Wind gear do you really need it?

[RupertW]

How does the phone tell you depth of water? I'll show the charted depth but bot any anomalies.
?

Not sure what you mean by anomalies. If a great big uncharted object has dropped there (e.g. some sort of new wreck) then you will hit it before your echo sounder tells you anything. Echo sounders are useful for shallowing depths which give you a few yards or seconds warning of a change in terrain - as will an chartplotter on phone in any circumstances I can imagine in all crusing grounds except shifting mud and sand bank areas. Ok - so I amend the above with that caveat - I haven't sailed in an area like that for a long time.

Not of course that I don't have and use wind instruments, echo sounder, magnetic compass and so on, but I'm sure that's because I think chartplotters are the tools of the navigationally illiterate and prefer to look at a paper chart and say, "Steer along the island, look at the echo sounder and follow the 50m line". But that's habit and sentimentality on my part.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Not sure what you mean by anomalies. If a great big uncharted object has dropped there (e.g. some sort of new wreck) then you will hit it before your echo sounder tells you anything. Echo sounders are useful for shallowing depths which give you a few yards or seconds warning of a change in terrain - as will an chartplotter on phone in any circumstances I can imagine in all crusing grounds except shifting mud and sand bank areas. Ok - so I amend the above with that caveat - I haven't sailed in an area like that for a long time.

Not of course that I don't have and use wind instruments, echo sounder, magnetic compass and so on, but I'm sure that's because I think chartplotters are the tools of the navigationally illiterate and prefer to look at a paper chart and say, "Steer along the island, look at the echo sounder and follow the 50m line". But that's habit and sentimentality on my part.

Shifting sandbanks were what I had in mind.

 

[pagoda]

Of course wind instruments are unnecessary and expensive. On the other hand, they can make sailing easier and more pleasurable and I have no intention of passing on lots of cash to the children when I can spend it on myself.

Just park the boat somewhere obscure before you leave then, post keys to offspring..? :encouragement: