Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Point your pelorus towards your buttons, Dave!

(Sorry, had to use that word somewhere....)

Richard Ruck wrote:Point your pelorus towards your buttons, Dave!

(Sorry, had to use that word somewhere....)

I think my pelorus may have become uncalibrated over the years. Will GPS do or shall I get my sextant out? Help - another notch nearer!

Oooh, please feel free to whip out your sextant!!

On a serious note, are professional mariners still obliged to have the ability to navigate by the stars, or is GPS the norm these days?

I know that my late father-in-law managed to get his ship out of trouble more than once when equipment failure caused him to revert to more 'traditional' methods of navigation.

Richard Ruck wrote:On a serious note, are professional mariners still obliged to have the ability to navigate by the stars, or is GPS the norm these days?

I know that my late father-in-law managed to get his ship out of trouble more than once when equipment failure caused him to revert to more 'traditional' methods of navigation.

I am sure a professional merchant/Royal Navy officer cadet is still required to navigate by traditional methods - even the amateur Yachtmaster and Coastal/Day Skipper qualifications require it. In time of emergency or war, it is entirely possible to switch off or jam GPS transmissions.

And that gives me only 2 more posts to go, so I must stop now!!!