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I do carry a sextant and tables as well, which is a bit over the top for the channel...)

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Over the top? Are you kidding? It's totally inadequate. It's far more vulnerable to breakage than a £60 waterproof GPS from Millets and half the time it's cloudy and there's nothing to get a fix on at all.

The biggest joke is that you seem to be claiming your sextant is not electronic yet since quartz watches you will almost certainly be relying on an electronic watch to tell the time. Unless you are going to claim that a clockwork watch is more reliable?

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I am somewhat bemused by your reply on several counts.

Firstly one of my chronometers is a wind up mechanical one. It is very reliable and its rate is predictable and accurate.

Secondly because the reason I said a sextant is over the top for navigation without electronics is because I really think that it is. You don't need to find your latitude by midday sun or your longtitude by running on that latitude and crossing it with a sun sight a few hours later in the channel, because by a few hours later you've hopefully got some land in sight again.

Yeasr ago I used to sail all round the channel with no Decca or GPS. It was interesting and sometimes worrying not knowing exactly where you were and I know the skills are probably a little rusty now, but I think I could still do it.

Its not the existence of £60 GPS's that worries me, its peoples total reliance on them.

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“When you discover that you are riding a dead horse,
the best strategy is to dismount.”

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