When was the last time you used Dead Reckoning/Estimated Position or took bearings in anger?

dgadee said:
educate new entrants with useful stuff, not just what has been on the syllabus since the dawn of the RYA.
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Oh the wisdom of the electronic armchair sailor.
Not having looked at the current RYA requirements you have no doubt missed that the need to be able to navigate down channel and recognise your position by the bottom samples recovered on your lead line weight has long since been dropped from the YM exam.
 
srm said:
Oh the wisdom of the electronic armchair sailor.
Not having looked at the current RYA requirements you have no doubt missed that the need to be able to navigate down channel and recognise your position by the bottom samples recovered on your lead line weight has long since been dropped from the YM exam.
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Frankly, it's all been downhill since they ditched the astrolabe section and stopped suggesting burning barrels of tar as a sign of distress.
 
newtothis said:
Frankly, it's all been downhill since they ditched the astrolabe section and stopped suggesting burning barrels of tar as a sign of distress.
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Actually, flames or smoke are still a distress signal, according to the list we're all supposed to carry. So, should one have one, burning a barrel of tar would indeed be a valid distress signal!
 
newtothis said:
Frankly, it's all been downhill since they ditched the astrolabe section and stopped suggesting burning barrels of tar as a sign of distress.
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Only because that information is so scanty on the modern chart. I would like more of it - so useful when looking for somewhere to anchor.
 
srm said:
Oh the wisdom of the electronic armchair sailor.
Not having looked at the current RYA requirements you have no doubt missed that the need to be able to navigate down channel and recognise your position by the bottom samples recovered on your lead line weight has long since been dropped from the YM exam.
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Whew, I ran out of tallow last week.

dgadee said:
Only because that information is so scanty on the modern chart. I would like more of it - so useful when looking for somewhere to anchor.
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OK, so the AA road atlas of the UK might not have that info but my UKHO charts dated 2021 certainly do where I need it. :rolleyes:
 
No one is forcing you to not use your 50year out of date charts or to have anything electrickery on board, just enjoy sailing the way you like it.
 
dgadee said:
Maybe. But I think there is a need to rethink what navigation in the 2020s is and educate new entrants with useful stuff, not just what has been on the syllabus since the dawn of the RYA.
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dgadee said:
Only because that information is so scanty on the modern chart. I would like more of it - so useful when looking for somewhere to anchor.
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Have you made your feelings known to the RYA and UKHO?
If so how did they respond?
 
Can you imagine what it was like for our forefathers in play yachting. No engine, no weather forecasts, no GPS, no radio, cotton sails . They would probably cause us lot a bunch of wimps.

It does make you wonder if many lost their jobs for consistently turning up to work late after being bitten by the sailing bug. " Look Simpkins. this is the third week running that you have turned up for work on a Tuesday lunchtime part covered in mud. This is a final warning".
 
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dgadee said:
You are all pushing dead technology.
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As opposed to technology that dies with a bit of salty damp, a corroded terminal, a nearby lightening strike, a military conflict well over the horizon that causes satellites to be repositioned (it happened during the Balkans conflicts) or a dead battery. Perhaps you have yet to discover that salt water and boats are aggressive environments for electronics.

Yes, apps for tidal calculations are great, the best is probably Total Tide from UKHO. Likewise, with all the other digital technology and associated toys, and I am happy to use them; right up to the moment one or all stops working.

Then what?
 
srm said:
As opposed to technology that dies with a bit of salty damp, a corroded terminal, a nearby lightening strike, a military conflict well over the horizon that causes satellites to be repositioned (it happened during the Balkans conflicts) or a dead battery. Perhaps you have yet to discover that salt water and boats are aggressive environments for electronics.

Yes, apps for tidal calculations are great, the best is probably Total Tide from UKHO. Likewise, with all the other digital technology and associated toys, and I am happy to use them; right up to the moment one or all stops working.

Then what?
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Not sure what your point is. I have very few onboard instruments. I have a depth sounder, Navionics on a cheap Android tablet (and mobile) and just resorting OpenCPN (from pc to RPi). My VHF now has AIS (receiving) and internal GPS. I sailed around UK mostly solo with that and am now almost at Turkey. I have had no problems. I have no qualifications.

I also have a wheelpilot but that is rubbish and only works in a flat calm.

I like to keep things simple and as error free as possible. Digital is reliable - gone are the days when I hoped I knew where I was.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
It does make you wonder if many lost their jobs for consistently turning up to work late after being bitten by the sailing bug. " Look Simpkins. this is the third week running that you have turned up for work on a Tuesday lunchtime part covered in mud. This is a final warning".
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Box of 50 King Edward Cigars, or a bottle of duty free scotch; some Belgian chocs, or bottle of white wine, for his missus, usually solved that one ;)
 
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