DavidofMersea
Well-known member
A few years ago a friend asked me to help bring his catamaran back from Corsica to the south of France. On the way down, he got out what he called "the maps", it was then that I discovered that he had no idea about navigation.
I was not worried because we were to meet a Kiwi charter skipper in Corsica who was coming with us. When I met him, I discovered that his only navigated was by eye.
"Navigation is easy" says my friend "you just sail 300 degrees (or what ever it was)". Perhaps I should have asked before I left if someone could navigate, but I did not think of that, would you?
We got out to the west of Corsica, the wind dropped and we drifted for three days - it was then that I discovered that we only had food for a couple of days.
Then a storm blew up, the mainsail tore, the electrics failed, and we arrived somewhere on the French coast at about 1.00am on a very black night.
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I was not worried because we were to meet a Kiwi charter skipper in Corsica who was coming with us. When I met him, I discovered that his only navigated was by eye.
"Navigation is easy" says my friend "you just sail 300 degrees (or what ever it was)". Perhaps I should have asked before I left if someone could navigate, but I did not think of that, would you?
We got out to the west of Corsica, the wind dropped and we drifted for three days - it was then that I discovered that we only had food for a couple of days.
Then a storm blew up, the mainsail tore, the electrics failed, and we arrived somewhere on the French coast at about 1.00am on a very black night.
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