Bob Agramonte of La Conner, WA, asks:
Do you plot your position on paper chart per hour basis (time, speed heading)? Or is this info written in your log? GPS can and has gone down.
Jim
Leishman responds:
We have been logging our Latitude and Longitude each hour
- along with magnetic course and speed. We have not been plotting
it on paper as our computer handles that for us. We have a
lap top computer with Raytech navigation software - plus we
have the Raymarine chart plotter which is independent and
has its own chart cartridges. We have three GPSs and a spare
computer with all duplicate software. The computer and handheld
GPS is stowed outside the wheelhouse and would not be subject
to lightning damage. We also have paper charts aboard. I could
not imagine a series of failures aboard our boat that would
render us unable to receive GPS and I don't really think that
the GPS system is going to go down - every satellite - all
at once. If it did - we'd have to dead reckon and use our
Radar - we have no sextant aboard.
Has our war made any changes in your route plan?
There have been hostile people in Somalia, Yemen and Sudan for years - so there is concern. We've been watching this carefully and don't see any real evidence that a transit of the area will be unsafe.