Enroute navigation approach

[Dan Mosby]

So what's yours?

1. All tech...AIS / GPS, whatever.
2. Paper plots and tracking with GPS tech confirmation. (me)
3. Old school sextant daylight and star navigation with maps.

How often do you calculate your set and drift? Hourly? 3?

Seeing as how I was raised doing land navigation with old school map and compass in another life, I prefer to plot a course and track it on a map while using the GPS system our tax dollars paid to launch into orbit. Part of the fun.

So what's your navigation technique for coastal and ocean sailing?

[belizesailor]

Some combimation of all the above depending on circumstances.

Familiar coastal waters/shorter runs. All electronic.

Longer coastal runs/less familair waters. Electronic plus hand written log and maybe plot on chart.

Offshore. The above plus celestial if possible for practice. Serious use of celestial is rare, but it did save our butts on a Mass-Bermuda run once...we were plotting our celestial fixes just for fun and comparing them to plotted GPS fixes...when we lost all GPS signal about half way across...made landfall in Bermuda using just celestial & DR...lucky break and very gratifying.

[Dan Mosby]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

...lucky break and very gratifying.

Luck? Nope.

Sailors doing the right thing by training? Yes. Much respect.

How often are you doing your checks offshore, and do you do course selection based on drift / set, etc??

[Lepke]

I use a PC based nav program and plot additional bearings and radar ranges to keep the skills. I also use celestial, just to keep the skills. If I had a big chart table I might run an old style plot. I use raster charts because of the the additional information and old habits.

I was a navy trained navigator when only subs and carriers had GPS. Loran A & C was common, Omega was new.

[Dan Mosby]

Originally Posted by Lepke

I was a navy trained navigator ...

There you go. How often do you plot your position/set/drift? I'd imagine hourly? I'm an aerial / ground enroute check point kind of dude, so I find it disturbing at sea dealing with the currents messing up my mojo all the damn time.

[Yellow bird]

Always plotter and electronic charts.
But some time i use sextant (offshore) or compass and landmark (costal) on paper charts, but just for fun (and for don't forget how to do)

But during offshore cruising always a point [Lat/Long] each 3/6 hours (depend on the distanse and the zone of the cruise) more heading, speed, baro, and hours of engine (in case of fuel gauge issue) on a paper log book.

[s/v Moondancer]

Depends on the journey...crossing the Pacific it was sort of ‘that way!’ Ensuring that the boat and crew were comfortable. But in tight tidal waters I do an hourly paper plot.

It is a case of going from the big-picture to the little-picture when necessary.

[Dan Mosby]

Originally Posted by Black Eagle

.... during offshore cruising ...each 3/6 hours (depend on the distanse and the zone of the cruise) ...

That makes sense. Huge ocean, not as many obstacles to avoid. I wonder how often the nav officer does his checks during coastal shipping.

Regardless, I have yet to see a single post championing electric as a sole method of navigation. Impressive. Figured somebody would be telling me to throw the charts away and just use a laptop or ipad or something.

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by Dan Mosby

.....................

Figured somebody would be telling me to throw the charts away and just use a laptop or ipad or something.

Surely not me

About coastal cruising depends on some factors,
cruising in a well known zone, or first time in the zone;
or zone with strong tide or current, or without;
or zone with a lot of shallow waters, and channels, and so on.
I could check every 10 minutes, or never IMHO

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Dan Mosby

Luck? Nope.



Sailors doing the right thing by training? Yes. Much respect.



How often are you doing your checks offshore, and do you do course selection based on drift / set, etc??

Lucky in that we were practicing celestial without intendending to rely on it.

Offshore typically make at least log entry at each watch change. So, every 4 hours if 4 on 4 off. Something else to keep crew occupied...and if all electronics fail then at least you know where you were recently. If crossing a major current then more frequently.

[Shrew]

I user paper charts for planning and preliminary course-plotting. These are used to plot into a GPS chartplotter. I actively navigate by GPS/chartplotter.

I keep the charts handy for reference and as secondary, in the event I lose electronics.

I'm coastal and don't need a sextant.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Dan Mosby

Regardless, I have yet to see a single post championing electric as a sole method of navigation. Impressive. Figured somebody would be telling me to throw the charts away and just use a laptop or ipad or something.

There are people who do, who have multiple backup systems.


It depends on where you are, the hazards that are present, and the shore facilities you can rely on.