Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that GPS is inherently bad – it’s the way people rely on it to the extent that they neglect fundamental piloting and navigation skills. GPS should be a PIECE of the navigation solution, not the whole ball of wax. A prudent mariner NEVER relies on only one observation or technique. People who neglect to keep a DR or pay attention to set & drift are setting themselves up for trouble. 99 percent of the time you’ll get away with it, but that one percent, you’re hosed.
Christian had a lot of navigational technology on his trip. One might have thought he had all kinds of redundancy with his GPS, laptop, chartplotter and 3 backup GPS units, but has anyone ever been struck by lightning? The electromagnetic pulse from lightning can fry anything electronic on board very easily, whether hard wired or not. At that point one can chuck your GPS units & chartplotter in the next port’s dumpster! (I know – it’s happened to me). If one hasn’t been keeping a DR, keeping a good log and maintaining profiency with your sextant, you’re hosed.
I’ve done ocean crossings both with and without electronic navigation, and can certainly appreciate the accuracy and rapidity of GPS navigation. Commercially I wouldn’t be without it. Heck, if James Cook was sailing today you can be sure he’d use the latest available technology. But at times I have chosen to sail without electronic navigation because that is part of what gives me pleasure in making passages. I’m comfortable with the techniques and know that they work for me. If my engine and batteries all died simultaneously, I know I could most likely complete the passage safely and with minimal disruption. How many cruisers out there can say that? How many would be calling the Coast Guard or activating EPIRBs?
Sure, sometimes you need to do things a little differently sailing without GPS & radar. Sometimes it’s necessary to heave to off a harbor until morning. Sometimes you need to give dangers a wider berth when you’ve been running a DR for a while. Patience and Prudence become regular companions (not that we all couldn’t benefit from having them aboard more often…)
I guess my point is that we each need to make our choices ourselves and not be too quick to call others irresponsible or unsafe. I don’t consider myself a “nostalgic” or “fundamentalist” in need of “the reality”. When I occasionally have eschewed GPS it’s not because I’m cheap, nor am I unable to use my sextant. Ultimately you can’t measure safety by how much gear is aboard (contrary to what the sailing mags would have you believe …) There’s way more that goes into the equation than that, with the sailor himself being the biggest factor!
I still contend that the most important thing you can do to prepare yourself to sail offshore is to sail sail sail as much, as often, and with as many different mentors as you can.