tables) which was first drawn up by the legendary STS Lecky. Any coastal feature whose height above HW is known can be used - bring its top down to the waterline and enter the tables with the angle read from the sextant and the height, corrected for tide if you want to be really accurate. The answer is your distance off, accurate to a few yards. If you need to keep a certain distance clear of a headland or mark, set the sextant to the angle in question, then pick it up and glance at the headland from time to time as you pass - this is even easier than using GPS! That's why charts show heights of lighthouses, nuclear power stations, churches, hills and so on.

 

[AndrewB]

Excellent posting.

You are absolutely right, Fatipa. One can't turn back the clock, but I really miss both the keen anticipation and then thrill of landfall, as well as the sense of self-reliance (or mutual reliance) when sailing offshore. These satisfactions will never be known by those who have entered sailing since the introduction of GPS and VHF/Mobile/Satellite Phones.

And I agree with you about the irritatingly self-satisfied Pardeys. (Though people I know who have met them say they are a delightful couple).

 

[Mirelle]

Halfway house?

A very thought provoking post. Well, this is where I am at.

I actually did buy the boat which I had coveted as a teenager, which, since I am about to be 50, means that she ain't "state of the art!" In fact she is 65, gaff rigged, teak on oak.

We have a diesel engine, pumped cold water, a coal stove and a Taylors, a manual windlass with loads of heavy chain and a brace of CQRs, and of course a Baby Blake.

As to gizmos, we have an echo sounder and an impeller log; the former is Really Useful and the latter is a toy. I still think the old Walker Excelsior is more reliable in crossing the N. Sea, etc., it is robust enough not to be put out of action by little bits of seaweed or even bits of plastic bag (yes, it happened!). We do have plumbed in and hand held GPS units, but I am so much in the habit of navigating without one that I use it as a check, rather than as an actual means of navigating - I don't use waypoints, etc.

On deck we have the original everything, save that I have added a pair of sheet winches, and converted the runners to Highfield levers. I genuinely do find Appledore (worm gear) roller reefing on the mainsail and Wykeham Martin jib furling gear EASIER to use than slab reefing lines led to the cockpit and jib roller reefing. I think that the modern yachtsman spends a lot of effort graunching winches to do these jobs.

A big benefit of the Wykeham Martin gear is that you have a headsail instantly available. You don't have this with a reefing headsail.

The 9ft stem dinghy, with a sail but no outboard, stows on the coachroof. I have gone back to this from an inflatable.

A big difference is that the boat is designed to be sailed from on deck - the side decks are 2' wide, with 6" bulwarks. On a modern boat, you sail mainly in the cockpit.

I could very easily ditch the speed log, and perhaps the GPS, and although they could all be daisy chained together and plumbed into the autopilot I don't feel very tempted to do so.

I have sailed with an elextronic chart display system, experimentally, and found it a comfort at night, so I will wait a few years and then buy one when they are de-bugged.

I would not be without the binoculars or the handbearing compass.

Pressure hot water might be thought about when we change engine next, but it probably will not happen. We have watertight decks, thanks to modern materials, and therefore we can have nice furnishing fabrics down below. I would not change the solid fuel stove for a central heating type unit.

We most certainly use modern oilskins and under layers!

So, whilst a few bits of boat have been modernised, most are still as they were.

 

[davel]

Re: The good old days

Technology available today gives you choices. Which choice you make is up to you. If you hanker after the good old days, it's pretty easy to achieve your goal - simply do away with your GPS, echosounder, electric whatsit and furling thingy. If you get your enjoyment from using this stuff then that's fine too.

Remember there are lots of sailors who gave their lives for lack of some of the technology that we all take for granted today.

Dave L.
Location: 50 51.0 N 1 18.6 W

 

[billmacfarlane]

Re: The good old days

Good post Brian . I can see your reasons for doing what you want to do in the future with your next boat but a couple of points:
If you decide to long term cruising are you serious in rejecting the use of an EPIRB just because it's an electronic gizmo ? Surely not. It's a great safety device and has saved countless lives. Please carry one if you go long distance.
I can't see your point re electronic tide tables. Whether you use a paper or electronic reference for tide tables the difference is only in the presentation of the data as the source of both is the same. Yes, you might lose your electronics but your book might get soaked and become unreadable.
VHF ? Like most people I listen to CH16 , but don't tend to use it much. It's not only a safety device for yourself but for listening and possibly aiding others.
Wind instruments ? I've only started using them and could happily live without them.
Are you saying that modern boats are too comfortable ? Do you want to back to feeling uncomfortable ?
I agree with Nigel re landfalls. It's always a thrill regardless of what nav gear your using . In the days of Decca , I made a landfall in Ireland. It gave me a real buzz. I could actually smell it before I could see it. It smelled of warm hay not Guinness unfortunately. If your losing your thrill of making a landfall are you sure it's because of your modern gear ?
You're buying a real "sailor's" boat ? What does that make the rest of us who chose not to sail that type of boat . Non sailors ? Don't think so. Just different.
Good luck with your next boat Brian . Think really, really hard about what you want on it and I hope it rekindles what you think is missing from your sailing.

 

[Guest]

Re: Vertical angle

I agree - I use the vertical angle method, albeit nly occassionally.

BTW, I hadn't realised you were one and the same as "the other wooden boat owner" ... I thought it odd that there were TWO codgers with such similar points of view. <G>. I am less confused now!

Humperdinck

Email: HJ@Seacracker.org
Website: www.seacracker.org

 

[Guest]

Live and learn!

I understand. I hadn't realised sextants were so widely used for such calculations. I will start using mine more this Summer and put it to the test.

Humperdinck

Email: HJ@Seacracker.org
Website: www.seacracker.org