Finding Your Way Home
You have GPS and chartplotters to guide you. But what if your battery goes dead?
February 1, 2006
As soon as you realize you're in a situation where you need to navigate, but don't have a GPS or chartplotter to fall back on, stop the boat and assess the situation. Do you have a compass? Are you in sight of land or land-based landmarks (antenna tower, etc.)? If it's after dark, can you see the stars? Do you have a chart of the waters? These are all important questions that must be answered quickly, so you can determine how to proceed. If you don't have a compass or a chart, you can use old-school visual navigation. But if you can't see land, sun, or stars, the smartest thing to do is set an anchor and wait until you have a visual reference point. It's better to do nothing than to do something wrong.
If
you're in sight of land or a land-based landmark, the smartest thing is to head, slowly and
cautiously, toward shore. Monitor your VHF radio if you have one on board, and keep a sharp eye out
for other boat traffic, especially if the sun's gone down. As you come within a mile or so of
shore, begin a lookout for navigation aids - buoys, channel markers, etc. These will guide you
safely to a spot where you can tie up and get good directions to where you need or want to go. If
you don't see any navigation aids and you're within a quarter-mile or so of the shore, slowly run
parallel to the shore until you see either boat traffic or navigation aids to guide you to safe
waters.
If you can't see land but have a general idea in which direction land is (north, south, east, or west), look to the sky. If the sun is up and you know what time it is, you'll have a good general idea of the compass points.
Then,
it's time to get resourceful. Using a fishing rod or water ski, you can create a crude, but
effective, compass. Before noon, the shadow cast by the rod or ski will point more or less due
west; after noon, the shadow will point more or less due east. If you have no idea of the time,
position the rod or ski so it casts no shadow at all, then wait. When a shadow finally appears, it
will be pointing more or less due east. Now you can head for land and safety.
If the sun has set but the skies are clear enough to see the stars, you can use them to orient yourself. Polaris, the North Star, is relatively easy to find and will lead you in the right direction. Locate the Big Dipper, then, using the two stars at the edge of the Dipper away from the handle, draw an imaginary line extending up and away from the Dipper. That imaginary line will intersect with Polaris, which is a moderately bright star that represents due north. You'll know you've found the right star if it doesn't move at all, while the Dipper seems to rotate around it. To go east, keep Polaris to port. To go west, keep Polaris to starboard.
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Finding Your Way Home: You have GPS and chartplotters to guide you. But what if your battery goes dead?
