Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip
While all of this talk of GPS accuracy and anomalies is fascinating we must all remember one thing:
Regardless of GPS, RADAR, compass, depthfinders or the like a captain, at all times, must maintain a proper lookout. Maintaining a proper lookout is one of the most basic rules of seamanship that everyone must master and understand before taking the helm.
Failure of an installed navigational aid, or the inability to interperet such aid accurately is never an excuse for not maintaining a proper lookout, or operating your craft at an appropriate speed with regards to surrounding water & atmospheric conditions!
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Skip, thanks for injecting a dose of common sense into this part of this thread. Anyone who fixates on a GPS while driving a boat is an accident waiting to happen. The first and most important thing to do while navigating a boat is to watch where you are going. This includes at night. The big lake theory of collision avoidance doesn't work. You are sharing the lake with thousands of other people, your attention should never be fixated on a gps screen or any other screen for that matter. Your main focus should be in front of or around your boat using the gps and other tools as reference/backup.