Seas
BOATING (ISSN 0006-5374) (USPS 504-810), June 2016, Volume 89, No. 6. ©2016. Boating is published monthly, except July/August and November/December, by Bonnier Corp., 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park,
FL 32789. Subscription rates for one year (10 issues): $15.00 in the U.S., $25.00 in Canada, $35.00 for other international. Orders outside the U.S. must be prepaid in U.S. funds. Periodicals postage paid at Winter Park,
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51593-1864; [email protected]; boatingmag.com/cs. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608 Canada. Returns to be sent to IMEX Global Solutions, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2
Canada. If the postal service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.ILLUSTRATION: TIM BOWERChart Attack
KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE IS SO OVERRATED.
A
LONG WITH “HEY, NICE SEXTANT,” AND “IT’S YOUR TURN TO
get up and adjust the TV antenna,” you don’t hear people say, “Where
the hell are we?” much anymore. Like roller disco, getting misplaced on
this planet has become a thing of the past, not likely to return. If you
can afford a GPS — and most of us can — you’ll never have an excuse for showing
up late. You might occasionally become disoriented, but truly misplaced? Those
days are gone, as is hearing something like this, taken from my 1996 log notes,
written somewhere off the coast of New Jersey:
“We’ve passed two standpipes, a tank and a tower. So we’re just off Brant Beach.”
“Well, I make it one standpipe, two tanks and a cupola. So we’re almost abeam
Peahala Park.”
“A cupola? What the hell is a cupola?”
“I dunno. They put them on top of fancy buildings and cabooses.”
“That thing was a tower. And besides, it’s pronounced coop-a-la, not cup-a-la.”
“Whatever you call it, it wasn’t no damn tower.”
“Was too!”
“Was not!”
“Aaaaargh! OK. You win. It’s a damn cooooop-a-la. But those last two were
definitely standpipes, and that is Brant Beach.”
“Listen, Magellan, there was only one standpipe. The other was a tank. And that
is Peahala Park.”
“Oh yeah? Well, what’s the difference between a standpipe and a tank?”
“It’s kind of, well, sorta, ah, pipelike. Isn’t it?”
“I dunno.”
“And I don’t know. So ... where the hell are we?”
Some think it’s good that we no longer need to navigate like this. They prefer
a chart plotter’s cursor that says “you are here.” But you’re not. It’s just a blip
on a screen, not your place in, or relationship to, the real world. That takes direct
observation, which takes counting standpipes, cupolas and passing towns, andactually looking around.
I still carry charts because paper
lets you take in more and take it in
faster than looking at a screen. To get
details on an electronic chart, you have
to zoom in so far that it’s impossible to
get an overall picture of where you are.
By forcing you to be part of the world,
charts also help you develop a sense
of direction. It’s been proven that
we have an innate capability to find
our way. But as we’ve become more
detached with aids, such as GPS, we’ve
gotten out of touch with this sixth
sense. Down deep, there’s an internal
rhythm that lets us sense elapsed time.
With practice, it’s possible to gauge the
time within 10 minutes over a 12-hour
period. And if you can judge time
while traveling at a constant speed,
you know you how far you’ve gone.
We can also judge direction.
There is a tiny crystal of magnetite
in the ethmoid bone between our
eyes. A researcher at the University
of Manchester, England, found that a
magnet on a subject’s head made him
tend toward that side. Other animals
can align themselves with Earth’s
magnetic field, so why not us? Even
if we can’t, there are clues in nature,
such as the sun, wind and waves, that
an observant boater can use to hold a
straight course.
With time, distance and direction,
you have all you need for basic
navigation. Add that to a few observed
landmarks, and you can find your
way back from anywhere — even
New Jersey. Just get your head back in
the real world. I’ll see you outside the
inlet; I’ll be looking for that cupola.W“It’s been proven that
we have an innate capability
to find our way. But as we’ve be-
come more detached with aids,
such as GPS, we’ve gotten out of
touch with this sixth sense.”106 BOATINGMAG.COM JUNE 2016