Jeff,
It's good to talk with you again. But course and speed readings every 10 to 15 minutes doesn't give a single-hander much sleep.
From what I understand about windvanes, as the
weather backs, the
boat backs with it. When the single-hander wakes from his sleep, he will look at his
compass and know his heading. But how will he know how much time he sailed on each intermediate course in order to figure his
current location? Or is he forced to assume a constant
boat speed and constant wind/course change and calculate a big
arc on the chart until he is able to make a sighting?
Are there any other options, short of using
electronics, that cruisers can use to estimate a course when they get out of the bunk? How have cruisers typically handled this situation before
GPS?
Thanks,
Chas