This is part of a series of articles on the subject of sailing safety. The articles will attempt to combine different ideas on safety from sources such as the Red Cross, personal experience, computer programming and other outdoor pursuits.

The 10 essentials begin with navigation- in the form of a map and compass. Certainly all forms of navigation have gone beyond this with GPS technology. GPS’ are in every conceivable form from permanently mounted in boat interiors to forming part of a hand held computer.

Before GPS there were other forms of navigation. Over reliance on GPS can bite you should you suffer an electrical failure or forget spare batteries.

Little Sable Light FL W 6 S

Learning should always be part of safety and seamanship. A good navigator will work on learning all the forms of navigation he doesn’t know. If you know GPS nav, try dead reckoning on a paper chart. If you’re familiar with dead reckoning try celestial navigation and it’s accompanying mathematical gymnastics.

Your odds of getting from place to place (ie navigation) are enhanced by learning as many methods as you can.

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