Bobsprit wrote:
Bob, any 14 year old that has played with a flight simulator on their
PC knows how to use radar!

Suzanne never had a flight simulator on her Mac. Could that be the
problem?

I doubt it. It does strike me, however, that things like radar and GPS are
rather easier to get to grips with than the traditional methods with chart
and compass. All that triangulation stuff, having to account for compass
variation and deviation, tides and currents, would be quite a bit of
learning for someone who's new to it. I haven't done this in a 'live'
nautical context yet, but do have a fair amount of land-based map & compass
experience.

A while back, I was working my way through a book called Coastal Navigation
(which is apparently to RYA Yachtmaster standard) which uses a series of
worked examples and comes with a sample chart. I'm about half way through
and have so far got just about everything correct, but I can see how it
would be harder for someone without prior experience.

FWIW, I think that radar and GPS are easier to learn, and should therefore
be learned first - on the basis that some sort of skill in knowing one's
course and position is better than none. I'm not saying that radar and GPS
should replace the traditional chart, compass, tide info, etc, but that less
skill is required to get use out of the hi-tech kit - you can learn more
basic nav skills (understanding of coordinates and how they relate to the
chart) and get use out of them quicker. Then bring the traditional skills up
to match. I would definately have the compass cover off, though...


--
Wally
www.makearatherlonglinkthattakesyounowhere.com
Things are always clearer in the cold, post-upload light.